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| My hair after washing and deep conditioning No curls; just a mess |
1. Always cleanse the hair thouroughly prior to using heat
2. Do a moisturizing deep conditioning treatment before and after the use of heat
3. Always use heat protectant
4. No more heat styling the rest of the time (i.e. styling by wrapping, roller setting, bantu knots and braids instead of using the flat iron again)
The first time I gave myself heat damage I broke rules #1 and #3. I thought that I could get away with using heat after a braidout left my hair nice and soft. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if I could just straighten it now without the blowdrying?” Well, yes and no. You can use braids to stretch your hair prior to straightening as long as you don’t use any oils which can cause damage when you apply direct heat. I used a mixture of castor, coconut and olive oils to do the braidout so when I applied the heat….sizzzle! Also, I didn’t even bother with heat protectant and ended up with a piece in front that not only did not revert back, but was straight like relaxed hair. I eventually cut it off which is why I now have bangs. This was 3 months after I did the big chop.
This time, however, was a huge dissapointment because I KNEW better! I broke my own rule #4; no more heat the rest of the time I wear it straight. I moisturized my hair and sealed it with coconut oil everyday so I knew for sure this had something to do with the new damage I noticed. Not only that, I oiled my scalp with Wild Growth Oil and it ended up coating my strands from root to tip. I could have used my Caruso Rollers, to style my hair but was pressed for time and pulled out the flat iron again. After shampooing and deep conditioning, my poor hair was a hot mess! I didn’t have curls just a shrunken puff ball (see picture above). The damage looked like it was pretty serious and I was really scared that I wouldn’t see my curls again.
Find out how I got my curls back in my next post “Recovering from Heat Damage”