There is always a set of rules to follow when you bleach and dye your hair. I still recall how strict my stylist was the first time I got my hair lightened.
I had to quit sulfate shampoos and moisturize my hair with a daily leave-in just to repair the damage my hair incurred.
But one of the most difficult hair habits to break after bleaching your locks is heat-styling.
It’s always tempting to curl and straighten your tresses.
While many think it’s a no-no, it’s actually still possible to do with minimal damage.
All you have to do is ensure you get a good heat protectant for bleached hair.
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Benefits Of Using Heat Protectants On Bleached hair
Heat-styling your hair and coming up with gorgeous waves and curls is always fun.
But these hot tools can damage your hair if you’re not careful.
That’s where heat protectant comes in.
These products come in many formats, from spray-on oils to nourishing creams, but they do the same thing.
Some of the benefits of using heat protectant on bleached hair include:
Create A Protective Barrier
You could end up completely burning off your hair strands when you use extremely high heat levels during styling.
Hot tools can dry out the hair, stripping it of its natural oils, moisture, and proteins that keep it hydrated and strong.
Heat protectants create a protective barrier around your hair to minimize heat damage as you style it.
Strengthen The Hair
High heat levels also rough up your hair cuticles, making your locks rough and brittle.
It’s even worse on bleached, damaged hair.
Heat protectants come in handy to help strengthen the hair and rebuild damage brought upon by the bleaching process.
Moisturize The Hair
Heat styling makes what little moisture you have left in your locks evaporate into thin air, leaving your tresses thirsty.
Heat protectants help to moisturize the hair so that it’s not completely dehydrated after you style it.
They also smoothen unruly hair, keeping frizz – a common side effect of bleaching – at bay.
Retain Hair Color
When you heat style your bleached hair too often, you risk breaking down the pigments of your new hair color.
That means it breaks down the dye, revealing brassiness underneath, which is never flattering.
Heat protectants help to keep your lighter hair color intact so that you don’t have to deal with the stress of brassiness constantly peeking through your locks.
Best Heat Protectant For Bleached Hair
Top-quality heat protectants are infused with hair-loving ingredients that nourish and strengthen your locks.
Keep your eyes peeled for hydrating humectants like aloe vera, fortifying proteins like keratin and silk amino acids, and rich oils like coconut oil to protect your cuticles from being ravaged by hot tools.
If you’ve been looking for some good heat protectant for bleached hair, I highly recommended the following ten products:
ghd Heat Protect Spray
This heat protectant by ghd is made with the latest hair technologies to keep your bleached hair as heat damage-free as possible.
It was designed by heat engineers and top professional stylists, so you can rest assured you’re only getting the best of the best.
It works by creating a thermal layer around your hair, effectively protecting it from the heat emanating from your styling tools.
It’s infused with polymers and conditioning ingredients to smoothen and soften the hair, leaving it sleek and nourished.
However, it’s still lightweight and invisible, so it never gets greasy.
Pros
- Designed by heat engineers and professional hairstylists
- Polymers and conditioning ingredients smoothen the hair
- Lightweight and invisible formula
- Creates a thermal layer around your hair for heat protection
Cons
- Can leave the hair crispy when too much is used
Moroccanoil Perfect Defense
For a more luxurious heat protectant, try out this one by Moroccanoil.
It protects your bleached locks from heat up to 450⁰F, minimizing damage.
It’s infused with rich argan oil, aka “liquid” gold, as well as hydrating hair vitamins to nourish your hair subtlely.
These ingredients also leave a luscious gloss and shine to your locks, making them look uber-healthy.
That said, this heat protectant feels weightless when sprayed on.
It never leaves your hair feeling heavy and weighed down, so you can still flaunt body and volume.
Pros
- Rich in argan oil and hydrating vitamins for light nourishment
- Protects your hair from up to 450⁰F heat
- Feels weightless, so it’s never heavy in your hair
- Leaves your hair with a luscious gloss
Cons
- Can leave thick, coarse hair feeling a bit dry
Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil
Repair, protect, and beautify your hair all at once with this bonding oil by Olaplex.
It’s a holy grail among many hair enthusiasts because of its plethora of benefits.
It provides UV protection, keeping your hair strong and healthy even as you style with your hot tools at higher temperatures.
The oil also adds a dramatic and noticeable shine that’s super luminous.
This finishing serum is perfect for bleached and colored hair because it helps increase the vividness and vibrancy of your color, prolonging its lifespan.
Pros
- Provides UV protection for high heat levels
- Highly-concentrated but still light and weightless
- Adds a luminous shine to the hair
- Increases the vividness of your hair color
Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Primer
This heat-protect hair primer by Bumble and Bumble is made with six light yet highly efficient hair oils, namely grapeseed, sweet almond, coconut, argan, safflower, and macadamia oils.
They hydrate your hair while protecting it from heat.
They also detangle your locks and tame frizz.
It also has built-in UV protection to help shield your hair from the heat of your styling tools.
You only need a little bit of this product to cover and nourish your whole head of hair, so you don’t need to worry about running out too soon.
Pros
- Made with six light hair oils to hydrate and protect your locks
- Gets rid of frizz while detangling your tresses
- Built-in UV protection shields your hair from heat damage
- You only need a little bit to nourish your hair
Cons
- May leave a thin film on top of the hair
Alterna Caviar Professional Styling Perfect Iron Spray
Treat yourself with a fancy spray-on heat protectant with this caviar-enriched formula by Alterna.
It protects your hair from heat damage as you style while simultaneously hydrating your locks with omega fatty acids from caviar.
This formula seals your hair cuticles, making your mane sleek and smooth.
It also locks out humidity so that your hair doesn’t get frizzy in strange weather.
It’s perfect for bleached and chemically-treated hair because it’s formulated without parabens, phthalates, sulfates, synthetic dyes, triclosan, and other harsh chemicals.
Pros
- Protects your hair from heat while moisturizing it with caviar extracts
- Seals your hair cuticles to make your mane smoother
- Locks out humidity to ensure your hair won’t be frizzy
- Doesn’t have parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes, and phthalates
Cons
- Smells a bit chemical-like, so it takes some getting used to
Mizani Thermastrength Heat Protecting Serum
This hair-protecting serum by Mizani is crafted with thick and rich shea butter to moisturize your hair intensely.
Shea butter also protects the hair from heat as it coats the hair.
It’s designed with unique anti-breakage technology to fortify your hair as you tug and pull when you heat-style.
It also controls frizz, allowing your mane to look tame and sleek all day long.
So next time your thick, curly, and coily hair needs a boost of hydration and heat protection, use this nourishing and smoothing serum.
Pros
- Made with shea butter to nourish and protect hair from heat
- Designed with anti-breakage technology to strengthen hair
- Controls frizz to ensure your hair looks tame and sleek
- Perfect for curly hair types that need deep moisture
Cons
- The smell can be a little strong for some users
Oribe Invisible Defense Universal Protection Spray
Condition your hair properly without weighing it down with this heat protectant spray by Oribe.
It’s enriched with watermelon, edelweiss, and lychee extracts to lightly hydrate the hair.
It’s also infused with collagen and vitamin B to condition and strengthen your locks.
This heat protectant comes out in a light and weightless spray, so it’s super easy to use before you style your hair.
This mechanism keeps you from using too much product.
It prevents your hair color from fading and extends its lifespan so you can enjoy it for longer.
Pros
- Provides light hydration from natural extracts to nourish your hair
- Collagen and vitamin B condition and strengthen the hair
- Comes out in a light, weightless mist that’s easy to manage
- Prevents color-fading, extending the life of your shade
Cons
- Tends to make the hair greasy throughout the day
Kenra Professional Thermal Styling Spray 19
If you need help keeping your hair in place, this thermal heat protectant by Kenra is perfect for you.
It’s designed to provide thermal protection as you style for levels up to 428°F.
The heat protectant has an adequately firm hold, allowing your styled hair to stay in place all day.
It also keeps frizz and flyaways at bay, so that your hair looks smooth and tangle-free.
It even adds a glamorously glowy shine to your hair, giving it a healthier look.
Pros
- Allows for thermal hair protection for levels up to 428°F
- Provides adequate hold to keep your styled hair in place
- Keeps frizziness and flyaways at bay to keep your locks smooth
- Adds a glowy shine to your hair for a healthier look
Cons
- Can be sticky if you accidentally use too much of it
Living Proof Restore Instant Protection Hairspray
This award-winning heat protectant spray by Living Proof is made to protect your hair from damage caused by both UV rays from the sun and heat from your styling tools, thanks to some UV absorbers in the formula.
It’s made with the brand’s signature Healthy Hair Molecule, which conditions your hair.
It also polishes your tresses, adding an instant shine and luminosity so your hair can glow.
The heat protectant has a weightless feel to it, so it never leaves your hair feeling heavy or with a greasy residue.
Pros
- Protects your hair from UV rays and hot tools
- Made with the unique Healthy Hair Molecule to condition your locks
- Polishes your hair for instant shine and luminosity
- Weightless feel, so it’s never heavy or greasy
Cons
- Can be drying, leaving your hair a bit chalky
Redken Satinwear 04 Smoothing Blow Dry Lotion
This smooth and silky hair lotion is amazing for blow-drying.
It allows you to diffuse and blow-dry your hair while still leaving it frizz-free.
It’s made with a unique heat-guard complex that keeps your unruly hair in check, leaving your tresses smooth and satiny in texture.
This lotion is formulated with nourishing ingredients like castor oil and cranberry seed oil for deep moisture.
It also helps prevent the premature fading of your colored hair, which is excellent for maintaining your gorgeous shade.
Pros
- Allows you to blow-dry your hair while still leaving it tame
- A heat-guard complex reduces friction, eliminating frizz
- Leaves your tresses smooth and satiny
- Contains moisturizing natural oils
- Prevents your color from fading too soon
Cons
- Quite heavy and can be greasy in finer hair types
Are There DIY Heat Protectants?
Store-bought heat protectants will always be more convenient than DIY ones.
They are more effective at protecting your hair since many of them are designed with patented technologies to beat not just the heat emanating from your tools, but also the sun’s UV rays.
But if you’re on a budget and are a lover of natural ingredients, you can make your own heat protectant.
These are usually made of natural, nourishing oils diluted in water or aloe leaf juice.
Just watch out for the oils’ smoke points so you know you’re not cooking off your hair as you style it.
These oils and natural ingredients work the same way silicones do – they create a protective coating around your strands to keep heat damage to a minimum.
You can use a whole range of oils, depending on what your hair responds to well.
Coconut oil is one fave ingredient for DIY heat protectant for bleached hair.
Its reparative, penetrative properties strengthen the hair while adding shine, deep moisture, and heat protection.
Sunflower seed oil is another powerhouse natural heat protectant.
It’s rich in fatty acids and vitamin E, both of which moisturize the hair while promoting luminosity.
It also has a high boiling point for safer styling.
Conclusion
If you can’t keep your hands off your fave curling wand or just love strolling under the hot summer sun, a heat protectant is a must for your bleached hair.
It’s a great way to protect your locks from further damage while still styling them in the way you feel most confident.
Plus, the moisturizing and frizz-defying benefits of heat protectants always come in handy for damaged, bleached tresses.
Try out any of the ones listed above to flaunt hair that’s sleek, soft, and smooth to the touch all day long.