If you flat iron your hair on a regular basis, you might notice that the hotter your iron gets, the flatter and more polished your tresses will look. However, you might have also noticed that there is a threshold, and it is possible to go too hot.

If your flat iron is too hot, it is very possible to burn your hair. If you don’t actually burn it off, you can very easily damage the hair cuticle which will lead to slow breakage, split ends, and overall dull frizzy looking hair. Yes, frizzyness in your hair is not just a result of texture or the type of hair that you have, it can also be caused by heat damage.

The thick shiny locks that you see on Pantene commercials is also extremely healthy undamaged hair (if it’s not computer enhanced). When hair is healthy the cuticle lays down flat and light reflects off of this smooth hair surface making it look “shiny”. When it is damaged, the cuticle is frayed and rough, and it does not reflect light at all. Each of these factors is directly affected by your technique when you style your hair and the amount of heat you use.

So how hot is too hot and how hot is just right? You definitely want a straightener that is hot enough to flatten your hair easily. You should only have to pass the flat iron over your hair once or twice, regardless of your hair texture. Generally the ideal temperature is at around 250 – 350 degrees.

You’ll know that your flat iron is too hot if your hair smokes or smells when you run the plates over your hair. If you see smoke, lower the temperature on your straightener right away. If your styler does not have variable heat settings, you should not use it after you see smoke. This could indicate that the flat iron is damaged and that it is not distributing the heat over the plates correctly. If you care about your hair, always invest in a proper tool that does have a temperature gauge.

If you are asking “how hot should a flat iron get,” you should also ask yourself if you are styling your hair correctly. Make sure that your hair is clean when you flat iron. Regardless of the heat setting that you use, if you straighten your hair with products and dirt in it, what you end up doing is frying or pressing the products and dirt into your hair. Also make sure that your hair is completely dry. Beware of using a flat iron that says it can go from wet to dry. This is not great for your hair nor is it good for quality results. When your hair is not completely dry and you flat iron it, moisture that is locked in your hair shaft will creep out and cause your hair to become frizzy again.