Does flat ironing damage hair or just dry it out?

[Sarahh.]

Apart from drying your hair out, does flat ironing actually damage your hair? This may sound like a stupid question, but what damage does it actually do?

If it only dries your hair out, then wouldn't it be okay to just make sure you dc and moisturise a lot when you flat iron? Or does it affect your hair in other ways?

Sorry if it's a stupid question. TIA.

 

[PGirl]

I would love to know the answer to this as well. All that I know is that I stopped flat ironing so much and my hair is happy. From what I have read on here women feel that flat ironing too much makes you get split ends which means you don't retain as much length.

Ok, hair enthusiasts.....please tell us, if I moisturize my ends, use the right amount of protein or etc....can I flat iron more????? How much of this type of heat is really too much? I would LOVE to flat iron more and retain length.

My Chi iron really misses me!

 

[Sarahh.]

I would love to know the answer to this as well. All that I know is that I stopped flat ironing so much and my hair is happy. From what I have read on here women feel that flat ironing too much makes you get split ends which means you don't retain as much length.

Ok, hair enthusiasts.....please tell us, if I moisturize my ends, use the right amount of protein or etc....can I flat iron more????? How much of this type of heat is really too much? I would LOVE to flat iron more and retain length.

My Chi iron really misses me!

Hmm. But split ends are just caused my dryness right? So if you kept your hair moisturised..you wouldn't get split ends? Someone help please.

 

[Divine Inspiration]

Neither when done correctly.

Split ends are a mechanical issue and need to be trimmed. Sometimes splits are caused by dryness but they can also be caused by rough handling of the hair (i.e. excessive combing/brushing, rushing through detangling, single strand knots, etc)

Heat, improperly used or in excess, can cause damage. However, as you can see on this board, it is possible to use heat to varying degrees and not suffer from heat damage. A heat protectant is always in order regardless.

 

[Neith]

It does both.

The heat evaporates water and the heat also causes actual damage to all parts of the hair, from the cuticle to the cortex. It actually can/does break protein bonds in the hair and damages the cuticle.

Not to say that you can't safely use heat (it's never damage free, but you can drastically reduce the amount of damage). The overuse/misuse of heat causes those problems.

 

[Allandra]

Neither when done correctly.

Split ends are a mechanical issue and need to be trimmed. Sometimes splits are caused by dryness but they can also be caused by rough handling of the hair (i.e. excessive combing/brushing, rushing through detangling, single strand knots, etc)

Heat, improperly used or in excess, can cause damage. However, as you can see on this board, it is possible to use heat to varying degrees and not suffer from heat damage. A heat protectant is always in order regardless.

What she said.

 

[Artemis]

Neither when done correctly.

Split ends are a mechanical issue and need to be trimmed. Sometimes splits are caused by dryness but they can also be caused by rough handling of the hair (i.e. excessive combing/brushing, rushing through detangling, single strand knots, etc)

Heat, improperly used or in excess, can cause damage. However, as you can see on this board, it is possible to use heat to varying degrees and not suffer from heat damage. A heat protectant is always in order regardless.

Basically

Split ends are just a result of the cuticle layers being worn away over time, however they got there (ie, via mechanical damage). Consistent, regular deep conditioning, special attention to the ends (and removal/repair of active splits), and overall gentle handling of hair eradicate the issue.

Dry hair is usually the first symptom of problems. Splits/breakage (generally) are the final symptom, if you look at it from a continuum point of view.