The Do's and Don'ts of Using Heat on Your Hair

Look, we get it. There's nothing quite like the feeling of walking out with perfectly styled hair, whether that's sleek and straight, big bouncy curls, or that effortless beachy wave thing everyone's always asking for. Heat tools make it happen fast. But here's what we see all the time at The Warehouse Salon: people frying their hair because nobody ever taught them how to use a flat iron properly.

Jennifer Lopez, our lead stylist (yes, that's really her name, and no, she doesn't get tired of the jokes), has been doing hair for over 20 years. She'll tell you straight up: "Heat isn't the problem. It's how you use it. Most people just don't know what they're doing, and their hair pays the price."

So let's fix that.

Actually Prep Your Hair (Please)

You wouldn't throw a steak on a dry pan, right? Same concept here.

Heat protectant isn't optional. It's the difference between hair that looks good for a day and hair that looks good six months from now. Spray it, work it through, don't skip it. We don't care how late you're running.

And for the love of all things holy, dry your hair first. Wet hair and heat tools? That's basically steam-cooking your strands. If you're in a massive hurry, at least blow dry on low first. Your hair will thank you.

Alaina Rice, one of our stylists, sees this constantly: "The clients who actually use heat protectant? Their hair stays healthier, grows longer, and honestly just looks better. It's not magic. It's just not skipping steps."

Stop Cranking It to Maximum

Your flat iron doesn't need to be at 450 degrees. Seriously. Unless you have extremely thick, coarse hair, you're just destroying it for no reason.

Fine hair? Keep it under 300. Medium texture? Somewhere between 300-350. Thick or coarse? Then yeah, you can go higher, but start lower and work up if you need to.

Also, and this is big, you can't heat style every single day and expect perfect hair. Even with all the right products and techniques, daily heat adds up. Give your hair a break. Throw it in a bun. Try a braid. Something.

Adi Wooley puts it this way: "Your hair is alive. You wouldn't sunburn yourself every day and expect your skin to be fine. Hair's the same deal."

Get Decent Tools

You don't need to spend $400, but that $15 flat iron from the drug store? It's cooking your hair unevenly and probably has hot spots that'll literally burn sections without you realizing it.

Ceramic or tourmaline tools heat evenly. Temperature control matters, a lot. Being able to adjust the heat based on what you're working with is huge.

Mariah Phillips says it best: "Buy once, cry once. A good tool lasts years and actually protects your hair instead of destroying it. Cheap tools cost you more in damage and salon fixes anyway."

Don't Just Style and Forget

Here's where most people mess up: they think the work ends when they turn off the iron. Wrong.

Your hair just got heated to 300+ degrees. It needs moisture put back in. Use a leave-in conditioner or a lightweight oil. Nothing heavy, just something to restore what heat took out.

And trim regularly. Every six to eight weeks. Heat weakens ends first, and once they split, they keep splitting up the hair shaft. Just cut them off before it gets worse.

What Actually Works

Honestly? It's simpler than people think:

• Use heat protectant every time
• Match your temperature to your actual hair type
• Don't heat style daily if you can help it
• Moisturize after styling
• Get regular trims

Jennifer again: "Once you get into these habits, you stop thinking about it. And your hair? It just stays healthy. You can style it, color it, whatever, it holds up because you're not fighting damage all the time."

Kill Some Time While You're Here

Real talk: if you're getting color or a treatment that takes a while, you don't have to just sit here staring at magazines from 2019. Gabe's Bagels is right down the street, their smoothies are legitimately good. If you're starving after your appointment, Zio Gino Pizza & Grill has solid lunch options. Or if you're coming in early, grab coffee and a pastry at Woodland Bakery first. We're not going anywhere.

Bottom Line

Heat styling isn't bad. Bad technique is bad. Learn how to do it right, use the right stuff, and your hair will be fine. We see people all the time who've been heat styling for years with zero damage because they actually know what they're doing.

At The Warehouse Salon in DeLand, that's kind of our whole thing, teaching you how to take care of your hair so it actually looks good long-term, not just the day you leave the salon.

Want to book? Call us at 386-279-0626 or book online. We'll get you sorted out.