What's a good heat protectant???

Hey ladies. So tomorrow I am doing a blow out to prep for my friend doing my hair in cornrows on Thursday (can't wait!!) It's been probably quite a few months since I actually blow dried my hair. It was still hot outside I'm sure.

So what is a really, really good heat protectant that I can use that won't cause icky build up? I don't her fingers to get all sticky while she's braiding. Is oil good enough or should I get something else? I still have some of that CHI stuff but it's rather old so I don't know if it's still good. Shea butter perhaps???

Any suggestions???? Thanks!!

Yes! Good ol shea butter! The mix I make also has grapeseed oil in it which will protect your hair all the way up to 400 degrees.

Ok thanks. What about coconut oil to mix? I don't have any grapeseed oil.

I usually use shea butter and grapeseed oil...
I haven't experienced any heat damage n I blow dry my hair at least every 3 weeks...
HTH...

WOw i was going to recommend the vitapro giovanni heat protectant but this shea and grapeseed oil sounds very interesting too

Well I'm overly cautious and I didn't think that natural stuff could get the job done so I use the synthetic stuff.

I love the treseme line for heat protectants. The smell is great and it gets the job done.

I've used my shea butter mix to blow dry my hair before and I didnt have heat damage. It had castor oil, coconut oil and EVOO mixed in it.

I heard IC Fantasia's heat protectant works really good.

Ok, thanks ladies. It's between the oils and the Aphogee Keratin and Green tea stuff.

Part of me really just wants to do the shea and oils since I already have it. That way I dont have to go spend money I don't need to spend!! LOL

I've used the shea and oil mix combo twice and it worked for me. Prettydimples01 used it too. She actually used it to flat iron her hair

How much does that grapeseed oil cost? If it's too much I'll just use the evco and shea. That sounds good to me.

Grapeseed oil is like 9 -12 bucks if i remember correctly I just brought some for my skin this weekend. Its not to pricey. IC heat protectant is awesome! It doesn't weigh your hair down. It has silicones in it so you might have to wash after if your hair doesn't do well with silicones

naturallychelsea wrote:Well I'm overly cautious and I didn't think that natural stuff could get the job done so I use the synthetic stuff.

I agree!

Is there any proof that natural oils are heat protectants? Because people cook with them, it seems like they would just help the hair cook. But if there is scientific proof that they work, i would say go for it!

Also, I heard some leave-in conditioners have heat-protecting abilities. I think the Suave brand puts heat protectors in their conditioners, right?

But I think if you are using a higher temperature heat, the synthetic stuff would protect the best, because it coats the hair, and thats what its designed to do.

well i read that grapeseed oil has a very high smoking point, higher than what the blow dryer would reach so that should be ok. And many people do use oil (as I have read) with no problems. I guess it just depeneds on how hot the heat gets and how often it's used. I am just blow drying and probably won't be putting heat to it again for a while. Thanks for the info ladies!!!

do the oils work for diffusing also?