The Heat Styling Mistakes You Should Never Make If You Struggle With Damaged, 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!

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