People don’t just roll out of bed with perfect coifed hair. We have to brush out our hair and heat style. Heat styling is a great way to change up your look for events, especially now that winter holidays like Christmas and New Year’s are just around the corner. But while heat styling may make our hair look perfect, it can also lead to frizzy, dry, and brittle heat-damaged tresses.
Straightening or curling is especially harmful when you already have thinning hair. Hair loss is a normal occurrence for women as they age (read more about three haircuts to hide thinning hair!). On average we lose around 50 to 100 strands a day according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association. If you begin to shed significantly more than that or you notice those hair strands aren’t growing back, that’s when you should notify your doctor. And when it comes to hair loss, using heat can make it so much worse, especially when you make one damaging styling mistake.
Beauty experts agree you should never use heat on dirty hair. This is because some products may contain ingredients that simply don’t mix well with the high heat levels of a curling iron or straightener. Adding heat to already dirty hair practically ensures thinning locks.
To learn more about the effects of heat styling dirty hair, we spoke with Sharie Wilson and Tonya Thompson, professional hairstylists and co-founders of DreamGirls Hair. They agreed that using heat on dirty hair might have even more significant consequences when it comes to already thinning hair.
Using heat on dirty hair
In general, it’s not a great idea to apply heat to your hair on a daily basis. But if you do, it is important to use your straightener or a curling iron on the lowest setting possible as well as use a heat protectant to shield your hair from excessive heat when styling every day. Heat protectant will not completely block the damage heat styling will cause, but it does add a barrier between your styling tool and your hair, sealing in moisture and fending off frizz. In addition to the dangers of heat styling unprotected hair, heat styling dirty hair can have even more devastating results.
Most people don’t realize it, but flat ironing or curling hair that isn’t properly cleansed can cause major hair breakage. In addition to the already inevitable damage from heat styling, some hair products, like dry shampoos or texture sprays, contain ingredients that aren’t made to handle the heat from styling tools. Adding these products before heat styling can cause your hair to dry out even more.
If the hair is only slightly unclean, using low heat is fine as long as the hair does not have product buildup. However, Wilson warns us about the dangers of using heat on hair that's too dirty: “When you continue to do this over time your hair begins to break off, resulting in split ends, see-through hair, and shorter pieces around the edges and crown of your hair that have broken off due to heat damage,” she says. See-through hair is when your hair is so thin that you can see your scalp through your hair. A visible scalp is usually the first sign of thinning hair or balding!
“When styling your hair with heat, it is important to thoroughly cleanse your hair prior to remove dirt, oils, and older products sitting on top of your hair,” notes Thompson. “We highly recommend using the Renewing Shampoo from DreamGirls Healthy Hair Care System which cleanses the hair and scalp without the harsh stripping agents that could dry out your hair.”
Styling on clean hair is especially important for thinning hair. In fact, if you’ve already got thinning hair, breakage, or split ends, it may be best to preemptively reduce the amount of heat styling you’re doing, particularly on dirty hair, to keep the issue from progressing. Although hair loss is the result of many different factors, including your diet (these biotin-rich foods for thick hair may surprise you!), heat styling is doing your thinning locks no favors. So keeping it to a minimum and only styling on clean hair will give you a better chance of maintaining your beautiful hair down the line.
Thinning hair is normal, but if you notice more than the average amount of hair loss, it’s time to talk to your doctor. We know it’s difficult to completely abstain from heat styling so if you do end up straightening or curling your hair, try to always use it on the lowest setting possible. And it’s especially important to remember if you already have fine hair to never use heat on unclean hair. Your hair will thank us!
READ MORE:
Want To Stop Hair Loss? These Are The 3 Simple Habits Doctors Say You Should Be Doing Every Day
3 Life-Changing Short Haircuts Women Over 40 Can Try To Look Years Younger
