Naturally curly hair can take some getting used to. When I first went natural I did all that I could to learn more about how to grow my hair longer and stronger. Since I hadn’t worn my natural hair since I was a pre-teen, I was very new to the idea. Because of this my hair journey began with a lot of trial and error. Heat damage ended up being on of my biggest mistakes early on. I created a regimen for myself that included straightening my hair once a month. Of course, I knew about deep conditioning and heat protectant but still didn’t know h
ow MY hair reacted to heat.
At the time I was of the mind that hair of my type required at least 400 degrees or more for straightening. I later found out that using the right
technique also plays a huge role in how smooth my hair turns out. Also, I was of the mind that having natural, unprocessed hair meant that my hair would withstand heat and manipulation differently. This mindset eventually led to my misuse of heat on one occasion that left a section of my hair heat damaged.
Fast forward a few years later and here I sit, on the rebound once again. Earlier this summer I found myself dealing with heat damage. Mind you, this was from an incident that occurred last summer. I allowed the hair in my bangs section to regrow for a full nine months before I finally decided to chop off the damaged ends. It was a hard decision to make but it really was a lot easier to wear curly styles afterwards.
The lesson I learned is this; liste
n to your hair. When the hair is responding to a new technique or product in a negative way, don’t ignore it. I knew that the section had been compromised by the heat use but did not take the necessary steps to correct it. Now, when I see a slight change in my curl pattern, I pay attention. Heat damage is one of the ways naturally curly hair cries out for help.
I have several posts here on the blog about heat damage and what I have done to combat it. Although it can be irreversible in some cases, it still proves to be a way to learn more about what the hair can and cannot take.