A Clear Look at the Actual Hair Damage Incurred From Straightening

Want to know if there is any hair damage from straightening? Read this article to know how straightening your hair might damage them, and how it can be avoided. Check it out!

Everyone wants that straight hair. If a few dollars can give you silky smooth hair, why not? Girls like me, who have to spend nights nourishing their hair, oiling it and still are not happy with the outcome, would love to go for hair straightening or hair relaxing. But everything comes with its bad side too. Some girls have reported excess hair damage after they straightened it. Now that is something I am really not looking forward to. But then, if all the girls do know this happens, why go for it in the first place? I mean, the compliments you get for the first few days are one thing but if the not-so-good quality of my hair is at more stake, I step back. There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding all this, isn’t it? Let us see what we can do to get our concepts more clear. Hair damage from straightening; an obvious or not-so-obvious fact? What do you think?

The Process of Hair Straightening…

The products used in the entire process of hair straightening are the relaxer formula, the neutralizer, a petroleum cream, one of the special shampoos and a hair relaxing conditioner. The process begins with application of the petroleum cream on the hair. After this comes the application of the hair relaxer formula. This chemical is mainly responsible for straightening your hair. The relaxer is washed with shampoo and warm water after the specific time. After all this comes the application of the neutralizing formula. This is responsible for restoring the pH balance of your hair. After all this, comes the application of the conditioner. This should always be done by a specialized hair stylist as it can also lead to hair loss from straightening.

Hair Damage from Straightening…Yes or No?

Now that we have understood the process of hair straightening, does it damage our hair? It really doesn’t, if and only if you take certain points into consideration. If you follow all these steps and take the necessary precautions, there will be no damage done to your hair, short term or long term. But, one thing you must remember is that straightening irons have temperatures that can have certain effects on your hair. Keep these tips in mind and you won’t have any hair damage after straightening.

• Do not use hair straightening irons on wet hair or damp hair even. The pattern to straighten hair permanently should be from top to bottom ‘only’ and not the other way round.
• If you have colored or permed hair, think twice before you use an iron on them to straighten them. Usage of too many products can cause damage to hair.
• When you wash your straightened hair, use only straightening shampoo and conditioner. Use leave in or thermal products so that your hair is pampered more than usual.
• Holding the iron in one place for more than necessary will also damage your hair. It has pass smoothly through the strands of hair and not stay in one place for too long.
• If any damage is done to the hair as a result of the iron staying in one place for too long or because the temperature was more than necessary, that damage is permanent.
• If you are planning to use the hair iron frequently, use some ceramic hair oil. This will retain some moisture in the hair. High temperatures cause the disappearance of moisture.
• When you iron your hair, the hair iron needs to be set at a particular temperature. This temperature is solely dependent on the type of hair. Check the table below to see what you need.

Now that you know everything about hair damage from hair straightening, you can take those necessary precautions when you are planning to straighten your hair. You can finally go for that silky smooth hair now that you have these hair care tips. But carelessness and frequent use might lead to hair damage from straightening and this is something you should not forget. If the hair iron is not used properly, you have can frizzy and brittle hair that is easily breakable.