 Copyright MMXII, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
Heat damage refers to the gradual breakdown of the hair’s structure due to the use of high-heat styling tools. The hair strand is a structure that consists of a cuticle or coating and a cortex or internal structure. The use of high-heat styling tools gradually burns away the cuticle and eventually the internal structure itself. Once the cuticle is burned away, the internal structure is left exposed, porous and subject to further breakdown and splitting. What high-heat implements do is essentially evaporate away water and proteins in the hair’s structure. Hair is a fiber. Like other fibers, it is not immune to damage. Think of ironing fabric. Each and every time you put an iron to fabric it changes the texture and structure of the fabric – breaking it down. If the iron is too high or left in contact with the fabric too long, the fabric will burn. Can you remove that burn or make it go away somehow? No, you just have to toss the item. Well hair is the same way. Once the structure is compromised, there is no repairing, restructuring or recovering what’s lost. Symptoms of heat damage include weakened, see through strands that are brittle and extremely prone to breakage. Hair will be porous and thin (or thinning), and broken hairs will be apparent throughout the head. Ends are often split and splitting areas can be seen up the shaft.
The only remedy for heat damage is prevention. Sorry, but there is not a protein treatment, split end mender or reconstructer on earth that can grow back damaged cuticle and cortex. Avoid use of high-heat tools altogether. If you must use heat, use a silicone-based heat protectant and use a lower setting. Use blowdryers on the cool or cold setting. Switch to roller sets with an overhead dryer which is not damaging at all and can actually be therapeutic when used with nutritious oils and leave-ins. Avoid stretching hair with combs and brushes during flat ironing and blowdrying – this only adds insult to injury. Get flexirods, satin rollers, or pillow rollers and bone up on your overnight sets. For straight looks practice wrapping or cross-wrapping hair. Air dry as often as possible. Coconut, olive and ceramide-containing oils all adhere themselves to hair and help prevent excessive protein loss, so keep these in your daily arsenal.
 What are these kooky terms you might ask? Well, they might be your hair’s new BFF’s! Heat-free babes know these terms well, but if you are new to the game you just may not have heard of them. If you’re adding more damage-free styling to your long hair arsenal, these are techniques you definitely want to know about! Scrunching simply means gathering a handful of wet or damp hair at a time from the ends and scrunching upward until ringlets form. This can be done over the entire head. The more you scrunch the more ringlets you’ll get. I wore this style for years on end and can attest to its ease and healthiness for the hair. For hold and shine, scrunch with aloe vera gel mixed grapeseed oil. This is also a wonderful treat for your ends. Plopping or Plunking refers to dropping your wet hair down into a towel or t-shirt then securing that down. When this is done the hair will set into ringlets. Simply lay a towel or t-shirt on your bed then flip your wet hair over and lower it into the towel until your head is touching the towel. Gather the towel securely around your head and secure the end. Let your hair set this way for at least 20 minutes. Release and allow to air dry fully. YouTube has many videos with tutorials for these methods. I would recommend viewing some and boning up on your technique. Happy scrunching, plopping and plunking!
 Too hooked on heat to quit cold turkey? Here are some easy things you can do to ease yourself into a heat-free, healthy hair lifestyle. You can be heat-free in no time by simply adding one method per week to your repertoire.
★ Incorporate air drying. This step alone will save strands from the drying, damaging effects of blowdryers. Search YouTube for air drying videos to find a method that works for you.
★ Dial it down: turn down the setting on flat irons and other heat tools to the lowest possible temperature. Increase in increments to find a low setting that gives results.
★ Master the updo: cute updos make the perfect protective style. A sleek top knot or low side bun are elegant and sophisticated with no heat required.
★ Try therapeutic heat styling. Have good-for-you, low heat styling tools on hand so that you can create those last-minute cute styles with zero damage. Hot water rollers, Caruso Steam Hairsetter, Topstyler, Microwaves Heat Cap and overhead dryers are all wonderfully safe styling solutions that are therapeutic for hair when teamed with a nutritious oil or leave-in.
★ Master the wrap or cross wrap: if straight is your thing bone up on wrapping hair to preserve your straight style without heat. Saran wraps, wet wraps, silk wraps and cross wraps are all well-represented on YouTube.
★ Bone up on your overnight sets: Flexirods, rag rollers, sock rollers, pillow rollers and other creative sets can be slept in. You awaken with a head full of curls with no heat applied.
★ Make braidouts, twistouts and pincurls your new BFF's. These methods give styling versatility - from ringlets to beach waves - all without heat. Practice makes perfect so experiment with products and methods to perfect the set for you.
★ Get scrunchy! Scrunching, plopping and plunking enhance hair's natural tendency to curl so search out tutorials on these heatless styling wonders.
 Copyright MMXII, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
Porosity refers to how "open" the hair's cuticle is. Porous hair has extremely open cuticles and can therefore have great difficulty retaining moisture and nutrients. What flows in flows right back out. While some hair types have a natural leaning toward porosity, most porosity issues are a result of damage. Excessive heat use and chemical abuse are the top contenders when it comes to excessive porosity. These practices virtually eat away at the cuticle. Avoiding frequent heat styling and overuse of relaxers and dyes is your only line of defense in fighting porosity. Products aimed at reversing porosity are TEMPORARY fixes at best - they may lay the damaged cuticle down for a bit but do absolutely nothing to restore the cuticle's natural position or grow back missing areas. As soon as the product is washed away the porous areas are still there. One good preventative measure against porosity is using either olive or coconut oil to seal the hair. These oils are clinically proven to penetrate the hair strand and help halt protein loss. Aside from that, stay away from extreme heat tools, overlapped/overprocessed relaxers and permanent hair dye! You can test your hair's porosity by taking some shed hair and placing it into a glass of water. Wait 4-6 minutes. If the hair sinks, your hair is porous. If it floats at the top your hair has the proper density. If you do have excessive porosity, start treating all new growth with extreme protective TLC and gradually trim away the porous ends.
 Copyright MMXI, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
Let's face it. Many of you will never give up heat totally even though you know you should. You're going to keep using it despite the obvious setbacks it causes you. In these instances, my role is to teach you how to effectively cut your losses. For those of you who use heat, here is how you can do just that:
1. DEEP CONDITION - Never ever skip an appointment with the deep conditioner. Deep condition on schedule every week for no less that 90 minutes.
2. CERAMIDES - Ceramides are the "glue" of hair. They are found in abundance in many oils. They have been shown to help hault the protein loss caused by excessive heat use. See my article on CERAMIDES for specific oils to use.
3. SILICONE-BASED HEAT PROTECTANT - Heat protectants that have silicone as the main ingredient have been shown to provide a temporary buffer between heat tools and strands. This buffer is NOT foolproof and can also be burned away so don't think that using heat protectant is a green light for unbridled heat use. Also beware of buildup which can eventually block moisturization.
4. TURN IT DOWN - Never use a flat iron that doesn't have a temperature control. Start at the minimum temperature and go up in small increments.
5. MOISTURIZE AND SEAL DAILY - Moisturizer and sealant also provide a buffer and aid in maintaining flexibility - something heat-damaged hair lacks.
6. ADD PROTEIN - Heat damage is essentially the breakdown of the hair's natural proteins. While these proteins cannot be replaced they can be strengthened with regular treatments.
7. GREENHOUSE - Heat damage leads to dry, straw-like, inflexible hair. Heat users should throw on a plastic cap for 20 minutes a day after moisturizing and sealing. This is essentially steaming flexibility into the hair using the body's own heat.
8. DRINK WATER - Moisturization starts on the inside. Make sure your strands are adequately hydrated from "birth" by drinking plenty of water since super-heated tools can burn away much of the moisture at the hair's core.
9. GIVE IT A BREAK - Never schedule back-to-back sessions with your flat iron. Give your hair a break from the trauma.
10. PRACTICE PROTECTIVE STYLING OFTEN - ends should be moisturized and sealed and tucked away for TLC and protection during times when you are not heat styling.
 Copyright MMXI, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
If you are dealing with heat damage there is only one route to go: STOP USING HEAT. Researchers have shown without a doubt that flat irons and other superheated tools boil away the internal moisturization and structure of the hair's cortex. It just goes up in smoke. Many women write to me asking what they can do to reverse this problem. Let me be clear: heat damaged cuticle and cortex CANNOT be repaired, reversed or replaced. The hair that emerges from each follicle is dead. It cannot do anything to regenerate itself or fill itself back in. There is no product known to mankind that can permanently repair damaged hair. That's why it's important to treat the hair you do have with strict TLC. Once you have crossed the damage threshold there is no going back. If you are relaxed, the internal structure of your strands have already been chemically broken down so adding heat damage on top of that is adding insult to injury. Once this internal structure is boiled away or hollowed at any point along the strand, the hair is subject to splitting and breakage. Moisturizers and deep conditioners are preventative. They do exactly nothing to regenerate heat damaged hair. Heat protectants have been shown to be of some help but please note that they must be silicone-based to do any good and are absolutely not a guarantee against heat damage. A 400 degree metal plate can eventually burn through just about anything. Heat-free hair is the opposite of heat damaged hair. It is moist, shiny and manageable. We have to have the patience to allow our hair to achieve that state so put down the heat tools and bone up on your heat-free skills!
 Copyright MMXI, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
Believe me, I know that many of you chicas are taxed for time and in a pinch have to reach for that flat iron or curling iron. I know for some of you there is just no way around it. What I am finding more and more in my research is that technology has availed us of some heat styling inventions that are both fast and relatively safe for hair. If you are serious about your hair journey you should think about having one or more of these tools on hand for either regular use or those occasional emergencies. The tools I list incorporate therapeutic or safe heat levels that when teamed with a nourishing leave-in and oil can actually be beneficial for hair. Low level heat or steam actually raises the cuticle and forces nutrients deep into the shaft so while you are styling with therapeutic heat you are also doing your hair a favor! Remember NEVER use heat of any kind on your hair without a silicone-based heat protectant. Here is a list of tools that offer quick styling options at safe heat levels:
★Caruso Ion Steam Hairsetter - Therapeutic steam rollers.
★TopStyler by InStyler - "C-shells" provide ambient indirect heat to set finger curls.
★Trademark Home Hot Water Curlers - Gel-filled rollers are heated to a safe level with hot water.
★Minute Curls Steam & Style Cap - Microwave styling cap provides indirect heat for fast roller sets or pin curls. Can do double duty for deep conditioning!
 Copyright MMXI, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved
If there was one thing I could implore ladies who want longer tresses to do it would be to ditch the straight obsession! I guarantee you that a survey of women who are BSL or longer would reveal that they had to dump the pin straight obsession in order to achieve that length. Many of you ladies don't even realize that your flat ironed strands actually look thin, anemic and see-through. Not a good look. Allowing the hair to have some texture gives body and fullness. Ends can be bumped with rollers for a polished look. Strands that have been dessicated to death with blow dryers look hollow and fly-away. Having little broken hairs all over the head in the name of achieving "straight" is so over. It's time to embrace a little texture. As you withdraw from the methods of torture your strands will get healthier and healthier. At some point you will look at your hair in the mirror and ask yourself "why did I do that all those years when I could have had this?" I know there will be growing pains but I can assure you that healthy hair air dries are soft and beautiful. The more healthy practices you embrace the more you will see your length sticking around. Long hair also air dries straighter due to the added weight. So have patience in the mean time and vow to hold out for health versus pin straight. For those who insist on straight - you can achieve straight looks without heat! A simple cross wrap under a silk scarf on air dried hair produces straight locks. Magnetic rollers applied to dry hair for just an hour or two gives a straight look with bumped ends. Achieving the straight looks you want is just a matter of experimenting and getting creative. Although it won't be the same bone straight look that a flat iron gives it will have more body and overall health!
 Copyright MMXI, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved
In an attempt to avoid heat use many women turn to braids and weaves as protective styles. While this can be an effective way to protect the hair from heat, it can also be a very damaging practice if not done properly. There are many aspects of braids and weaves that can lead to hair loss. Pattern breakage, failure to cleanse and aerate the strands and the inability to access the hair to moisturize and seal are some of the main issues. However one issue stands out as a potential monster - leaving scores of women with large bald patches and missing hairlines. This beast is called traction alopecia and if not dealt with as soon as a problem is detected it can be irreversible. We've all seen images of Naomi Campbell's devastated hairline or Fergie's bald patches. Images like these remind us that traction alopecia is nothing to take lightly. Traction refers to the excessive pressure imposed upon the hair's follicle with the addition of heavy tracks and synthetic hair, or when tracks and extensions are secured too tight. This pressure causes the hair's bulb, the part of the hair's structure that actively grows hair cells, to be gradually ripped from the follicle prematurely. This can cause possible tearing of the follicle, permanently damaging it. Doing this over and over can cause the damage to be irreversible. The damaged follicle seals itself over and stops producing hair. Hence the disappearing hairlines and bald patches. If this is scaring you it should. Heavy braids attached to the baby hairs on your hairline is an absolute no-no. Women going in for braids and weaves must insist that their hairline be left out and the tracks and braids started further back. Pain, redness, itching and headaches are indications that tracks and braids are in too tight. Overly tight tracks and braids do not make your style last longer! They are just causing you potential balding in the future. Insist that any add-ins be done just slightly firmly and no huge wefts attached to a few fragile strands. If you are leaving the salon in pain that is your body telling you there is a problem. Turn right around and have the salon re-install them comfortably at their expense. Your failure to speak up leads salons to believe they can continue doing these practices even though they know it is wrong. Any good stylist should warn clients about these issues before even starting the install. If you find your hairline diminishing or bald patches showing up a daily massage of the area with a drop of castor oil can be helpful. However if the problem is chronic and the follicle has sealed itself over it's time to get your frequent buyer's card at the wig shop.
 Copyright MMXI, DE Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
Heard that one about ceramic, ions, tourmaline, etc. protecting your hair from heat damage? Well hear this: it's a lie. Scientists have categorically proven that no substance or coating can protect hair from 400 degree plates. Look at it this way: it's the heat that's doing the damage NOT the coating or lack thereof. While a smoother pass through the hair or even distribution of heat can definitely be the result of a specialized coating that coating does absolutely nothing to regulate whether or not your hair's cuticle is burned away by too-frequent heat use. 400 degrees is 400 degrees. It doesn't matter if it comes from a steel plate or an "ion infused" ceramic dohickey. Marketing ploys to make you feel safe about a heat tool include false claims about ions, tourmaline, ceramic, titanium, far infrared, nano technology and even oil or conditioner infused plates. Don't be fooled. None of these "technologies" are developed for any reason other than emptying your pockets. They do absolutely nothing to protect your hair from the damage that will occur if you use the iron on a regular basis. The only substances found to provide any protection at all from these super-heated tools is substances that form a physical barrier between the plate and your strands. These include products with silicones, shea butter, etc. Beware however. While there is some protection provided it is minimal at best and once burned away with too many passes or too high a setting that iron is hitting pure cuticle. Burning temperatures cause damage. You can put the iron on "low" but even that setting is eventually damaging to the hair's molecular structure. Those on a journey for maximum length retention are advised to think twice before buying into manufacturers' false claims.
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