Does Heat Open Hair Cuticle?

Mild heat can help to open the cuticles of the hair so that your hair products can penetrate the hair shaft and effectively attach to its protein structure. Using mild heat is a great way to help your hair products to become deposited into the hair strand.

What causes hair cuticles to open?

When an alkaline substance is applied to the hair, the cuticle opens up and causes the hair to swell. On the other hand, acidic hair products close the cuticle layer and cause the hair strand surface to be flattened out, thus making hair smooth and shiny.

How does heat affect the cuticle?

Blow drying your hair with high heat can lead to the rapid evaporation of moisture, drying it out. This is most likely to affect the cuticle, but can also penetrate deeper, into the cortex. ... Once the cuticle is cracked, bubbled or totally lost, future moisture loss and damage can occur—with or without heat application!