How Excessive Heat Can Damage Hair and What You Can Do About It

If you style your hair regularly using a blow dryer, curling iron, or flat iron—which is many of us—you're hair is prone to heat damage. The damage can be as simple as split ends but can also manifest itself in hair loss if the heat damage is severe enough. For our readers whose hair gets a fair amount of heat, in this article, we will talk about what causes heat damage, what signs to look for to know if your hair is becoming damaged, and what you can do about it. That way, you can rock your strong, healthy hair while still using heat styling when you want to!

What Causes Heat Damage?

Any heat styling tools like a blow dryer, curling iron, or flat iron can cause heat damage to your hair. These tools usually don't damage your hair after just a handful of uses. But they can damage your hair over time, especially if you are using them daily and on high heat settings. You've probably noticed many hair styling tools have heat settings and always using the highest temperatures possible can also lead to heat damage. Not knowing how to use a curling iron or flat iron can lead to heat damage as well. Leaving the tool in the same place for too long can damage the hair it's touching.

You'll Know You Have Heat Damage When...

Heat damage happens because heat styling tools draw the moisture out of your hair. This shows up in a lot of different ways. One of the most common ways to know if you have heat damage is split ends. The ends of our hair strands are already the driest, being the oldest and furthest away from the root. So it only makes sense that they are the easiest part of the hair to damage.

Other signs of heat damage are increased frizziness and rough texture to your hair. Frizziness and rough feeling hair happens when the hair cuticles, or the outside layer of a shaft or hair, become damaged. It makes it harder for your hair's natural oils to spread down your hair and keep it moisturized.

And perhaps the sign of heat damage that brought you to this article is excessive hair shedding. Some hair shedding is natural. In fact, it's normal for people to lose 50 to 100 pieces of hair per day. But if your hair sheds more than that and know your hair is exposed to excessive heat, it may be time to make some changes.

Help Is On the Way!

There are some simple, at-home steps you can take immediately to help heat damaged hair. You can cut down the number of times a week you wash your hair, reduce the number of times you heat style your hair each week, and wash your hair with warm water versus hot water. Switching to more gentle and nourishing shampoos and conditioners can help too. However, if your hair is severely damaged, you should consider seeking professional help.

At New Look Institute, we treat hair loss of all kinds, and our solutions are custom to each client and their needs. If you have excessive hair shedding due to heat damage, we can provide you with specialized shampoos and conditioners to restore your hair. We also offer a wide variety of other hair solutions like laser hair treatments, replacement therapies, and more. If you have questions about hair loss, whether or not it is related to heat damage, we want to meet with you. Please contact us today to schedule a free consultation and get on the road to a healthier head of hair and confident you!