I straighten my hair nearly every day, but these 6 simple habits make sure it stays healthy

I don’t have many bad habits. I don’t vape, and I don’t bite my nails anymore. I do, however, straighten my hair almost every day and have an unhealthy addiction to M&S' Percy Pig Phizzy Tails (but that’s a story for another day).

I grew up in the 90s when poker-straight hair was all the rage, and curly hair products were still a niche offering. I’ve been dragging straighteners through my hair pretty much daily since I was 15 years old. I’ve tried all the best straighteners on the market, including the new GHD Sculpt and Hershesons The Great Iron.

There are pros and cons to all of the stylers out there, but even with the most advanced technology, you can’t get away from the fact that they will damage your hair to some degree.

6 things I do to keep my hair healthy as a straightener-addict

If someone told me they had straightened their hair nearly every day for 20 years, I would be picturing a woman with just one or two strands of singed hair left. Or someone who'd been forced to cut it into an unflattering, ear-length bob because the split ends had got so out of hand.

In fact, my hair is in pretty good condition. If you look very closely, you can see some signs of damage, but it’s generally shiny and healthy-looking. Want to know how I keep it that way? I’ll let you in on my six non-negotiables for healthy hair even when you’re addicted to your straighteners…

1. Make heat protection an everyday essential

It sounds obvious, but the best heat protection sprays are essential to keeping your hair healthy. Most on the market are designed to be used on damp hair, which is great, as wash day is when I use the most amount of heat on my hair.

The step that most people forgo, though, and potentially miss a trick, is a heat protection spray for dry hair. A leave-in heat protect spray isn’t going to last in your hair, so you can’t rely on it when you’re smoothing frizz or restyling between washes.

2. Swap conditioner for masks

As you can imagine, all this straightening means my hair is very prone to dehydration. It’s also very thick and naturally coarse, so it needs a lot of moisture to feel smooth and look shiny. Most conditioners don’t quite cut it, and my hair still feels crispy after I’ve rinsed them out.

About five or six years ago, I gave up using conditioner altogether. Instead, I use one of the best hair masks every time I wash my hair to give it all the moisture it’s so clearly crying out for. Protein-packed bond repair masks are a brilliant refresh when my hair is feeling overprocessed, but using too much protein can make hair brittle. Alternate with a purely conditioning mask to stay out of straw territory.

3. Go easy on the bleach

My hair goes through enough on a daily basis without me suddenly deciding to book in for a dramatic colour change. I’m naturally brunette, and I get a half-head balayage around once a year to break up the block colour and give it some depth.

Bleach works by using chemicals to break down the natural pigment within your hair. The longer you leave it on, the lighter your hair will get, and the higher the risk of damage. I know it’s tricky, especially if you’re going lighter to make your greys less visible, but keeping bleach to a minimum will help to keep your hair healthy in the long run.

4. Be gentle with the front of hair

Ever noticed that your hair grows longer at the back than it does at the front? That’s because we focus most of our styling efforts on the front sections of our hair. That means they get more exposure to heat, plus we put them under more tension as they’re easier to reach.

I always try to keep this in mind, limiting how many times I go over the front of my hair (even when the teeny little baby hairs that will not sit flat are driving me mad).

5. Book in for regular trims

Can you fix heat-damaged hair without a chop? Not really. I have been trying to grow my hair for the past year, with the aim of getting it long enough to finally try and embrace my natural curls. The longest I went was five months between trims when my hairdresser was on maternity leave, and the split ends were really starting to show by then.

The problem with split ends is that they don’t just stay on the end of your hair. They travel up the shaft, creating breakage closer and closer to the root. A regular trim nips them in the bud and also keeps my ends looking fresh and neat, rather than singed and raggedy.

6. Invest in Brazilian blow-dries

Keratin blow-dry day is my version of Christmas Day. I know that for the next three months I will wake up every day to the glossy, low-maintenance hair of my dreams. Keratin blow-dries, also known as Brazilian blow-dries, work by breaking down the bonds that normally form the hair and rebuilding them with a hefty dose of keratin, the protein our hair is made from.

For my naturally unruly hair, it’s a complete transformation. Blow-drying time is halved, my arms no longer ache on wash day, and I don’t have to pick up the straighteners for a daily refresh. They are expensive, with most salons charging around £200 depending on the length and thickness of your hair, and they require you to spend between two and four hours in the chair.

Because it is a chemical process, it can also cause some damage to the hair, but I think it’s balanced out by how much less reliant I am on my straighteners in the months that follow. There are at-home alternatives, like ANSWR's At-Home Keratin Treatment, but they don't last as long as the real deal.