Straightening your hair is no easy feat. And when you’re doing it for the first time, navigating through all the steps can be intimidating–especially when you’re natural. There may be a lot of steps involved, but they’re all pretty simple and easy to follow.
We know that it can be somewhat of a trial and error process so below are 7 tips to help you nail it the first time around!
Wash Your Hair With Clarifying Shampoo
Freshly washed hair is essential because it gets rid of product build-up and dirt–both of which weigh down hair and higher the chance of heat damage.
Using a clarifying shampoo will ensure that your hair and scalp are extra clean and ready to be prepped and flat ironed.
Deep Condition with protein
Always give your hair a healthy dose of protein before heat styling and once you are ready to revert to your curls again. Apply a protein based conditioner after clarifying your hair and use heat to ensure that the product penetrates the strands. This process will act as your first layer of protection from your heating tools.
Limit Your Product Use
Again, your hair cannot handle being weighed down because it’ll look stringy and lifeless after heat is applied. Heavy products are typically a no-go when flat ironing hair.
I suggest lightweight all-in-one products that act as a moisturizer, heat protectant, and sheen. Sprays and light creams are your best bet.
Pay Special Attention To Your Roots
Simply put, puffy roots make for puffy hair. If you don’t properly blow dry and flat iron your roots, you’ll have unwanted volume and awkward spots.
Take your comb and move it through your roots as you blow dry and straighten your hair to ensure they lay flat. You might want to apply extra heat protectant here if you’re going to use heat for longer periods of time in this section.
Trim Your Ends
Applying heat to split ends will just further damage already damaged hair. Not to mention that split, uneven ends make your hair look stiff and brittle.
Go in for a simple clip before you flat iron your hair. Need some extra motivation to cut your hair? Snipping damaged ends lead to faster hair growth!
Blow Dry Your Hair In Sections
It’s really tempting to want to go in on all of our hair at once because the process can be tedious so the faster, the better. However, working in sections is going to make your hair look a lot more sleek and polished.
They don’t have to be small sections, just part your hair into 4 and work one at a time. Don’t forget to detangle first!
Try A Silkening Serum
Basic heat protectant is great when you just want to get the job done, but in my opinion, products with silkening properties are the best. Why? Silkening serums do exactly what they say they do—make your hair soft and silky.
The product is usually made effective after it penetrates your hair shaft and makes for a smooth straightening process without the extra heat. If you’re looking to get straight hair with only one pass of the iron, try a silkening heat protectant.
Have A Solid System
The key to flawlessly straightened hair is to have a great regimen all the way through. The wash, blow dry, prep, flat iron, and post-straightening should all be on point. Personally, I think low manipulation care is important, so if you want to break up the steps into two days you can.
For example, you can wash, deep condition, moisturize and stretch your hair one day. The next day, you can blow dry and straighten your hair. Whatever you choose to do, let it promote healthy hair all the way.
Check out this quick little video from @prettylittlefro for reference:
