by Michelle Thames of HappilyEverNatural.com
The phrase, 'heat damage' is a something that we all fear in the Natural Hair community! I recently interviewed natural hair vlogger Elle at
Curls Unbothered about her experiences with Heat Damage.
1. How long have you dealt with heat damage?
I went “natural” in 2010, my sophomore year of college which for me meant removing all heated appliances from my regimen. I grew tired of having to straighten my edges and roots everyday because I was sweating every time I stepped outside. From 2010 to 2012, I did not let a single morsel of direct heat touch my hair. NO blowdryers, flat irons, curl irons/wands NOTHING! I decided in October 2012 for my first alumni homecoming appearance (HU!) I would straighten my hair, and that was the beginning of the end. I wish I had taken pictures of my hair back then, it grew from shoulder length to mid back length! I was completely amazed and quite frankly feeling myself to the highest degree. I got so many compliments on my hair (its health and growth) that I decided to keep it straight for “a little while longer.” Well, that little while turned into a full year in which I straightened my hair once a week which included:
- Blow-drying on the HIGHEST heat setting my CHI blowdryer could achieve
- Flat ironing on 450 degrees sans heat protectant or deep conditioning
During that year of straight hair I didn’t experience any breakage and my hair continued to grow but my curls slowly diminished. I washed my hair one day and thought to myself “I’m tired of straight hair I’m going back curly,” only to realize I had no curls left. Thus, my heat damage journey was born!