Is it easy to straighten your hair?
Yes it is easy to straighten your hair – if you have the right tools and a little time and patience on hand. Read on to discover 7 hot tips to straightening your hair.
On beachywave.com we are all about you expressing yourself freely in regard to your hairstyle and when we recommend a certain straightener or product we want you to get your money’s worth out of those products. So we want you to be able to multitask with your tools – so if you have a straightener to make wicked beachy waves we also want you to be able to use that straightener as as straightener and also rock a beautiful straight hair look. This article will discuss how to straighten your hair. Read more for the easy how to steps.
Step One: Wash and Condition your hair
Washing and conditioning your hair is ultra important. Why – you ask? Because It is phase one in your war against the battle of not having dry, hard, damaged hair. Remember back in the day when you had to specifically go to a hair salon to get salon-quality products? Well not now. Now there are heaps of products on the market that will help you protect your hair during your heat styling journey. Thanks to online shopping, we have access to whatever we need at our fingertips! This is the first step in how to straighten your hair – trust me.
Try to choose the best shampoo and conditioner for your hair type and your budget. I could go on for days about what kind of hair you have and what kind of shampoo and conditioner you need. Sometimes it’s something as unique as you are. Paul Mitchell, Redkin, Opalex, and Pureology are some of my favourites for moisturizing shampoo and conditioner combos that are sold on Amazon. Check the links out for more info.
Make sure you follow directions on the bottles and wash and condition your hair accordingly. When shampooing rinse your hair well, rinse your hair as you have never rinsed it before! Rinse twice if you have to. Never leave the conditioner in your hair (that’s not designed explicitly for leave-in). Leaving conditioner in could weigh your hair down, which would leave it dull and lifeless looking. That definitely defeats the purpose of what we’re trying to achieve here.
Pro Tip: For an extra frizz reducing tip, rinse hair in cold water after conditioning. This seals the cuticles of your hair, decreasing the chance of flyaways. Apple Cider Vinegar rinses are also a natural way to combat frizz.
Step Two: Do I need a thermal protectant?
Yes – you do need a thermal protectant, I cannot mention this enough. Using some type of thermal protection product on your hair is so important. Heat styling is an incredible and fast way to get the look you want. It’s not, however, always the best for your hair. Do yourself a favour and invest in a thermal protectant. It’s a smart investment, and a little goes a long way. You can find these at chemists, drugstores and online. This is the second step in how to straighten your hair.
Just like with shampoos, there are a lot of high-end retailers who are reaching out beyond the salons, so access is effortless. One of my favourites that is not expensive and is sold on Amazon is the L’Oreal Paris Advanced Hairstyle Sleek it Iron Straight Heat Spray to use for instant protection. It’s a spray, so you can use it on wet or dry hair.
A few other brands to consider for the job would be Bumble & Bumble, Eva NYC, and believe it or not, Pantene. I was shocked when I found out good old Pantene could handle heat that was off the charts.
You will want to do this step before you blow-dry; after all, you are blasting heat on your hair. So always apply a thermal protectant to DAMP hair. Apply your protectant, from the back of your hair to the front. Doing this stops having a gloppy mess on your roots. Work it through the ends of your hair to the roots.
Your hair ends are more prone to damage therefore, they need the most protection. Comb it through to make sure each strand is coated and ready to go.
Step Three: Power on Your Flat Iron and Get Ready
I know this seems like an obvious step in how to straighten your hair. This whole time we’ve spoken about even heating and you will find that you get better results if you preheat a flat iron. Powering it on before you blow-dry gives it time to heat up and be fully ready to go over your strands.
Even with the fast start-up times that some flat irons have, it’s just better to be prepared. Don’t panic though, if someone calls or you get distracted, the auto shut off feature has you covered (as long as you purchased one with this feature).
Step Four: Does my hair need to be dry to straighten it?
Once again the answer is yes – you need your hair dry to straighten it. If you have the time to spare, always opt for natural drying methods. People with thin or fine hair may find this task a little easier. But if you are in a rush for time, blow-drying is going to be your only option. Either way, you should always make sure your hair is dry before straightening. This is undoubtably an important step in how to straighten your hair well.
As to not overheat your hair blow it out in sections on a low setting – this will help to protect your hair while you learn how to straighten your hair. There are also many great hair dryers out on the market now which infuse ions in your hair and have a myriad of settings, which can also help to increase protection. Check out our post on the “5 Best Blow Dryers for Natural Hair“ for a little guidance if you’re looking for a new hairdryer.
So don’t crank your hairdryer on “crayon melt” high. Use a low setting and a round brush to guide your hair whilst while blowing it out. This helps you set the stage for that one pass straightening that is another protective way to style hair.
Hot tip: If your hair type has an ultra coarse texture, a paddle brush will be better than a round brush for perfecting your blowout and helping you learn how to straighten your hair.
So how does one pass straightening protect my hair?
Just like it sounds – you are going over your hair one time only to straighten it. This is important because you are not blasting the same section of hair with 455-degree temperatures over and over again. Even heating or not, that’s too much heat on your hair.
Now I will be fair and say that MOST hair can be straightened with the one-pass technique once blown out. However, especially frizzy, thick, or coarse hair may need an extra pass to straighten your hair beautifully.
Why can’t I flat iron damp hair?
Think about adding high heat to water, like when you are making tea. Bubbles come up, steam comes out. The same science applies to your hair. You are basically boiling your hair when you straighten damp hair. This is pushing out your nutrients, elasticity, vitamins and causing irreversible damage. It is a one-way ticket to brittle hair.
Believe it or not, the same thing can happen to your hair with steam straightening too. Too much moisture will cause essential minerals to leach out of hair leading to split ends. There are some new tools on the market that are able to straighten wet hair – but we will review them another time.
Step Five: Brush it Out, Section it Off
Once it’s all dry, brush your hair out, which even know a minor step in the how to straighten your hair journey, is one that is most important. Even though you maybe using a flat iron with teeth, there still may be a random snare or tangle in the mix somewhere. Besides, brushing is excellent for your hair as it helps distribute natural oils throughout the hair shaft. This keeps build-up away from your roots, maximizing the life of your hairstyle.
Section your hair with clips. Take into consideration the size of your flat iron. Section your hair in relative proportion to your flat iron that you are using. So if your flat iron is around 1 and ½ inches wide that would be the size of the section you want to run through each time. If you have layers, it is always best to start with the bottom layers, then move to your top layers.
Step Six: Do it Right the First Time
After your hair is clipped up and you have mapped out where you’re going to start – start straightening. Smaller hair sections are optimal for even heat distribution because the heat is transferred through the hair faster. Think of it like “it is not done in the middle” if it is too thick.
Hot Tip: You might find a heat resistant glove pretty useful. If you don’t already have one, there are plenty of affordable kinds on the market. These gloves are very beneficial when you are straightening the back of your head.
Step Seven: Enjoy your straight hair
Now is the time to bask in the glory of only having to do one swipe to straighten your hair and move on to the next section. It is so quick and easy when you have a straightener with teeth particularly. I like to use a light, flexible volumizing hair spray after I have straightened each section.
Big Sexy Hair is my favourite. Not only does it help when I want to finish my style (if I want to put it in a high pony or a professional bun) after I have straightened it, but it also eliminates those pesky flyaways. Save the firmer hold hairspray to preserve your masterpiece once it is complete.
If you do happen to still notice a few fly-aways after it’s all said and done, a light leave-in conditioner applied from ends to roots will work wonders. If you have a shorter hairstyle, pomades and waxes are there to apply texture and shine.
Tip: For extra volume, pull your hair up when straightening rather than down. The light hair spray will give an excellent lift to the hair making it look bouncy and full.
Can I extend the life of straightened hair ?
So now you know how to straighten your hair and you have crafted this top-shelf straight hairstyle, and you’d like to extend it a little. Making your straight hair last between a few washes isn’t as hard of a task as it seems. Not washing your heat-styled hair every day gives it a chance to recover, and your scalp will replenish some of its natural oils as well. Another way is with a silk pillow case.
Do Silk Pillow Cases work?
Yes – silk pillowcases work – invest in a silk pillowcase. Silk pillowcases are sent from above. Not only do they make you feel super fancy but they are ultra good for your skin and hair. Tossing and turning at night on a regular pillowcase can damage the hair follicle, which is why you wake up every morning with hair that sticks up all over.
Cotton pillowslips can also harbour sweat, bacteria and grease as regular pillowcases are absorbent. Regular pillowslips trap all the dirt and oil from your face as well. Silk pillowcases, however, are naturally hypoallergenic, they do not trap all the gross stuff. There’s no friction and no friction means no damaged follicles. All of these parts sum up to supreme hair, even in the morning. Definitely a needed purchase.
Top tip: If you just can’t see a silk pillowcase in your future silk bonnets work great too. You can grab them anywhere, and they are CHEAP. Some are even infused with vitamins to help heal your hair.
Now – enjoy your straight sexy hair!
