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The Best Heat Protectant For Curly Hair
Photo: DryBar
We like the Dry Bar's line up of hair products that protect your hair during heat styling including their their Mudslide Nourishing Mask, Velvet Hammer Hydrating Control Cream and 100 Proof Treatment Oil. You can use them alone or before any blowout.

My stylist told me that I should be using a heat protectant to flat iron my natural hair but didn’t tell me which one. How do I use heat protectants and which one do you recommend?

Your stylist is right. heat protectants are just as their name implies – protectants from heat. If you are using any heat styling tools on your hair, including blow dryers, then you should also be using heat protectants to prevent heat damage.

HOW TO PROPERLY USE HEAT PROTECTANTS


To get your best blow out and or flat ironed hair, after washing and adding your leave-in, to prep your hair for your blow out, add your heat protectant, being sure to get it evenly coated. You can add it to your hair all over at once or add it section by section to be sure that you apply enough (which is recommended).

Here’s a tip: Part your hair into four equal sections and then take a section and half it and apply heat protectant to one half – coating it well and then blow dry and repeat these steps until your entire head is done. When you start to straighten your hair using your flat iron, pull out a one inch section, spray it again with heat protectant and then pass the flat iron over it. Doing it this way can also help you to avoid heat damage. However, you should play around to see what your hair likes.

WHEN TO USE HEAT PROTECTANTS


We suggest that you use a heat protectant twice in the straightening process – during the blowout and the press. Because most heat protectants are light and airy whether they are a cream or a spray, it’s a bit difficult to use too much.

We don’t have one specific heat protectant for curly hair that we like the best since there are so many options available. Some good heat protectants that we like are Wella Thermal Image Heat Protection Spray, Tony & Guy Heat Protection Mist, Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Heat Protect Spray, Krastase Elixir Ultime Olo-Complexe, Kerastase Nutritive Nectar Thermique, Silk Elements Mega Silk Heat Protection Creme, Pantene Pro-V Stylers Heat Protection Spray, Nexxus Pro Mend Heat Protection Styling Spray and Carol’s Daughter Chocolat Smoothing Blow Dry Cream.

Lastly, think of heat protecting your hair as more than a spray. Instead, it’s more of a layered approach. Using the best products on your hair will give you a better advantage at keeping your hair in tact. Think deep conditioning masks, oils and finishing products that can keep your hair straight so that you don’t have to keep reapplying heat. We love Dry Bar’s line up for heat styling that takes this approach. Their Mudslide Nourishing Mask, Velvet Hammer Hydrating Control Cream and 100 Proof Treatment Oil is a great example of this.

To avoid that burnt hair smell when you blow dry or flat iron your hair and for tips on how to properly blow out and flat iron your hair using the best heat protectant for your hair texture and how to avoid heat damage, be sure to read Why Does My Hair Smell Burnt After I Blow Dry Or Flat Iron It? and How To Properly Blow Dry Your Hair.

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