We’re going to be real. Hair straighteners can damage your hair, especially if it’s already dry or broken.
But this doesn’t mean you have to break down and ghost your straightener this very second.
Save yourself the heartbreak of withdrawal by following our tips on how to prevent hair damage from straightening.
Do hair straighteners damage your hair?
Hair straighteners can damage your hair if you don’t take important steps to protect your locks first.
Do you hear a sizzle? If this is a common noise when straightening your hair, it means your hair is too wet.
Straightening wet hair causes the moisture in your strands to boil and blister the hair’s cuticle (ouch!). This leads to damaged hair after straightening, which shows up as breakage and split ends.
Sometimes the damage isn’t super extreme or obvious like breakage. It can be more subtle like your hair looking dull, or frizz that slowly starts to get worse and worse.
High heat from a straightener can do that to hair because it dries out the hair’s cuticle.
If you start to notice and stay on top of it, your hair could be totally fine.
But if you notice, and kinda ignore it (cos who wants to give up their straightener, right?!), it could lead to damaging the inner layer of the hair, called the cortex, which means your hair will find it harder to cope with breakage, colouring, or heat styling in the future.