Using heat treatment on your hair every day can cause damage over time, no matter what technique you use.
So, you may have heard that it’s not good to diffuse your hair every day. Some people say you shouldn’t diffuse at all.
Should you diffuse your hair every day?
Here’s Whether or Not you Should Diffuse your Hair Everyday:
Hair diffusion uses a diffuser to dry hair, giving it less frizz and more defined curls. Because diffusing uses heat, its daily use can damage your hair. You can use heat protectants and low heat settings to keep it healthy. Make sure that no section of hair is diffused for more than 30 seconds.
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How Often Should You Diffuse Hair?
Hair diffusing is a hair-drying technique that uses an attachment to a dryer called a diffuser.
The diffuser allows air to be spread throughout the hair and is a proven way to preserve naturally curly hair without frizz. It works by dispersing airflow over a wider area in a controlled way.
Some stylists confidently support diffusing your hair daily. Other stylists are more cautious and warn that high heat can still cause severe heat damage even when it passes through a diffuser.
These stylists believe diffusing your hair every three or four days would make for healthier hair.
Because everyone’s hair is different, it is often recommended to use cold air to diffuse the hair if you are not sure how well your hair will stand up to heat.
If you are certain that the heat will not damage your hair, then diffusing daily with hot air will also be fine.
Can Diffusing Hair Too Often Damage It?
Some women with curly hair will wash daily and use a diffuser to dry each time.
When a diffuser is used with hot air, it can cause damage to the hair. This is not as easy as directly blowdrying your hair, but diffusing hair with hot air will result in heat damage if some precautions are not observed.
One of the ways that diffusing can damage hair is by using it in a high heat setting. Heat damage can also happen when the diffuser is kept on one section of the hair for too long.
When your hair undergoes these rough heat exposures every once in a while, there will hardly be any noticeable effect.
However, if you do this every day, you can cause irreparable damage later on.
It also depends on whether you use hair extensions. Chech here what guys think about hair extensions.
How Long Should You Diffuse Your Hair?
Top hair specialists recommend diffusing each section of hair for 10 to 20 seconds and no longer than 30 seconds.
This is especially necessary if you use a temperature setting that is not cold or warm.
In one study by the Journal of Cosmetology and Trichology, a flat iron temperature of 428 degrees Fahrenheit caused more permanent straightening of the hair and resulted in weak hair.
Although blow dryer temperatures only reach a maximum of 250 degrees Fahrenheit, the lesson remains: higher temperatures are more likely to cause irreversible heat damage to your hair.
The total time to diffuse hair will differ for each person depending on the thickness and length of the hair. Hair that is lightly curled and shorter will require around half an hour to dry with a diffuser fully.
For hair that is very tightly curled and long, diffusing time can go up to an hour.
What Happens If You Diffuse Your Hair Too Often?
If you are a fan of how good your hair looks and feels when it is diffused, you should be aware of the possible downsides to the process.
Your hair is made mostly of proteins, the chief of which is keratin. Keratin has peptide bonds that can be permanently broken by physical factors like heat or chemical factors like treatment with lye.
This process is called denaturation and is a transformation we often see happening when we cook eggs.
Keratin in your hair goes through that kind of permanent change. That means that heat-damaged hair will fall off, or you must trim it off.
Is It Better To Diffuse or Air Dry Your Hair?
The most important advantage of air drying is that your hair will not come in contact with direct heat that could damage it.
Air drying is also beneficial because of the natural look it gives to your curls once they are dry.
Air drying your hair is also a good option because it requires no special skill or device and doesn’t require a power source. Air drying involves little to no labor and is very hands-off.
However, diffusers offer several advantages:
- Well-defined curls
- Faster drying time (air drying can take up to 24 hours!)
- More frizz control
The decision to use either air drying or a diffuser is based on your available resources, your hair type, and the style you want. For example, if your hair is not tightly curled, using a diffuser would give your hair more volume.
This could be good if it’s the look you want. However, thick hair with lots of curls may end up being too big to be easily handled.