Can I Straighten Damp Hair? Is it safe?

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn More

It is no longer news that styling hair takes time before you wash, blow-dry, straighten and style your hair. And nobody has that luxury of time especially if you are in a rush.

Hence, someone washes their hair and moves straight to flat ironing their mane to cut time. And this brings up the question of whether it is safe to straighten damp hair. In this article, we will answer this question.

Page Contents

Is it safe to straighten damp hair?

While you may want to use your flat iron to dry and straighten your hair simultaneously, it is not safe to do that. Using a flat iron on damp hair will expose your mane to a new level of heat.

Water boils at 100°C, which is about 212°F and most flat irons have temperature settings ranging from 250°F to 465°F. This means that the heat from flat iron is more than that of boiling water.

Now imagine exposing your mane to about 185°C; that means your hair is exposed to heat higher than the boiling point.

As a result, when you use a flat iron on it, the cortex (the inner layer of your mane) will explode. Thus, causing structural damage, which eventually leads to hair breakage and hair dryness.

If you have applied any alcohol-based product to your hair, this will make it more prone to excessive dryness. This is because you will be boiling the alcohol into your hair follicle, thus causing your mane’s splitting, cracking, and brittleness.

To avoid all these, make sure your hair is very dry before using a flat iron on it.

How to avoid straightening damp hair?

Now, you know the side effect of using a flat iron on damp hair. But how do you avoid straightening damp many if you are in a rush? Here are some tips you can follow;

● Use a Microfiber towel: the benefit of using a microfiber towel is that it dries the hair faster. All you need to do is squeeze your hair with a towel to get rid of the most moisture. And you can see quickly rough-dry it with a cool blast from the hairdryer.

● Use a conditioner: this keeps your mane hydrated and moisturized. And a properly conditioned hair repels water, thus making it dry faster.

● Wash your hair at night: You can wash your hair at night to cut down the styling time. Your hair will be well-dried and in good condition for any hot tools the following morning.

● Skip hair wash: You can skip hair wash on days you don’t have time. That means you will only straighten your hair which will save you a lot of time, especially if you are in a rush.

Final thoughts

The damage that straightening damp hair will cause is costly, and even using a heat protectant can’t stop the damage. Thus, you should avoid it. So, you can use a microfiber towel to squeeze out moisture from your hair. Or, totally skip hair wash on days you are in a rush.