Many people love to straighten their hair for date nights or even special occasions. From the blowout stage to the flat ironing, naturals try to make sure that their curls are straightened as safely as possible. Though gentle techniques and great products help, there is always a chance that you can experience heat damage despite your best efforts. That’s why heat protectants are so important. Now, choosing the right heat protectant for your 4c natural hair can be incredibly time consuming and difficult. In this article, we’ll break down the difference between formulas or foams and help you to choose the best protectant for you.
Our Top 7 Heat Protectant For 4c Natural Hair
(LIST GOES HERE)
What is a “Heat Protectant”?
Heat protectants are a type of hair product that you use to protect your hair from the harmful effects of heat. Though it can be necessary for certain styles and even routine hair management, your hair can suffer if it’s exposed to too much heat. If you use heat during your braiding, blow-drying, hot combing, or straightening process, then you need a heat protectant.
Heat protectants come in a variety of types, brands, and some are specifically made for 4C hair. Other heat protectants can double as a leave-in conditioner, hair moisturizers, and styling product.
Though heat protectants can vary in type, they also vary in price. If you’re concerned about whether or not you should spend the money to get one, I recommend purchasing it for the benefit of your hair.
How do Heat Protectants Work?
Now that you know what a heat protectant is, you may be curious as to how they work. Heat protects essentially work as a cover over your hair. It creates a very necessary barrier between the heat from your flat iron and your hair. Without that protection, your hair has a higher chance of experiencing various types of damage that are very hard to recover from.
If you’re looking to use a heat protectant, then we can start checking out the different types and ingredients for heat protectants.
Types of Heat Protectants
A major part of how to choose your heat protectant is knowing what type to use. Each kind has its own benefits and detriments, so make sure that you choose one that works with your routine, lifestyle, and personal preference.
- Sprays: Sprays are a great, beginner-friendly way to use heat protectants. Not only will they leave your hands clean, which makes gripping your styling tools easier, but you can control how much you want to apply without having to put it back in the bottle. As for practical use, they can protect your hair from the highest level of heat you can safely use on your hair (410oF ). These sprays can come in an aerosol form or they can be a squirt bottle.
- Creams: Cream heat protectants are great for those of you who like to use small portions like to add protectants on wash day, and are blow-drying often. Creams not only contribute additional moisture to your hair care routine, but they typically spread across your hair quite evenly too.
- Blow-Dry Lotions: Blow-dry lotions were specifically made for those of you who love your blowouts. If you need a heat protectant that’s light, creamy, and adds volume, then this would be the product for you.
- Prepping Formulas: Prepping formulas are usually a serum that you add to your hair before straightening. They’re even lighter than the lotions but don’t aid in moisture. They’re strictly preparing your hair for heat. This is great for those of you who straighten with salon-quality flat irons.
- Foams/Leave-in Conditioner: Foams and leave-in conditioners are great for ease and comfort. You can use these in the shower to help with absorption and then as soon as you get out, you can get straight to styling.
Good quality hair protectants use Cyclomethicone and/or dimethicone. Though there are water-based options, they don’t provide as strong of a barrier as Cyclomethicone and dimethicone. Make sure that you look for these two ingredients when heat protectant shopping.
Whatever heat protectant that you decide to use, make sure that you’re following the directions thoroughly.
Do I Have to Use a Heat Protectant?
Adding heat protection to your hair care routine will vastly improve your hair care routine. Adding heat to your hair without a heat protectant is like taking freshly baked cookies out of the oven with your hands. You can experience a lot of unnecessary damage that way. Here are a few risks to not getting a heat protectant:
- Damaged cuticles
- Thinner hair
- Weaker looking hair
- Damaged curls
- Excessive frizz
- Breakage
- Moisture retention issues
Another great reason to start adding heat protectants to your hair care routine is if you’re struggling with the following conditions:
- If you have colour-treated 4C hair (why?)
- If you use a straightener often
- If you already struggle with protein absorption
- If you have 4C hair that struggles with breakage
If you’ve decided to start shopping for a heat protectant, what do you need to look for?
What to Look for in a Heat Protectant?
To find the best heat protectant for 4C hair, it’s important to choose one with these types of characteristics:
- It’s lightweight
- Has natural oils
- It guards against the heat you often use
- The application process works well with your hair care routine
5 Tips for Using Heat Protectants
- Make sure your hair is thoroughly clean before applying a heat protectant
- Even with a heat protectant, make sure that your tools for straightening, hot-combing, or blow-drying are set to a low heat.
- It’s important to apply a small amount of heat protectant to your hair once per use.
- Make sure that you’re applying your heat protectant before you use heat.
- It’s best not to make your own heat protectant. Though there are many essential oils and cooking oils that help with frizz and heat management, they won’t have the same quality and chemical balance as salon approved version.