By Jacqueline Samaroo
Getting through your hairstyling routines sans blow dryer, wand and flat iron seems downright undoable. But no need to freak out about it, we got you!
Here are 6 awesome haircare tips for heat free styling success, plus a few of the benefits you’ll get from ditching the heat and embracing your natural hair.
Heat free Ways to Care for and Style Your Hair
- Minimize frizz by using a microfiber towel or a t-shirt to squeeze your hair dry after a wash. Avoid terrycloth towels and rubbing your hair against itself – both will lead to frizz.
- Help your hair look its heat free best by choosing the right hair products for your hair type – texture and structure. That includes shampoos, conditioners, hair oils, smoothing serums and hair masks.
- Use flexi rods to add curls to straight hair or to define curls in highly textured hair. The diameter of the rod will determine what your curls look like – narrow for tight curls and wider for looser curls.
- Make twists, knots, or plaits in slightly damp hair and leave it for at least an hour or even overnight. Shake it loose or use your fingers to style.
- To help straighten wavy or curly hair, use the largest rollers that will fit in your hair. Put them in while your hair is slightly damp and let them stay in until your hair dries.
- Make your own straightening mask. You can find plenty of recipes online which use just two or three all-natural ingredients. These healthy ingredients will promote hair growth as well!
Heat Free Haircare Benefits
Strong, dry heat weakens the hair shaft and can literally burn your hair off. Ouch! Going heat free won’t heal strands of pre-damaged hair, but it does have the following upsides:
- You’ll trim your ends more often– Heating tools smooth hair and hide split ends – but they are still there. Without heat, split ends are more visible and you will be more inclined to trim your ends every third month or so.
- Your hair will grow longer– The consistent breakage from excessive heat use results in stunted hair growth (your hair breaks as fast as it grows). No heat means you reduce the amount of breakage, giving your hair the chance to grow longer.
- You will have healthier scalp– Your scalp also benefits from heat damage prevention. Without heat, your scalp retains more of its natural moisture and is healthier, leading to improved hair growth.
- It’s good for the planet– Going heat free means you’ll be using less electricity. So, apart from heat damage prevention for your hair, you also get the joy of knowing you are doing something good for the environment!
Have you gone heat free? What benefits have you noticed?
