Bleach is the most harmful thing you can do to your hair. Bleached hair is already damaged or prone to damage. It’s fragile, exposed and weak.
Ironing means exposing your hair to extreme temperatures of heat which can make hair dry, prone to split ends and frizz and breakage.
Now the question is…..
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Can you flat iron bleached hair?
If you have bleached your hair very recently, it’s not recommended to flat iron it now. Better if you wait for at least 7 to 10 days before using flat iron on it.
Meanwhile you should prep your hair with deep conditioning, oiling and always use a heat protectant before using the flat iron.
This period of pampering will restore all lost moisture from the hair, close the cuticles and lessen frizz and split ends which could have worsened with heat styling.
How long should you wait to put heat on your hair after bleaching?
Truly speaking, it would be best to leave your hair to rest for as long as possible after bleaching it. And if you want the exact number of days, I would say wait for at least 10 days before putting heat tools on your hair.
But don’t just sit and wait for those 10 days thinking your hair will regain its natural state all alone. For that, you need to put in a lot of effort.
As I have mentioned before, take this time to moisturise your hair with a conditioning mask, apply hot oil like coconut oil, jojoba oil that will help to restore the moisture back to the hair and seal the hair cuticles so that no further damage is caused to the hair.
What happens if you flat iron bleached hair?/why should you not flat iron bleached hair?
Bleached hair is already dry and damaged because it’s been treated with the most harsh chemical in order to make the hair blonde. And you are not far from knowing that blonde hair is extremely dry and frizzy (when you colour it blonde and do not possess natural blonde hair).
Bleaching your hair takes away all melanin (pigment that gives colour to the hair), eumelanin (pigment that makes hair black or brown) and pheomelanin (pigment that makes hair red in colour).
Also, along with the pigment, bleaching also washes away all keratin coating from the hair that protects and locks in all moisture in the hair and gives shine to the hair.
Heating tools pretty much do the same job except washing off the colour from the hair. Using flat iron or curling iron exposes the hair to high heat which tends to dry out the hair follicles which then becomes fragile and breaks out easily.
So, you can imagine what a combination of bleach and heating tools can do to your hair! It will strip off all moisture from the hair, making it dull, lifeless, prone to breakage and thinning of hair.
Precautions to be taken while using flat iron on bleached hair
While using flat iron on recently bleached hair is not recommended at all. Yet, if you urge to do so, you should take the following precautions in order to prevent extreme damage to your hair and save it from ruining completely:
• Do not use heat on the temperature setting of the flat iron more than 180°C
• Swipe the flat iron down thin sections of your hair only once
• Do not swipe the strands repeatedly. This will make the hair even dry and eventually break off the hair
• Use only ceramic coated flat iron, better if they have kerashine coating as well. Ceramic coated flat irons distribute heat evenly and the kerashine coated ones help to maintain the mositure and shine of the hair
• Use a serum as the first step before using flat iron on bleached hair
• In the second step, use a heat protectant serum or spray to minimise damage caused to the hair from heat from the flat iron
• After you have completed straightening your hair with the flat iron, apply a gloss to restore shine to the hair
See you soon!
You better know the condition of your hair. So, I would suggest you to understand the present state of your hair after bleaching, take care of it and then use flat iron on it judiciously.
All in all, using flat iron on bleached hair before a week is not advisable at all. Use flat iron only once a week for the first one month of bleaching your hair. And again and again I would repeat, deep conditioning is the key to restore the moistursed balance to bleached hair.
Hope you enjoyed reading with me. Stay updated with me for hair care, skin care and fashion tips!
Till then……
Keep it simple, keep it fashionable!
