Can Heat Damage Actually Be Repaired? : The Surprising Truth and Advice You Need

There’s something so special about natural hair. Waves, curls, kinks, and coils make our hair unique and beautiful.

black woman flipping her heat damage free natural hair afro

Many women with natural hair get occasional silk presses when they want to wear their hair straight. However, if the blow dryer or flat iron was too hot, or used too often, heat damage can occur.

When heat damage happens, the structure of the hair strand is permanently compromised.

This can leave the hair feeling dry and brittle, and cause drastic changes to your curl pattern.

If you’ve ever washed your hair after a silk press, and saw strands of hair that remained straight and didn’t revert back to their curly state, you may have experienced heat damage.

In this article I’ll answer the question, “Can heat damage actually be repaired?”, and share 3 things you should do if your hair is heat damaged.

Is There a Way to Repair Heat Damage?

The short answer is no. If your hair is fried from heat damage, there are ways to mask the symptoms, but the only way to completely get rid of the damage is to cut your hair.

What To Do If You Don’t Want to Cut Your Hair

If your hair is heat damaged but you’re not ready to cut it, visiting the stylist for a professional trim is a good starting point.

There are also ways to smooth the hair cuticle, restore moisture, and reinforce the hair strand. This will improve the feel and appearance of your hair, but may not completely restore your curl pattern.

Here are some things you can do:

#1) Make It Stronger

Our hair is made of proteins and chemical bonds. When you damage your hair with the improper or overuse of heat, these bonds are broken.

You can try a bond repairing treatment or a protein treatment to help fill in the gaps and strengthen your hair. This may help your curls appear more defined and less damaged.

#2) Make it Softer

If your hair is heat damaged, it may appear dry and fried. You can help improve this by giving your hair deep conditioning and hot oil treatments.

You may also want to use the LCO method to seal in moisture and help your hair appear softer.

#3) Fake It Until You Make It

If you’ve decided to put the heat tools down and rock your natural curls, but you have too many heat damaged straight ends sticking out, there is a temporary solution to this.

You can make these heat damaged ends look curly and blend with the rest of your hair by using flexi rods, perm rods, or doing twist outs and braid outs. This will have your curls popping even if your hair is heat damaged.

There is Still Hope for Heat Damaged Hair

Although it is impossible to completely reverse heat damage, there is still hope for your heat damaged hair.

You can nurture and care for your hair to help it look its best until your hair grows out and you are ready to chop off the damaged ends.

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Brandelyn Green

Brandelyn Green is the Founder of VoiceOfHair, a platform to help women of color find the best hair care products, regimens and hairstyles! Since starting VoiceOfHair in 2014 she has grown the social media platform to over 1MM+ on Instagram and Facebook. As a natural who is also a salon goer, she wanted to create a platform where people could find the best products, hairstylists, advice and trends.