The Benefits and Uses of Heat Protection Spray

Heat protectant is a staple in many people’s hair arsenal, but if you haven’t invested in one yet you might be asking yourself why and when to use one. Read on to get answers to all your questions about heat protection, from how they work and why to use them to how to pick the right one. 

Does Heat Styling Damage Hair?

A lot of us use heat styling tools as part of our regular routine with our hair, whether that’s curling or straightening with curling irons and straighteners or blow drying our hair after every time we’ve washed it. These tools can reach temperatures between 90 and 170 degrees Celsius, and we often have them resting on our hair for at least a few seconds while styling, which can cause a lot of damage to our hair. Any temperature over 130 degrees is dangerous to our hair. Heat dries out your hair, breaks down the keratin proteins and damages the cuticles. This leads to dry and damaged hair, including things like changed color pigments, reduced strength and elasticity, hair breakage, split ends and frayed hair. This only gets worse if you use heat-styling tools frequently and trying to undo this damage can be impossible if it gets bad enough. 

What is Heat Protection?

To prevent heat damage in the first place, you need to use a good heat protection product. These are leave-in products that come in different shapes, including creams, sprays and oil formulas. Heat protection products are designed to prevent heat damage and should always be used before you use heat styling tools on your hair. Heat protection also protects your hair from the harm that can be caused by the sun’s UV rays. 

How Does It Work?

So how does heat protectant work and why? Heat protectants contain ingredients that form a thin film on the surface of the hair, which acts as a protective barrier that contributes to a more even distribution of heat and slows down heat conduction. Your hair heats up more gradually instead of being shocked by the heat. These products also add moisture, preventing your hair from drying out, and preventing moisture loss by smoothing and sealing the hair cuticles. These qualities of heat protection products mean that they come with several benefits.

Benefits of Using a Heat Protectant

There are plenty of different reasons why a heat protectant should be used when styling your hair. they not only protect from heat damage but also help you maintain your hair’s healthy condition in other ways. The benefits of heat protectants include the following:

• They restore moisture and keep your hair moisturized and smooth
• They maintain the health and overall condition of your hair by preventing the loss of moisture
• They prevent heat damage
• They reduce frizz and make your hair less porous
• They condition your hair
• They lubricate the hair and make it easier to detangle

What to Look for In a Heat Protectant

Using heat protectants now seems like the obvious answer. Knowing how helpful they are, of course you’re going to want to use one. But with so many different options on the market, it can be hard to choose one. Not all heat protectants are made the same. Picking the wrong product will lead you to not reap any of the benefits you want from your heat protectant, and you’ll also be wasting your money. So what should you look for in a product to ensure it’s reliable and actually helps your hair? 

Good heat protectants should include silicones, most commonly Cyclomethicone and dimethicone, which help your hair from becoming frizzy. If you have oily hair, you should keep an eye out for products with minimal silicones to prevent your hair from becoming too greasy. Other ingredients that should be present include hydrolyzed wheat protein, which conditions hair and replaces the natural protein in your hair, PVP/DMAPA Acrylates Copolymer, which protects and detangles hair, Argan oil, coconut oil, apricot oil, beetroot extract, aquaxyl and DayMoist CLR. The best high-end products can also contain Quaternary 70. 

Other Things to Use

Heat protectants are best used in combination with some other tools that help you make the most of your protectant and help it protect your hair. Styling products like dry shampoo and texturing spray can help you add texture and volume and achieve the style you’re going for. Using the right heat tools is also helpful, as some cause more damage than others. Look for tools with ceramic or tourmaline plates. These can reduce hair damage even more than your heat protection products can do on their own. Add your products to damp hair and wait to start styling with heat tools until your hair is dry to get the best possible results, as wet hair is brittle and more easily damaged by heat.