In this salon‑style instructional video, stylist Jen Booth explains why a client’s hair kept breaking at the ends despite regular trims and good products. She discovers the culprit: the client was curling her hair while it was still damp, exposing it to two distinct types of heat damage. First, wet hair swells up to 30% and, when heated, creates "bubble hair"—steam‑filled strands that become fragile. Second, dry hair wrapped directly around a hot curling iron suffers direct metal heat. Booth outlines a two‑step solution: (1) apply a heat‑protectant evenly from root to tip, fully dry hair using a dryer held about six inches away and kept moving; (2) for dry‑hair styling, add an extra layer of protectant (specifically Hot Sets or Iron Shape), section the hair, spray, let it dry, then curl using the lowest effective temperature. She emphasizes using the minimal heat needed, proper product amounts, and offers a salon demonstration. After adopting these changes, the client’s hair grew past her shoulders, becoming softer, shinier, and less prone to breakage.
Chapters
Trying to grow your hair, but your ends keep breaking? It may not be your shampoo. It might be the 5 minutes before you style. You know, we had a guest who could never get her hair past her shoulders. She did everything right. You know, regular trims, good products, gentle brushing. Her hair would grow, and then it would break right at the same spot. So when we finally walked through her routine with her, we found it. She was curling her hair while it was actually still damp without realizing it. See, your hair faces heat at 2 different moments, and each one damages it in a different way. So moment one is going to be with wet hair. Wet hair swells up to 30%. So when your hair is wet, it soaks up water and swells. Think of it like a sponge, and that makes it weaker. You know, hit it with heat and the water inside can turn to steam inside the strand. You know, we even have a name for it. It's called bubble hair. Bubble hair. And that's what was happening to our guest every time she curled her hair. So before your dryer comes on, you always want to use some kind of heat protection. The other thing you want to do is make sure the coverage is even. So you want to go root to ends. Keep your dryer about 6 inches away, keep it moving, and dry your hair completely. Now the second one is actually on dry hair. So before you ever pick up that curling iron, And curl it, you know, we want to make sure we add some extra heat protection. Most people think, my hair is dry, so I'm good. But dry hair is ready for the iron, but now it's wrapped directly around hot metal. That's a whole different kind of heat. So when you're using that, our 2 favorites are Hot Sets and Iron Shape. You want to section it, you want to spray it, you want to let it dry completely, and then curl. So, you know, section that whole section well, let it dry, and then curl. And you guys, use the lowest heat that holds your curl. Hotter isn't always better. Sometimes it's just harder on your hair. So once our guest made those 2 changes, her hair finally started growing past her shoulders. 2 steps, softer, shinier hair, and ends that stayed on her head instead of on your bathroom floor. So you invest in your hair every time you visit our salon. Those products protect your investment every time you style your hair at home. So at your next visit, we can show you exactly how much to use on your hair.
