The Benefits of Using a Heat Protectant

Heated styling tools have become a big part of modern-day life. Whether you blow dry your hair every couple of days or you can’t live without your curling wand, it’s so easy to become dependent on the professional finish that heated styling tools provide.

What is a Heat Protectant?

A heat protectant is a product that’s applied to the hair before any sort of heated styling tool is used. As you can tell from the name, its purpose is to protect against heat damage, although many heat protectants offer up additional benefits too. 

The Benefits of Using a Heat Protectant;

Of course, the main benefit that comes from using a heat protectant is preventing heat damage. By forming a barrier between your hair and the source of heat, a heat protectant cuts back on the level of direct heat that hits your strands. This benefits the hair in a few different ways:

Prevents Moisture Loss

Using heated styling tools increases the amount of moisture that your hair loses each day. However, coating your hair with a heat protectant first reduces this to a huge degree. Thanks to the extra layer created by the heat protectant, moisture won’t be able to evaporate away quite so quickly. In addition to improving moisture retention, many heat protectants are also infused with hydrating and moisturizing ingredients. These give the strands a moisture boost, leaving them looking silkier and glossier.

Leaves Hair Looking Smoother and Frizz-Free

Your hair cuticles lie on the outer layer of your hair. Each one overlaps, almost like shingles on a roof, giving your hair a smooth finish. However, heat damage causes these cuticles to crack, leaving the hair looking rough and frizzy. A heat protectant smooths over already-cracked cuticles to give them a sleeker appearance once again. It also helps to block heat from further damaging cuticles, therefore preventing your hair from looking even frizzier.

Makes Hair Feel More Manageable

If you’ve ever wished that your hair felt easier to manage and style, then a heat protectant is definitely worth trying. Thanks to how these products coat each strand of hair, they leave the hair feeling much more elastic, and therefore easier to work with. 

Helps to Preserve Hair Color

As we mentioned earlier, heat slowly strips away dyes. If you want your hair color to last for as long as possible, then using a heat protectant is a must. It will prevent the heat from coming into direct contact with your strands, and therefore the dye that coats them, which will help to preserve your color.

A little advanced planning is best when using a heat protectant. While you can go ahead and apply one to dry hair, they often work better when applied to wet locks. Wet or damp hair is much more efficient at absorbing hair care products, enabling your heat protectant to work on a deeper level, rather than simply on the surface. If you’ve decided to do some last-minute heat styling on dry hair that hasn’t had a heat protectant applied, then it’s still worth applying one now. However, you’ll need to wait for your hair to dry once again before you start heat styling – moisture in the hair doesn’t react well when heat is applied! Source