it was fun in the beginning

it was fun in the beginning...

hi ladies,

i bought a flat iron @ 2 months ago and have been flat-ironing my hair weekly. i am beginning to see massive damage i.e see-through hair, breakage, & weakness. i thought i was taking proper precautions i.e passing the iron 1-2 times, deep conditioning, using salerm leave in & a serum, etc. obviously, i wasn't.

now, i wonder what i should do? do i stop using the iron altogether? protein tx? moisture tx? cut it all off......okay i'm frustrated!

has anyone experienced this problem? what did you do to repair your damage?
please help!

Re: it was fun in the beginning...

well, that was the same thing that happened to me. what i did, i cut out the flat iron. i guess you could only use it when you have a special occasion to go. like onc ein 3 months.....thats what i would do

Re: it was fun in the beginning...

ladylibra_30 said:

hi ladies,

i bought a flat iron @ 2 months ago and have been flat-ironing my hair weekly.

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Just curios is it a ceramic flat iron?

yes, it is.

actually, i bought it because it was ceramic. i thought ceramic was supposed to be the best 'kind' of flat iron.

Cut off heat. Period. For my 4b hair, heat = DAMAGE no matter how well I take care of my hair and protect it, weekly heat is an absolute no no for me. I learned this the very hardest way by thinking I could use heat protectant, silicones, serums, deep conditionings, conditioner washes, whatever -- NOT!

I haven't used heat in about a year now and have no regrets (only healthier, thicker hair!) and I still wear my hair out loose with lots of bounce, shine and movement. I do rollersets and dry on *cool* setting under hooded dryer or air dry if I have time. . .

ladylibra_30 said:

yes, it is.

actually, i bought it because it was ceramic. i thought ceramic was supposed to be the best 'kind' of flat iron.

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Yes, ceramic is supposed to be best, but I think any type of direct heat too often can never be good. I've seen some ladies on the board who use heat once a week with no problem. If you don't already may you should use a protein or polyemeric such as Nexxus's emergencee. Or post to those who use heat regulary with sucess... see what there doing. Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance.

Zz

I'd say don't use it every single week. If u wash ur hair every week, alternate between getting a rollerset and flat-ironing. I used to flat-iron every day and i had damage..when i did 1/week i didn't have any damage...i don't think it was the products, i just made sure i used low heat (140). Now i have found a method of drying my hair with a blow-dryer on low heat and using my roundbrush as a way to straighten my hair....no flat-iron necessary. (I know this method is not new...but i surely didn't know how to do it.) It working great. This is the way that i have the least breakage daily.

everything that says ceramic doesnt mean its ceramic... BUT, that iis besides the point... I would say to start using some proctective styles for summer, and moisture, moisture, mositure....

Hey LL! You need to call me! I'll be back in town this Saturday (I'm in Cali). Anyways, I know how paranoid you are about breakage and thinning, so I'd like to see your hair myself to evaluate the damage! :scratchch But like everyone else said, I think you should lay off the heat, esp. for the summer. Try some roller sets if you want to wear it straight, or even flexirod sets. I think the flexirod set would look great on you! I have some at the house, so let me know if you don't know how to do them.

I am a Heat Bigot.

I agree with everyone else. I would lay off the heat for awhile and do a heavy protein treatment followed by a good moisturizing treatment.

Hi ladies,

thanks so very much for all the responses. i took everyone's advice yesterday and went home poo/con, rollerset, airdried. i used my ntm products and my hair is bouncin' and behavin' and i feel alot better about my tresses. the funny thing is that when i first started flat-ironing my hair it seemed healthier i.e. silky, smooth, shinier but i let that fool me and hair told the truth in the end. so, i'm putting that bad boy away for special occassions.

(((((((((((((((ayana)))))))))))))) hi lady! i will definitely be giving you a call. i usually get the spiral set when i get a retouch but i definitely don't know how to do it on myself...so you will be seeing me soon LOL . btw, how's cali? i hope you don't get homesick and stay there..so come on back home to miami. be safe, babe.

Re: it was fun in the beginning...

I am so sorry you are going through this...I would say. keep the flat iron for really special occassions...or remove from your program for a while. I noticed when I use the flat iron a few weeks ago ( before I touched up), my ends looked really thin.....even my friend noticed.

I (felt like I) had to use the iron cause I had major new growth and I was working at a special occasion. Since my touch up I have noticed breakage at my crown, so I think its a combo or flat ironing and stregthing too long or not nourishing enough.

Be gentle and treat your hair to some deep treatments....now that its hotter out maybe do some wash & gos...
or braidouts

I didn't read the entire thread so sorry if it's repetitive

ladylibra_30 said:

hi ladies,

i bought a flat iron @ 2 months ago and have been flat-ironing my hair weekly. i am beginning to see massive damage i.e see-through hair, breakage, & weakness. i thought i was taking proper precautions i.e passing the iron 1-2 times, deep conditioning, using salerm leave in & a serum, etc. obviously, i wasn't.

now, i wonder what i should do? do i stop using the iron altogether? protein tx? moisture tx? cut it all off......okay i'm frustrated!

has anyone experienced this problem? what did you do to repair your damage?
please help!

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