Why Is It Important to Use a Heat Protection Spray?
Straightening irons, curling irons, blow dryers — they are great tools that have become a permanent fixture in our daily hair regimen. Whether you are blowing out your tresses for maximum volume or straightening for a smooth style, there is a hot appliance for any look.
Yet if used incorrectly or too often, thermal styling tools can leave your locks feeling brittle and broken. They can also alter your hair structure permanently. Once heat damage happens, you can cut it and regrow it or disguise it using various styling techniques, but unfortunately, you can't reverse it.
Thankfully, there are sprays you can use to protect your strands, so you don't have to avoid your favorite styling tools altogether. Heat protectant spray has been available for several years, allowing you to coat and protect your hair against heat damage. They help you maintain hair health by sealing in moisture to your cuticles, protecting them from frizz and breakage.
Continue reading to learn more reasons why it is important to use a heat protection spray.
What Is Heat Protection Spray?
Do you know how sunscreen works as a barrier between your skin and the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays? Heat protection spray is sort of like sunscreen for your hair.
With overuse, high-heat tools can create severe issues for your aging hair. To get a picture of why this happens, you should understand the structure of your hair.
Every strand of hair has three layers:
- The medulla — This soft, practically invisible layer is the hair shaft’s central column and is made of keratin.
- The cortex — This layer makes up more than three-quarters of your hair’s volume. It determines the color, tensile strength, and texture of your hair. It is made of water molecules and microscopic keratin fibers.
- The hair cuticle — This thin outermost layer of your hair consists of transparent overlapping cells that allow the color to show through.
Beauty experts say that using heat on your hair evaporates the water molecules from your hair’s inner layers, changing your strands' mechanical properties and internal structure.
Manipulating your hair's mechanical properties this way allows you to curl or straighten your locks, but it also gives you dry, frizzy hair. High temperatures can form ruptures and cracks in the cuticle, allowing for more damage down the line.
The silicones and natural oils found in heat protection products form a defensive shield over your cuticles, safeguarding your strands from the temperature of your hair tools. It is most often available as a spray but may also come in a cream or serum. With the right protection spray, you can decrease your odds of harming your hair after heat styling it.
When to Use Spray Protectants
After you wash your hair and use any heat appliances — that is the best time to use a heat protection spray. You should always use heat protectants, even if your hair is dry from aging or too much sulfate shampoo use.
- First, use Better Not Younger’s Second Chance Repairing Shampoo and Second Chance Repairing Conditioner for Dry and Damaged Hair to strengthen and nourish your hair from the inside out.
- Next, spritz Better Not Younger’s No Remorse Heat Protection & Taming Spray on your damp hair before using your high-temp tools. Hold it six to eight inches from your head and apply evenly.
- Apply in sections and comb through to make sure it is evenly distributed.
- Style your hair like you typically would.
You can also use No Remorse on dry hair to tame flyaways and frizz.
Use BNY’s No Remorse Heat Protection and Taming Spray
No Remorse Heat Protection and Taming Spray lightly coats your hair without leaving it feeling greasy and heavy. Each six-fluid ounce bottle of guilt-free protection contains sulfate- and paraben-free ingredients that are safe to use on keratin-, color-, and chemically-treated hair:
- Vitamin E —Vitamin E is a restorative antioxidant that protects your hair and scalp against oxidative stress. This includes harsh UV damage that can lead to brittle, dry, and discolored hair. Vitamin E helps improve hair quality by supporting scalp health, preserving your important lipid layer giving your locks a strong base to develop from.
- Argania Spinosa (Argan) oil — Many people refer to argan oil as “liquid gold” for its many uses. It improves scalp health, fends off coloring and styling damage, and its antioxidant properties protect your hair and skin from the sun’s UV and free radical damage. It is also rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and protects hair from heat damage.
- Avocado Oil — Avocado oil is loaded with healthy fats and offers sunscreen-like properties that safeguard your hair fibers from the sun’s harsh UVA and UVB rays. At 520 degrees, it has one of the highest smoke points of any food-based oil, allowing it to withstand searing flat iron temperatures, all while softening your hair.
- Amodimethicone — Amodimethicone protects your hair from thermal damage due to its extremely low thermal conductivity. Low conductivity minimizes heat transfer from the strand’s surface to the cortex, preventing the water molecules located there from being vaporized per your high-heat styling tools.
What Can I Do to Keep My Hair Healthy?
As all of us know, a fabulous-looking mane is essential at any age, but its underlying health is even more crucial. Here are tips for maintaining hydrated, healthy hair:
Avoid Using Heat Tools Every Day
As we have mentioned, using thermal styling tools too often can lead to brittleness and breakage. Reduce the frequency of heat styling your hair. Start with every two days and see if that helps.
Allow Your Hair Air Dry
Give yourself more time when getting ready, and allow your locks to air dry. Forgoing the blow dryer can do wonders in preserving the elasticity and condition of your hair. Even if you can’t let it air dry completely, attempt to let your hair air-dry partially before beginning a blowout.
Always Use No Remorse Heat Protection & Taming Spray
Can’t live without your high-heat tools? We at Better Not Younger completely understand. That’s why we created an unbeatable heat protection spray that lets you style away guilt-free.
Use No Remorse Heat Protection & Taming Spray every day to smooth tired hair and safeguard it from frizz, split ends, and breakage. Your sense of beauty and confidence get better each day. Shouldn’t your hair?
For more hair care solutions holistically designed for your aging hair, visit our Shop page.