Which is more damaging? Blow dryer or straightener?

[VHunter]

Ok, if you look at my avatar, I have very long and THICK hair. It's actually longer now, than in that picture.

Anyway...
If I wash, towel dry and blow dry (straight with barrel brush) right away, it takes me 45min.

Most days I let it air dry as I don't have time for the fuss.

But when I want to go out, I like it 'straight', and not slightly fuzzy (like seen in my pics of me wearing my wedding dress in my blog, with wash and go hair).
It has a natural 'wave' (not curl) but slightly fuzzy. My hair is fine, not coarse.

OK
having said all of that.

Question is:
Is it better to blow dry every 3 or 4 days for 45 min
OR
Let air dry, and use straightening iron? (which in all honesty, I don't find does as nice a job as the blow dryer with barrel brush)

Which is less damaging, do you think?

(keeping in mind, my hair is dyed)

Thanks in advance!:hug:

 

[Bagpuss]

*UNPROFESSIONAL ADVISE*

I am sure i read that irons are worse than blow drying cos with blow drying the hair is blown about in the heat and not held between 2 high temp plates.

 

[tracey louise]

im not a hair geek so this is only what my hairdresser told me
my fringe got singed by a young girl so after that happened i had really bad trouble trying to get my fringe flat (i use ghd) anyway i obviuosly told my hairdresser and i thought by blow drying it instead of straightening it i wasnt being to harsh to it heat damage wise but when i said that to my hairdresser she said 'i dont know why people think blowdrying is less damage than straightening she said' because its no different, heat is heat no matter what electrical hair appliance your using'. which i thought made sense when she said it.jmo though.xx

 

[Jeni Giles]

*LOOK OUT- PROFFESSIONAL ADVICE-*lol

Blow drying if done correctly, blowing down the strand from root to tip, with the dryer in constant motion (downward, not side to side), using a boar or natural bristle brush causes less damage than a flat iron.

Keep in mind you should be using a thermal protecting cream specifically meant for blowdrying (I like the Tex line from L'Oreal, but ask your professional since I'm not sure what's available in your area) Towel dry the hair well first, gently squeeze but do not ruffle, then begin blowdrying. A shine drop or hair gloss will aid with the frizzies (don't use too much, and begin at the ends where the hair is more damaged- from daily exposure, not that you don't take care of your hair)

A flat iron can be used occasionally, for a touch up or if you are after a special effect, but all in all, with your length ARE YOU NUTS?? lol- way, too much time and exposure to high heat. At least with a blow dryer you are smoothing the cuticle layer shut, a flat iron if used incorrectly can cause permanent frizz.

Ok- professional spiel over!

 

[minky]

Hello Victoria , I would agree with Bagpuss and say that the Irons can cause more damage than a blow dryer ,

but you would have to use the irons excessively to cause a lot of damage ,

by excessive I mean ; using Irons every day with no trims for 6 months,
by this time the ends would be turning brittle breaking off and thinning out .

Even if the eye cannot see all this damage ,
under the microscope it will be a different story,
a lot of the protective cuticle would be missing and the hair would be splitting a lot.

So you're hair would be absolutely ok Victoria, :hug:
as you are looking after your hair very well by not using the irons every single day.

If anyone does use the irons every day then I would recommend to try and cut down and use the blow dryer instead on alternate days , also use a hot Iron spray to minimize the damage,

also do have lots of regular conditioning treatments and get regular trims to keep the splits at bay.

After ironing or drying your hair it may be good to spray a small burst of shine mist into the air and then walk through it ,
this will help keep out any moisture and will help your style last longer ,
you can also use serum .:hug:

Also try and use the irons at a lower temperature especially if if you are just topping up through out the day .

 

[minky]

Hi Jeni, you must have just beaten me to it lol ,
great advise too Jeni, totally agree about the length thing , :hug:

 

[Jeni Giles]

Hi Jeni, you must have just beaten me to it lol ,
great advise too Jeni, totally agree about the length thing , :hug:

What can I say? Great minds think alike....can I borrow yours? Mine seems to have gone missing!

 

[Rebekah]

they both can damage your hair i would suggest you buy some heat protection serum, Paul Mitchell and Redken is both good i have worked with both of these and have had great results.

Paul M's heat serum is about £11 from hair salons but soes the job and stops ur hair from being fuzzy, your hair will feel really soft when you use a heat serum

hope this helps you out

Rebekah

 

[VHunter]

*LOOK OUT- PROFFESSIONAL ADVICE-*lol

Blow drying if done correctly, blowing down the strand from root to tip, with the dryer in constant motion (downward, not side to side), using a boar or natural bristle brush causes less damage than a flat iron.

Keep in mind you should be using a thermal protecting cream specifically meant for blowdrying (I like the Tex line from L'Oreal, but ask your professional since I'm not sure what's available in your area) Towel dry the hair well first, gently squeeze but do not ruffle, then begin blowdrying. A shine drop or hair gloss will aid with the frizzies (don't use too much, and begin at the ends where the hair is more damaged- from daily exposure, not that you don't take care of your hair)

A flat iron can be used occasionally, for a touch up or if you are after a special effect, but all in all, with your length ARE YOU NUTS?? lol- way, too much time and exposure to high heat. At least with a blow dryer you are smoothing the cuticle layer shut, a flat iron if used incorrectly can cause permanent frizz.

Ok- professional spiel over!

That's pretty much what I thought, BUT thought I would ask just in case.
When I was a hairdresser (a VERY long time ago), flat irons/straightening irons weren't really the thing... so I don't know much about them. We usually just used curling tongs to straighten hair or did it with a dryer and a barrel brush.

I always try to pamper my hair as best as I can, with regular treatments. I do use anti-friz serum (and I learned my lesson the first time I used it LOL). I avoid blowing it as much as I can, but I'm not a fan of my personal wash-n-wear look as it's a funny wave that tends to frizz at the ends.

It's just that it's gotten quite long (past my mid-back) and for the heck of it, I'd like to see how much longer I can get it. BUT not at the risk of running around with frizzy damaged hair. Long damaged hair looks CRAP! Better shorter healthier hair.

I'm not so good at getting trims as time is hard to come by BUT at least I've finally found a hairdresser I can trust in my neck of the woods (after 5yrs of getting butchered).

Thanks everyone, for your input!!
:hug::hug::hug:

 

[mila007]

well I think the least damaging is the hair dryer, because you can use it in a low temperature, I use the Karmin Salon Pro Professional Hair Dryer which is the best one I've tried, it dries my hair really fast and keeps it soft, shiny and with volume. It works amazing, I love it!! :wink2:

 

[lea2721]

well i never ever straighten my hair i just dont see the point and cant be bothered with it .. i blow dry 3 times a week and follow all thrm steps mentioned above and my hair is really strong and smooth, my friend who straightens 4 times a week is dry and does not look nice untill she straigtens it now... and also i use to straigtrn mine loads like 5 years ago .. i stopped 4 years ago and found my hair to grow a lil quicker

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