Heat styling, blow-drys, straightening: how to protect your hair for the new season?
As autumn begins, routines change — and so does your hair. After weeks of sun, heat, swimming and air-drying, a busier schedule often brings back the hairdryer, blow-drying brush and sometimes the straighteners. They make morning styling easier, but can weaken the hair fibre if used too often or at poorly controlled temperatures.
In an ideal world, you would simply squeeze excess water from your hair gently, without rubbing, then leave it to dry naturally. But when temperatures start to fall or every morning minute counts, it is hard to avoid heated styling tools altogether.
The good news? You do not have to give up blow-drying to care for your hair. What matters is how you prepare and detangle it before applying heat.
Why does heat weaken hair?
Hairdryers, straighteners and curling tongs expose the hair fibre directly to high temperatures. With regular use, they can gradually leave hair dehydrated and weaken its structure.
Hair can then become drier, coarser and more prone to frizz and breakage. This may be even more noticeable as autumn begins, when summer has already left hair weakened.
The aim is not necessarily to avoid heat altogether. It is to prepare your hair more carefully and adopt a routine that cares for the hair fibre before styling.
Before shampooing: prepare and repair the hair fibre
Protection begins before you even switch on your hairdryer.
When sun, salt, chlorine or repeated styling have left your lengths weakened, regular care helps support the hair fibre day by day.
Cair repair hair mask is applied directly to dry hair, focusing on the lengths and ends. Leave it on for 15 minutes before shampooing. Its formula helps repair, nourish and rehydrate the hair fibre, leaving hair softer and better prepared for styling.
As autumn begins, this treatment helps care for hair after the stresses of summer. It also brings a considered step into your routine before blow-dries and other heat-styling tools return.
After shampooing: detangle without weakening your hair
Wet hair is especially vulnerable. There is no need to add rough detangling to the strain of heat styling.
After shampooing, gently blot away excess water with a towel, without rubbing your lengths. Then detangle gradually, starting at the ends and working up towards the roots.
This is also where Cair detangling hair mist comes in. A few sprays help ease detangling, coat the hair fibre and prepare your hair for styling. Its formula also contains an ingredient that helps protect the fibre when exposed to heat.
A particularly helpful step before blow-drying or styling with a brush, when you want to care for your lengths without weighing them down.
The right hairbrush makes all the difference
Protecting your hair from heat also means choosing the right tools.
The wrong hairbrush can pull at your lengths, catch on knots and increase breakage when the hair fibre is already under strain. Choose your brush to suit your hair type and thickness, as well as the way you want to style it.
When detangling, work gradually rather than pulling at knots. On wet hair, a suitable detangling brush such as La Bonne Brosse N.04 can help you detangle before drying.
For a proper blow-dry, choose a brush designed specifically for styling. The La Bonne Brosse N.05 and N.08 round brushes are made to work alongside your hairdryer, helping you shape your hair without always turning to heated straightening plates.
With its smaller diameter, the N.05 is particularly suited to fine to normal hair that is short to medium-length. It gives you precision when styling a fringe, roots or ends. The wider N.08 is especially suited to long, thick or textured hair, allowing you to work with larger sections.
As autumn begins, protecting your hair starts before styling
Caring for your hair does not necessarily mean giving up your hairdryer, blow-dry or straighteners. The key is to think about protecting it before you start styling.
Repairing the hair fibre with a pre-shampoo mask, detangling without pulling, preparing your lengths with a suitable mist and choosing the right brush can all help you take a different approach to heat styling.
A simple routine that starts before styling, so you can keep doing your hair as autumn begins while preserving its beauty, softness and shine.