Jeanelle says: I was wondering if you guys could tell me what to look for in a great heat protecting spray/serum/lotion. What are the key ingredients that protect hair from heat? (Besides the ones that promise to deliver to soft, silky protected tresses when in reality they leave you with sticky, gross hair from all of the alcohol!)
The Right Brain responds:
Jeanelle, if you’re buying heat protection sprays that contain a lot of alcohol, you should change brands before you look like the woman in today’s picture! Hopefully you’ll be able to pick a better product after we explain how heat damages your hair and what kind of ingredients can help.
Blow drying is bad
Blow drying causes a “flash drying” effect that not only removes the surface moisture but also removes water that is bound to the hair, which is called water of hydration. The effect of this flash drying is that the cuticles become dried, rigid and brittle. When the hair flexes, the pressure causes the cuticles to crack. One study (see Reference 1 below) showed cracks occurring not only on the surface layer of cuticles, but actually two and three cuticle layers deep. Combing hair with this degree of cuticle cracking causes significant breakage.
Ironing is icky
Ironing hair causes two different types of damaging depending on whether the hair is ironed dry or wet. Ironing dry hair causes radial and axial cracking along the edges of the cuticles, which can lead to chipping. Ironing wet hair causes the moisture to burst out in little steam explosions. This causes a bubbling and buckling of the cuticle that appears as tiny hair blisters under magnification.
Helpful heat treatments
Blow dry damage can be prevented by using products containing glycerin and propylene glycol because these actives retard water evaporation. Products like Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray
Iron damage can be reduced by using conditioners formulated with low molecular weight conditioners that can penetrate into the hair like cetrimonium chloride. Another study (see Reference 2) showed that exposing hair to heat in the presence of such a conditioning agent actually caused an increase in tensile strength (the force required to break a hair). This is because the heat reacts with the conditioning agents and cross links some of the protein chains inside the hair. Look for products like Sunsilk Heat Defense Cream
Do YOU have any favorite products to ward off heat damage? Leave a comment and share your steamy secrets with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
References (online links not available)
1. Gamez-Garcia, M. “The Cracking of Human Hair Cuticles by Cyclical Thermal Stresses,” J. Cosmetic Science, 49, 141-153 May/June 1998.
2. Ruetsch, S.B, et al, “Effects of Thermal Treatments with a Curling Iron on Hair Fiber,” J. Cosmetic Science, 55, 13-27 Jan/Feb 2004.
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As someone who avoids heat styling as much as possible to protect my super-curly, easily damaged, naturally dry hair, this is amazingly helpful information for those days when I want to straighten for special events. Thanks!
I have been using coconut oil (small amount) on my coarse dry hair before I blow dry it and have been very pleased.
love the detailed explanation and, once again, the recommendation of products that should work. good job!
I thought that no one conditioning ingredient that penetrates hair but it says above that cetrimonium chloride does penetrate hair. Beautybrains says on earlier post that you don’t have to leave a conditioner for long because it simply coats the hair. Need clarification Beautybrains.
Creme: Good comment. Most conditioning agents work primarily on the surface. But we didn’t mean to imply that there are NO ingredients that penetrate.
^Thanks Beautybrains for clarification. Now I know the reason that some people apply heat on hair after they applied the conditioner/treatment/masque because it improves the tensile strength of the hair by crosslinking. However, does cetrimonium chloride or other penetrating conditioning ingredient must penetrate first to hair in order to work?
Kerastase Ciment Thermique and Chi Iron Guard Spray, ftw! I use the Ciment Thermique before blowdrying and flat ironing. It has cetrimonium chloride and also modified potato starch (?) among other things in it. I use Iron Guard for just flat ironing, obvs. It contains hydrolyzed silk protein and ceramic. Also, monthly or bi-monthly protein treatments when the hair is heat-styled often.
really? i sure hope this is to be so! i have really bad burn hair from hair iron and am looking for remedy that is cheap
en fuego ‘sta mi pelo! como le dicen en mexico no sabes el llanta de mi carro sin probarlo.
Giving hair a warm olive oil treatment may help-Leave it on about an hour-before hairset-
When using blowdryer-never use hottest temperature– The same with the curling iron- Hairdressers may not understand about damage to hair cuticle-so use utmost tact- It’s nice when we can work together!
Can you check if my product is ok.
It’s Ahglow Keratin Hair Protek.
Restores Keratin. Helps repair and seal damaged hair.
Formulation: Amodimethicone, Dimethicone Copolyol, Dimethiconol and (TEA) Dodecyl Benzene Sulfate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Propylene Glycol diasolidinyl urea parabens, PEG 40 hydrogenated castor oil, Citric Acid, Floresa, Deionized Water.
It won’t restore protein but it will help protect your hair from heat damage.
Hello.
I recently bought a product called Flat iron from special effects, i havent tried it, but i heard is good, and its pretty cheap too. I would like to know if this product protects my hair from iron heat and makes it healthier.
I would also like to know how good the Kerastase products are, and wich would be good for my hair. I have dyed, thin and dry hair.
Thanks a lot
i have recentley bought a new style tool called an INstyler. it helps my hair have volume and it says it is supposed to be polishing my hair, not damaging it like a flat iron or curling iron.
I do often love curling my hair though.
i use multiple types of shampoo to help my hair’s heat damage. Treseme, Nexus, and pureology are my favorite.
How can i further protect my hair, but still keep using my hair styling tools?
Is horse shampoo okay?
what should we do for our dry hair to become silky hair?
So, i’ve been working in the hair industry for 4 years now and by just trusting what people told me instead of just reading the facts. i have now learned that my past favorite products were the worse for my hair as well as my clients. Many products i’ve come across that said they were good for heat prevention were almost worse then using nothing at all. I’m talking about expensive salon products!! So, my favorite product that is true from front to back is Bumble and bumble straight. made for anybody that wants to style with heat. the cost i believe is around 18. i hope this was helpful!
OMG ps! to die for shampoo is Pureology Nanoworks. if you don’t want to spend $100 for shampoo and conditioner they just came out with the essential repair witch is 2nd best. both have rebuilding properties that make your hair soft silky and stronger then EVER before. you will be hooked for life i promise!
OMG ps! to die for shampoo is Pureology Nanoworks. if you don’t want to spend $100 for shampoo and conditioner they just came out with the essential repair witch is 2nd best. both have rebuilding properties that make your hair soft silky and stronger then EVER before. you will be hooked for life i promise!
if you are in SE wisconsin Rau Salon carries these products and Melanie sent you in!
Hi Beauty Brains, quick question. Does flat ironing and/or blow drying with coconut oil and olive oil fry hair? People say oils fry hair like oil in a frying pan, is that true?
i recommend, right after blow-drying/ironing, using the coldest setting on the blow dryer to cool down your hair again, instead of leaving your hair hot and letting it cook slowly
I’ve been coloring my hair a lot and it is so dry and it falls out ….what do i do? i’ve tried leave in conditioners nothing has really helped would coconut oil help?
Hi. I only use certified organic hair products and was wanting to know what are low molecular weight conditioners? AND What ingredients should I look for to know that it is a low molecular weight conditioner?
There are some good questions here, does anyone monitor this forum?
If you have dry chemically and damaged hair like me, then here is a tip what i have done and my hair is looking a whole lot better. Once a week prior to washing my hair, i do a heat treatment which is. I put coconut oil in my hair, make sure it’s well coated, then put foil or a heat cap if you have on for about an hour, or longer if you can. Then wash your hair as normal, and dont forget the conditioner also. After washing out my conditioner, i blast my hair with cold water, for about 30 seconds, to close the hair cuticles. Finally i put in a serum /leave in conditioner in for added protection and softness, stay away from your roots as this could make your hair oilier more quickly. Hope these tips helped you.
can olive oil or vasiline protect hair from heat
Hi, does aveda damage control (INGREDIENTS: aqueous extracts: chamomile flower, calendula flower, camellia oleifera leaf extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, polyquaternium-16, polyquaternium-10 (from plant fibre), hydrolyzed wheat protein, hydrolyzed wheat starch, cocamidopropyl pg-dimonium chloride phosphate (from coconut oil), peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil, soybean il, oryzanol (from rice), tocopherol (from soy), panthenol, pvp, maltodextrin, fragrance, geraniol, linalool, benzyl benzoate, citronellol, eugenol, hydroxycitronellal, limonene, amyl cinnamal, sodium gluconate, potassium sorbate, chlorphenesin, phenoxyethanol) really protect hair from heat?
Im using revlon ceramic straightener and i was wondering if there was anything like gel,mousse or any other cheap product that keeps my hair from damaging.usually the best products are the usually the most expensive.example,bed head. help?
I googled cetrimonium chloride, and the toxicity report says that there is toxicity in lab tests (usually large doses), and it does soak in dermally. I like to minimize the chemicals I expose myself to, since I figure it all adds up. It would be nice to have an article on natural and non-toxic head protectants (and not just for straightening, for curling, too).
Thanks!
Oops…I meant “heat” protectants.
I have crazy thick hair that tends to run on the fuzzy side. I use Shielo Antioxidant Leave In Portectant because you CAN physically see the hair being sealed. My hairdresser is on strict orders to let me know if my hair starts drying out (so I can stop with the iron). She says it’s fine. And since she doesn’t sell me the thermal protector, I believe her.
Shielo hair leave in protector works great on my hair. You can clearly see the spray protecting your hair from the heat. My hair is really thin and my sisters hair is extremely thick and it works great on both our hair.
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This article is highly misleading and self-contradictory. You quite strongly put foward the arguement that heat defence products containing alcohol should not be used on hair under any circumstances, however you recommed Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray as a good product.
Clearly you have not researched the topic thoroughly or else you would have noticed this product contains Propylene Glycol and Geraniol among other things, both of which are alcohols.
Propylene glycol is used to provide lubrication and is not a degreaser like ethanol (Just having an OH group does not make a chemical an alcohol.) Geraniol is only in products at trace amounts as one of the many fragrance components and is not used at high enough levels to have ANY impact on your hair.
I have used the Chi Iron Guard for the past year, but the Shielo Antioxidant Leave in Protectant is MUCH better. The Chi Iron Guard makes my hair sticky and dry. This Shielo spray seems so vitamin-enriched, it’s super lightweight and makes my hair smooth and shiny, plus IT SMELLS AMAZING!!!! I want to wear it as perfume. LOL. The Chi Iron Guard doesn’t smell good at all. Honestly this stuff hasn’t only protected my hair from heat, but makes my hair look so much more healthy. I’m so happy I found this!
By the way, I have wavy, fine hair. Hair that curls/frizzes when exposed to humidity or wet. So, this definitely works on my type of hair.