First, What ARE Heat Protectants? Heat protectants add a protective barrier between your styling tool and your hair, sealing in moisture and fending off frizz. They often contain key moisturizing ingredients, like natural oils and fatty acids, but it's the usually the silicones and polymers that provide the barrier.
Coconut Oil and Aloe Vera Gel: Mix melted coconut oil with aloe vera gel for a lightweight yet protective heat protectant. Aloe vera soothes and forms a protective barrier, while coconut oil moisturises. Shea Butter, Argan Oil, and Honey: Blend shea butter with argan oil and a small amount of honey.
Argan oil, avocado oil, and refined coconut oil, all seem to be popular choices with good feedback from people who have used them as heat protectants.
Ingredients vary, but most heat protectants work much the same way: by deploying ingredients like copolymers or silicone that coat the hair shaft to slow (though not totally stop) heat conduction. Many heat protectants also include moisturizers to help seal and smooth the cuticle to reduce frizz.
While it's tempting to grab whatever oil you have on hand, it's important to realize that only certain oils will serve as a natural heat protectant for hair before straightening, curling, or blow-drying. Choosing an oil that has a high smoke point of at least 350 degrees or higher is crucial.
Argan oil has been the go-to natural heat protectant for years. This lightweight oil can protect hair against high heat. Plus, it leaves you with a smooth style and shiny finish.
Yes, some leave-in conditioners contain ingredients that offer heat protection, but it's always best to check the product label to ensure it provides adequate protection against heat styling.
Hair styling using high heat can cause irreversible damage, but it doesn't have to. Heat protectants are an essential product for natural hair styling to protect, moisturize, & smooth whether you have thick hair or fine hair.
Straightening unprotected hair daily is one of the quickest routes to serious damage. Each time you apply direct heat without protection, you're essentially cooking your hair, stripping away its natural moisture and weakening its internal bonds.
One of the many benefits of using hair serum is its ability to prevent damage. Heat styling tools can reach temperatures that are high enough to weaken hair strands, leading to breakage, split ends, and overall dryness. A good hair serum forms a protective layer that reduces the risk of heat damage.
One of the greatest benefits of olive oil for the hair is that it protects your locks from heat damage. It also provides nourishment, leaving your hair looking lustrous even when styled with heat tools. However, you should remember the smoking point of the type of olive oil you're using to avoid damaging your hair.
There IS a substitute for heat protectant spray and that is grapeseed oil. Look it up, it works wonders as long as you do not use too much and also mix it with a silicone to aid in the heat iron slipping over your hair quickly.
Instead of a packaged heat protectant hair product, you can use natural items found in your kitchen instead including avocado oil, sunflower oil, and coconut oil.
While a leave-in conditioner can provide some protection, it may not offer the same level of protection as a dedicated heat protectant. Leave-in conditioner isn't formulated to withstand high temperatures, which means it may be unable to protect the hair against the full extent of heat damage caused by styling tools.
- Almond Oil
Many of you may already use almond oil as a part of your hair care regime. There are many uses of almond oil, one such being that of a heat protectant. Having a smoke point of 255 Degree Celsius, almond oil can surely keep our hair protected from heat styling tools.
Heat protectants add a protective barrier between your styling tool and your hair, sealing in moisture and fending off frizz. They often contain key moisturizing ingredients, like natural oils and fatty acids, but it's the usually the silicones and polymers that provide the barrier.
Quality heat protectants contain ingredients like humectants (like panthenol and propylene glycol), which preserves moisture and blocks frizz; amino acids (like keratin), to strengthen hair and provide antioxidants; and natural oils and extracts (like aloe), which protect and seal the hair's cuticle.
Apply to wet or dry hair before blow drying or leaving hair to dry naturally. You can (should!) also use on dry hair before heat styling (curling, straightening) for thermal protection and soft, shiny results.