What's worse for your hair, blow drying or straightening?

Is it not both ?
Because you are apply heat to your delicate living hair , so they are both bad i may be wrong .
Tho if i were to say one it would be the straighteners cause they put more direct heat and tension to the hair .

Try to towel dry as much as you can first, and then use the iron on low heat.

Source: my own wavy hair.

I’d stay away from direct, intense heat (i.e. flat irons)
Blow dry with a round brush and a directional nozzle on the coolest setting. That’ll add shine too :)

I have no idea but I’d guess hair straightening does more damage
I do neither, that’s why my hair grows like crazy and is healthy

It depends on the quality of your tools and whether or not you use good products. Neither is good for your hair but you can greatly reduce the damage by not using crappy stuff.

I would think straightening. Neither one is really healthy though.

No, neither one is the greatest, but at least blow drying is just hot air. Use an ionic dryer. A flat iron is hot metal diirectly on your hair. Very bad, I’d say.

If it’s just the bangs your straightening then you shouldn’t worry too much since they grow out and get trimmed back regularly. I’ve worn barious styles of bangs forever and have had no noticeable damage from blow dryers or irons.

My guess would be the iron causes more damage.

By the way I am almost bald and I didn’t do either.

I would say hands down blow drying.

Blowing your hair around, fixing any tangles, straight up drying it out through evaporation that quickly changes the texture of my hair in the finished look and breaks it down faster over time. My hair tends to not be as smooth after blow drying and catches on itself more. Even when done by a professional.

I will only flat iron my hair now, as I don’t deal with breakage from tangling and it shows me less damage over time.

Considering I dye my hair once a month – it’s a big deal for me.

I towel off, air dry my hair then flat iron. And it is soft and fluffy. :D

If you use a flat iron, be sure to use the ceramic type to cause the least amount of damage.

I think blow drying would be worse. You have to use it much longer than the one or two swipes with the iron.

Spray your hair lightly with a little bit of heat protectant and it will be even better. I was skeptical, but the one I use has turned me into a believer.

It depends what kind of blow dryer or hair straightner you use…

I just bought a flat iron and my stylist said I have to get some flat iron spray. He said I’ll burn my hair off if I don’t use it. Does anyone know a good brand to try?

@sandystrachan: lol, hair is not alive! if it was, it would hurt when you cut it, silly!

@knitfroggy: do you have very fine or thin hair? i’ve been straightening my hair for years, and never ever hurt my hair with my flat iron (my fingers: YES, omg OW) it sounds to me like he was just trying to sell you a product, or that he bought a line from a product rep that was trying to sell him a product. my conair flat iron has instructions for use, and they don’t say anything about a spray. perhaps you should consult the instructions for yours?

as far as the question: i’ve never damaged my hair while using my straightener, and i’ve been doing it for years. the blow dryer on the other hand, yes, several times. so, anecdotally, i would say blow dryer is worse.

A protection spray is not a gimmick, and yes you are hurting your hair when you apply heat. Maybe it doesn’t look too bad but you just may have very strong resiliant hair. Even then damage is noticable. Different types of hair show damage differently, but no type of hair can be heat styled day after day and show no signs of damage.

@elijah: You must not have see my hair…

No I haven’t. I’m a hair stylist, I’ve seen hundreds of heads and not one has perfect hair. You are lucky to have such strong hair!