Why I'm anti-heat on my hair

Hair can be a controversial topic - if you let it. But the use of heat on hair is even more so. Over the past year, I've really cut back on the amount of heat that I put on my hair. Here's why... 

Ok, let's cut a long story short here - I ruined my hair so badly through not using heat protectant sprays, not having a good shampoo/conditioner routine, not getting it cut regularly and bleaching it within an inch of its life (don't even ask why, I'm naturally blonde anyway..). But I didn't care until I got out to the USA and my new hairdresser (Sadie) recoiled in shock at the state of my hair the first time she touched it. She slapped on the most intense conditioning treatment the salon could offer, had to cut 5 inches of my hair off (it honestly resembled straw) and sent me off with a haircare 'schedule' and special shampoo & conditioner. I stuck to it rigorously and I swear Sadie nearly cried with joy when I came back to the salon 7 weeks later. 

But that's not the only reason that the condition of my hair has improved so drastically. I've almost completely stopped using heat tools on my hair. I mean, firstly, I don't really have the money to be spending on them anyway. Secondly, I don't really need a hair straightener - my hair's fairly straight as it is (that's my natural hair in the cover photo) - and curls just drop out after 5 minutes unless I put an entire tin of hairspray on it (no thank you..). Finally, I just don't have time. I get up at the most ridiculous hours for class anyway, so why would I want to get up 30 minutes earlier just to do something to my hair that I find ruins it (this was something that my friend Catherine said to me when I was in the middle of my heat-tool-craze a couple of years ago. Why didn't I take her advice?!)? I mean, you can see my logic, right? Instead, I either let my hair dry out naturally, brushing it through a few times to get it to be kind of straight. Failing that, it's tied back in a pony-tail, a messy bun or some kind of braid (thank you YouTube for all the tutorials!).

I'm hoping that my hair is gradually getting better and better and that my hairdresser might not hate me quite so much when I go back in a few weeks. Perhaps in the future, I'll re-introduce heat styling tools. But for now? I'll go without..