Hair stretched to the point of no return. A different perspective.

Lylddlebit

Well-Known Member
It's a common consensus that after you have straightened your hair and washing it does not revert parts to it's natural state that you have heat damage, or that your hair has been heat trained. For longer than I can remember(even before hair boards) I heard it called that, and referred to it as that myself but I am coming to believe this assessment is incomplete and here is why:

After I wash and style my hair I have a hair ball of shed hair that I keep until I wash my hair again and get a new hair ball. In the time period that I keep this hair I play with it, see if it floats in water, stretch it until it breaks, test products on it, test the heat of my pressing comb/flat iron on it, stretch it to just before breaking etc. I will use this hair ball to expereiment whatever comes to my mind before and during my next styling session.

What is interesting to me is the just before breaking stage. The strand that demonstrates this is relatively healthy, if it wasn't It would break at it's weakest point instead of stretching and allowing me to play with it. If I take a strand of hair between my thumb and index fingers of each hand and pull the ends of hair in opposing directions it will stretch quite bit before breaking. This stretched piece of hair will becoming a bit finer in thickness of strand. It will become shinnier, it will become smoother as it stretches, it will feel as smooth as silk all without breaking if I stretch it to it's just before the breaking point. What this strand of hair will also do is refuse to revert, no matter how much water, conditioner, oil or other susbstance I put it in. The stretch is permanent, no heat required. The hair looks good it feels good and it may even have some elasticity(not as much as before I stretched it) left in it before it actually breaks. The strand is also noticeably longer than it would be if it were simply straightened and not manually stretched. I think this detail also can tie into "I straightened my hair after a month and it grew 2 inches" statements but I don't want to digress too far from the point.


Going back to "heat damage"... The last time you thought your hair was heat damaged did you use any form of tension or stretching during the straightening process.? How did you run the comb through your hair? How did you run the brush through your hair? Did you pull your hair as you straightened it? Was your hair taunt as it was being straightened? Did the back of the presing comb put any level of stress on that strand to smooth it out? Have you ever found straightened strands and used no heat at all, yet the stands were physically stretched? (Rhetorical Questions)

We all know heat has the potential of adverse effects, but in assessing your straight strands it may be wise to look beyond the heat to determine where the "damage" really came from. Your hair just may have been "stretched just before breaking", that level where your hair will not revert because it has been "stretched to no return". The heat may make that easier to do this unconsciously but it's not necessarily the bottom line of why your hair isn't reverting.

What do you ladies think? I know this may not ring a bell with everyone, and I am by no means an expert but i know my hair is capable of being "stretched just before breaking" with or without heat. Maybe yours is too. Do you think about why you hair does what it does beyond the "go to" answers?
 
Very interesting theory! I've done this stretch test with my new growth as well and never paid any attention to this, but it's true! It stays straight. I've never tried doing anything further with it to see if it would revert though...
 
Interesting concept Lylddlebit :yep: All I know is that any rough treatment of your hair (i.e. rough combing shampooing, heat styling, strong chemicals or tension styling) has the tendancy to weaken the hair strand, which in turn can be the cause for breakage.

IMO, it's best to avoid as much rough treatment as possible to your hair so you decrease your chances of experiencing breakage. Prevention is always better than the cure :yep:.
 
This is very interesting and thinking about it, it does seem to make sense.

I don't use heat in my hair very often, but when I do so in the future, I shall have to keep this in mind and not use a lot of tension as I straighten it. In my mind, either heat or stretching the hair to the point where it will not revert, will compromise the strength, and overall health of my strands, something I am no longer willing to do.
 
Hmmm ... so would this mean that ladies who rollerset or do braidouts often are damaging their hair by stretching it?
 
I've noticed this when I play with shed hairs too, I just didn't go into as much thought as you did.:giggle: Definitely an interesting theory. I haven't tried to see if it would revert either..I always just toss it with the rest of the shed hairs...
 
Hmmm ... so would this mean that ladies who rollerset or do braidouts often are damaging their hair by stretching it?

I wouldn't think so. It's not the same extreme stretching the OP is referring to. You'd have to pull quite a bit to get that same level of tension. Even then, I'm not sure it constitutes "damage."
 
I'm guessing hair is kind of like elastic... If you stretch it out far enough and many times its not going to snap back like it use to... I also do believe hair has some elastin fibers in it so I guess its the same concept...
 
I'm guessing hair is kind of like elastic... If you stretch it out far enough and many times its not going to snap back like it use to... I also do believe hair has some elastin fibers in it so I guess its the same concept...

I agree with everything that you posted. I could even go as far as to say anything in excess is not good :yep: Just like when you work out...if you over exert your muscles, you'll eventually end up pulling or straining it (i.e. damage). Muscles are made to be elastic, but the more times you use them and the older you get, the weaker they become - just like hair. That's one of the reasons why some get traction alopecia with wigs /lacefornts and braids. This is also why you should change the position of your buns every other day. The constant tension of the hair being pulled at the root can weaken the hair strand causing it to fall out.
 
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