It’s easier than ever to go from curly to straight and back again with the arsenal of beauty tools available. Most of these tools, however, work by heat styling hair, which can be extremely damaging to your strands so it is important to protect yourself. 

When you apply heat to your hair, whether it’s a blow dryer, straightener or curling iron, you damage the protective covering of hair and stress the cuticle. Once the strand is weakened, it is more prone to breakage and frizz. Along with creating a rough and dry texture, this damage can also cause your color to fade, affect your natural texture and cause split ends. 

If you can’t give up your tools but want to protect your hair, look for tools that are designed to reduce damage. When you are blow drying your hair, use a tool that features warm and cool settings and avoid drying your hair on high heat as much as possible. T3 Featherweight Luxe 2i Professional Hair Dryer features three heat settings to minimize damage. 

A ceramic styling tool such as T3 Single Pass 1’’ Straightening & Styling Iron allows for even heat distribution to reduce the risk of over-heating hair. This tool also seals in moisture to prevent frizz and dryness. 

Before you do any heat styling, always apply a heat protectant to damp hair. A product like PHYTO Phytokeratine Repairing Thermal Protectant Spray are both heat protectants and heat activators. The formula helps rebuild damaged hair and contains thermo-activated ingredients that seal the cuticle to prevent fraying and breakage. 

Strands that are regularly heat styled need a deep treatment mask as least once a week. Fekkai PrX Reparatives Intense Fortifying Masque restores a smooth texture as well as shine to dry and damaged locks. 

How do you keep your heat-styled hair healthy?