A heat-styling cautionary tale (true story!)
If you love the way your hair looks when it’s freshly styled, but hate when it looks singed, you probably need a master class in heat protection.
We recently heard a sob story from a colleague who splurged on a pricey haircut. Her hair looked absolutely incredible…well, most of it. While the stylist was great at snipping, she was less talented at styling. Our friend’s bangs were burnt through, due to careless use of a flat iron. Bangs grow out quickly, but the takeaway is to use heat protection products every single time you style.
Related: Repair your damaged hair in an instant!
Beat the heat
Whether you use your blow dryer for a quick volume boost, diffuse your curls and coils religiously, or spend hours with a flat iron, you need to protect your hair before applying heat. We broke down the most common hair types and the heat solutions that will help keep hair looking great.
Curly hair
If you’re blessed with bountiful curls, you might think all your other protective treatments will save hair from being singed when you style. Sadly, that’s not the case. We have a pretty sneaky approach to protecting curls in advance. Not Your Mother’s Curl Talk Leave-In Conditioner adds extra softness to curls in advance. Meaning before you even start styling, your hair automatically starts off with a layer of protection.
How to use: Spray generously on just washed hair (blot first). Start with the mid-length area and gently work product through to the ends. Diffuse or air-dry before styling.
Frizz-free
How many times have you styled your hair to perfection only to notice frizz making an appearance? If you don’t protect your hair from heat when styling, you could be inviting frizz. Heat opens up the cuticles and can damage them making hair prone to frizz even more unruly. Not Your Mother’s Anti-Frizz Priming Cream was created for hair prep to banish frizz in advance. And if only parts of your hair tend to become frizzy, you can spot use for best benefits.
How to use: We like to be generous with frizz-busting products, so use a nickel or quarter size amount. Rub product through your palms and then run your fingers evenly through damp hair before heat styling or drying. We noticed that a bit more products at the ends can help with split ends. And if you love the look of ponytails, feel free to add a bit more there.
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Time-crunched styling tips
No matter how much time you leave for doing your hair and makeup, it never seems like enough. Or maybe you’re traveling and have to share the bathroom with an impatient friend. Don’t fret, we have a product that will cut styling time drastically. Not Your Mother’s Part Time Air Dry Accelerator speeds up the air-drying process so that you don’t end up leaving the house with still damp hair. It also smooths flyaways and frizz, so you’ll look like you actually spent time styling your hair.
How to use: Gently blot hair dry after washing. Or consider using a microfiber towel for your hair since it dries hair without drying out hair. Spray Part Time throughout your hair and either finger comb through, or use a gentle brush to work product through your hair. You don’t have to spend a ton of time creating a style, but feel free to pin up hair to create curls or volume while your hair dries naturally. Use a blast of cold air from your blow dryer to set the style in place.
Protect processed hair
Whether you bleach your hair or have loads of highlights, we came up with a way to protect your hair from heat styling. NYM Tough Love Bonding Leave-in Protector Post-Wash Protective Spray protects the bonds in your hair from additional breakage up to 450°F. And since we love taking care of your hair, our bonding protector also combats future damage while strengthening and repairing hair.
How to use: Though it’s created for treated hair, our bonding leave-in protect works on all hair types. Spray through hair avoiding roots. Comb through with either your fingers or a wide-tooth comb to evenly distribute product. You can also use on dry hair to flatten flyaways.