If you’ve been in the natural community for a while, you’ve probably heard that heat should be avoided at all costs. This is actually true for some naturals; if your hair is very fine, if it is bleached or colored with something other than henna or if it is very damaged, you should avoid heat on your hair.

If you don’t fall into one of those three categories, here are some ways you might consider using heat.

Post-Wash

Blow drying your hair after a wash can reduce the formation of tangles and knots. You’re likely to be familiar with single-strand knots if your hair is dense and shrinks like crazy. While blow drying, you can use a comb attachment to further detangle your hair and then continue styling your hair as normal.

Pre-Wash

You can also use your blow dryer to detangle your hair before you wash, which makes detangling while washing your hair much less of a hassle. The less tangles you have, the less breakage you have and the more length you’ll retain.

Deep Conditioning

Heat can be useful for deep conditioning. Simply apply the conditioner to your hair, put a shower cap on and then sit under a hooded dryer set to low. You could also use a blow dryer set to “Low” or even the steam from your shower for a more gentle method.

Indirect Heat via the Hooded Dryer

You can also use heat in an indirect way by sitting under a hooded dryer. This is a great way to style and stretch your hair. You can use a roller set after washing and apply rollers in your hair in sections. The larger the rollers, the more stretched your hair will be.

Here are a few more tips for those who choose to use heat:

• Wash your hair with a gentle, moisturizing shampoo.When using heat, it is really important to maintain moisturized strands, especially during washing when hair can really get dried out. Use of a gentle shampoo will retain your moisture.
• Deep condition with a moisturizing protein conditioner.Following up your heat routine with a deep protein conditioner is essential to reinforcing the hair shaft. This will make your hair stronger and less prone to breakage.
• Don’t use high heat or heat too often.Alternate between your heat-styling routine and no-heat styles and don’t go past the “Low” setting. It’s difficult to give an exact number with regards to how often you should use heat, so just keep in mind that the less you use heat, the better. Some naturals use heat only once per month.