So, Your Hair Caught On Fire. These Steps Can Help To Repair It
Dontcha just hate it when you emerge on stage in a hailstorm of sparks to a cheering crowd to sing your hit song and your hair catches fire? Okay, maybe that just happens to the likes of Michael Jackson. But with the amount of product in our hair these days, your coiffure could be more flammable than you realize.
In fact, that happened to "Casino Royale" star Eva Green while filming Bertolucci's film, "The Dreamers." In one scene, she leans in to kiss her scene partner. However, her hair was too close to a candle. That moment actually made it into the final cut of the film, too. Luckily, her scene partner Michael Pitt put the flame out quickly. But for those of us who have ever had a similar experience, we may not have the same hairdressers that Jackson and Green had on-set to help repair their hair damage. If you've had an accident with your hair literally going up in flames, repairing it might seem like a daunting task. Here are our best tips for aiding in the repairing process.
Your stylist should be stop number one
When "The Simple Life" star Nicole Richie turned 40, she blew out the candles on her birthday cake and had an unfortunate accident. Cue her hair going up in flames. "Well... so far 40 is [fire emoji]" she captioned the post. But when that happens to you, it may be no laughing matter. Despite what Alicia Keys sings, being the "Girl On Fire" shouldn't be the goal!
If this does happen to you, don't try to fix the problem yourself. You've got to get yourself to a professional immediately. Your hairdresser will most likely snip off the damaged parts and reshape your hair. Fashion editorial hairdresser Amit Abraham says that your hair doesn't actually burn, it singes when it catches fire. She advised InStyle, "Your best bet is to go and see your stylist immediately. Do not, I repeat, do not try to fix the damage yourself. You risk the chance of making it worse and suffering for a lot longer."
However, in this economy, you may not always be able to pay a lengthy and costly visit to the salon. When forced to deal with it yourself, there are different treatments, serums, oils, and styles to employ in the effort to fix and hide your singed hair.
Arm yourself with a strong deep conditioner
You're gonna need a deep conditioner if you can't make it to the salon to repair your fried hair. Unlike your everyday conditioner, deep conditioners will help seal in moisture, boost hydration, and repair split ends. Heathline suggests selecting deep conditioners that include shea butter, argan oil, coconut oil, avocado, or aloe vera to help restore the moisture content of your hair. Just like a bad sunburn where you need to apply lots of after-sun creams, aloe vera, and other moisturizers to repair skin damage, burned hair requires the same amount of restorative moisture. Shelling out for a deep conditioner is going to be way easier on your purse strings than a trip to the salon.
Hair.com spoke with professional salon stylist Amanda Epstein who suggested using hair masks to repair badly damaged hair. According to her, a mask will repair singed ends and also buttress your strands from heat damage when you're ready to start applying heat again. Keep in mind that heated hair masks are a temporary solution and won't repair your hair long-term. But if you need quick, short-term results for say a party, this method will help tons.
Stop styling your hair with heat
So here's the thing about styling burnt or singed hair. You will have to put away your blow dryer, curling iron, flat iron, and hot rollers for a while. Wait! Before you slam the door on this idea, we know that this is a hard pill to swallow. We need our blow dryers to live, too! But you have to trust us on this one: You don't want to style your burnt hair with more heat. It will only result in more damage and will take you way more time to heal your locks than originally planned.
"Keep any source of heat far away," stylist Amanda Epstein told Hair.com. Hollywood hair stylist Carla Zuniga agreed (via Mane Addicts). But fret not! There are so many great heat-free options for styling your hair. Zuniga suggests sleeping with braids overnight to give "your hair a soft wave texture without using heat." TikTok loves their heatless curl hacks, and there are blow-out options or curly tendril options that allow your hair to dry overnight, resulting in the most luscious locks imaginable. All it takes is time, rather than heat. You will love how little effort is involved.
Try new hairstyles to hide the damage
Okay, you've done everything you can: You've applied a deep conditioner, used masks, and have been styling your hair without heat. But you can still see the damaged hair. There are ways to hide the damage in some fun and flirty hairstyles to conceal fried hair until you can visit the salon. Senior stylist Carla Zuniga says that if you have blunt ends from the fire damage, choose a loose, wavy hairstyle (via Mane Addicts). She also suggests drawing attention away from the damage by incorporating hair accessories like big claw clips or tortoise-shell clips. If you normally part your hair on one side, try the opposite side or part in the middle to hide the damage.
If the damage is closer to the frame of your face, she has a different suggestion. "To hide breakage around the face and crown, a high ponytail is a great option," she says. "Even with breakage, a high ponytail can look very polished and sleek." If all else fails — get thee to a hairdresser!