Truth About Thermal Protection Hair Products?

I spent most of yesterday online reading reviews about various thermal protection hair products currently available on the marketplace.

One thing seems to be true across the board that all users agree upon which is:

No one thermal protection product works best for all types, texture, lengths and conditions of hair.  Doesn't happen.

Some people swear by the top of the line thermal protection products while others swear by the cheap drugstore brands.

Can we please discuss this here in more detail? It would help so much & frankly I'm tired to buying tons of products on the hope that they will be a miracle product for me only to find that they make my hair sticky, tacky, oily, dry, damaged, smell bad or just don't work.

What heat protection - thermal protection hair products have you used and which ones do you love/hate and why?

Yes, this whole topic is extremely confusing.  It used to be that hairstylists would tell consumers with heat damage to just stop using their blow dryers and hot irons, hot rollers, etc., 

I know because it happened to me many years ago when I was getting serious about growing my hair to my waist.  At the time my hairstylist told me that if I didn't stop using a blow dryer he would not work with me because I had so much damage.

Then the idea of using leave-in conditioners and heat protection styling products emerged.

From there the entire thermal protection sprays, creams, mists and even gels took root and now there are literally hundreds of products on shelves in hair salons, retail outlets and online which claim to provide heat protection.

I think the only way to really get a handle on what works and what doesn't is to share experiences.  That is the very best way.  Of course keeping in mind that someone with fine/thin hair may not do well with products which work on thick or coarse hair.

I rarely blow dry or heat style my hair which is classic length (I can sit on it). In all fairness, I'm sure careful with my hair since I spent so many years growing it and pampering it.  I have a lot invested so I'm not really willing to risk it all for regular blow drying.  99.99% of the time I air dry and only blow dry my hair for special events.  I don't even own a flat iron anymore but will let my stylist use it the 4x a year I see her.

And yes, the HairBoutique.com warehouse has hot tools if I really wanted to buy them/use them.

Ultimately I think it has to be a personal choice whether you heat style or not.  There are a lot of factors involved including hair length, condition, lifestyle, image considerations, type of work and whether or not you have a family that might take precedence over a daily 30 minutes with hot styling.

When/if I do hot style I do layer my hair with rinse out conditioners leave-in conditioners from either Phyto or Rene Furterer which are my lifelong go-to products (they have never let me down).

I might use a thermal protection spray from Alterna (their bamboo is very good) or a product from Ouidad (I have textured hair) and she created great products for curly/wurly hair like mine.

I would love it if we could drill down and discuss several products to get feedback.  I know that the Alterna I use often get 4-5 stars but some users claim the nozzle doesn't work and it does contain cones.

I also see the Ouidad getting great reviews but she doesn't market it as a thermal product only whereas Alterna does market theirs as thermal protection specific.

Thanks for the topic.  I hope everyone is willing to share their experiences.