# Naturals Who Straighten Often: How Do You Get Rid of Burnt Hair Smell?



## SmilingElephant (Feb 29, 2012)

I would like to know for future reference. I HATE that smell! Is there a certain serum you use during or after straightening?

TIA


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## Rocky91 (Feb 29, 2012)

i only use a bit of argan oil and it smells great, but what's really key is making sure your flat-iron is clean.
for me: minimal product (more product=the iron will smoke=burnt smell) +clean iron=good smelling hair.

ETA: I don't know if i would say i straighten often, sorry i didn't notice that part of the title. i straighten about once a month or every two months.


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## babyshuf2 (Feb 29, 2012)

I straighten every month to every other month.  My stylist does silkwraps or saran wraps to get my hair straight. My hair never has a burnt smell to it.  After my shampoo and stream deep condition, she rinses and applies goat milk to my hair to detangle and then sits me under the dryer.  After my hair is dried, she blowdries with a handheld and flat-irons.  No product is on my hair and it comes out very silky, shiny, and with tons of body.  I think the key to it is no product to very little product.


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## Ann0804 (Feb 29, 2012)

I don't get a burnt smell at all to my hair. I flat iron on clean hair and make sure my flat iron is free from products. I use Redken Heat Guide protectant and set my sedu iron on 340 degrees.


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## Missjae09 (Feb 29, 2012)

I think the trick is making sure you don't have too much product in your hair and clean your iron with alcohol to make sure there is no product residue. That will help with the smell.


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## pookaloo83 (Feb 29, 2012)

Don't use too much product. I used just chi iron guard one spritz then a lil Cisco. I had no burnt smell.

Sent from my iPhone 4s


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## Jaffa (Feb 29, 2012)

IMO the burnt smell suggests the person is damaging your hair.  This happened to me twice (same person) and really annoyed me as I knew my hair wasn't supposed to smell burnt.  I then learnt about good hair care and since then have never had that burnt smell.  My tips are to have very very well moisturised hair (steamer/deep conditioner) which allows minimal styling product (I use small amount of serum).  Once the hair is in tip top condition it is far easier to straighten and also maintains the straightness.


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## sonychari (Feb 29, 2012)

***Removed***


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## bludaydreamr (Feb 29, 2012)

If your are getting the smell at home hair then follow the suggestions, and make sure your hair is clean, and you are not using too much product(heat protectant).

SN: My hair was heat damaged at a salon visit about a year and a half ago. I smelled a little bit of burnt hair, but not much, so I didn't think too much of it. Until two weeks later when I washed my hair, not only did a chunk fall out before me eyes, but my hair had that burnt hair smell, and It seemed like no matter how much I washed, or conditioned for 6 months when I wet my hair I still smelled it.


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## SmilingElephant (Feb 29, 2012)

Okay...thanks.

I'm asking because i had burnt hair smell when i flat ironed my hair but all i had done was wash/condition/detangled...deep conditioned...put in some conditioner as a leave in and then i used a heat protect and blowdried...after that i simply flat ironed.

I didn't have any heat damage, thankfully. It could be that i just need to clean my flat iron then? I think i will also invest in some argan oil too. Do you clean it while hot to kill bacteria or just simply clean it with the alcohol?


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## SVT (Feb 29, 2012)

Aloe Vera Juice.

1. Spray AVJ on your hotcomb before placing it on the heating element.

2. Use aloe vera juice as a final rinse on your hair. Air dry if possible.

Those two ways work for me but I'm certain others could think of more.

I keep an avj/rosemary e.o. mix in my spray bottle. Works just fine. Keep your tools clean too. Oven cleaner works good on hotcombs.

Walmart sells jugs of AVJ near the pharmacy for around $8.00.


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## lilikoi (Feb 29, 2012)

SmilingElephant said:


> Do you clean it while hot to kill bacteria or just simply clean it with the alcohol?



SmilingElephant 
It has nothing to do with bacteria (the high heat takes cares of that, anyway). The purpose of the alcohol is to dissolve any residue (grease, cones) that is not water soluble. You could wipe with water first. Make sure you iron is unplugged and not too hot when doing this.

ETA: I think in your case, the leave in creamy conditioner might be to blame. This happened to me recently (burt smell) even though the temp was not too high. But I had adde ton of product to my hair, which I don't do normally.


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## Victorian (Feb 29, 2012)

Just echoing what others have said.
If something smells burnt, then something _is_ burnt.  It might be:

*Your hair* -- iron is too hot.
*The product on your hair* -- iron is too hot and/or the product isn't for use with heat.  I wouldn't recommend having any products not intended to be used with heat in your hair(e.g. regular conditioner left in hair)
*Product on the iron* -- as others have mentioned, make sure the iron is clean.  I always wipe mine off after using it, and clean it thoroughly every few uses (I use nail polish remover, but any gentle solvent like alcohol or cleaners specifically for hot tools will work).  Use a q-tip to get the crevices.  Don't use anything abrasive that might mess up the plates.


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## KurlyNinja (Feb 29, 2012)

babyshuf2


babyshuf2 said:


> I straighten every month to every other month. My stylist does silkwraps or saran wraps to get my hair straight. My hair never has a burnt smell to it. After my shampoo and stream deep condition, she rinses and applies goat milk to my hair to detangle and then sits me under the dryer. After my hair is dried, she blowdries with a handheld and flat-irons. No product is on my hair and it comes out very silky, shiny, and with tons of body. I think the key to it is no product to very little product.


 
Not trying to change the topic. But your stylist uses goats milk as a detangler? How is that? And what makes it a good detangler? Does it also have conditioning properties.


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## SummerSolstice (Feb 29, 2012)

lilikoi said:


> SmilingElephant
> It has nothing to do with bacteria (the high heat takes cares of that, anyway). The purpose of the alcohol is to dissolve any residue (grease, cones) that is not water soluble. You could wipe with water first. Make sure you iron is unplugged and not too hot when doing this.
> 
> ETA: *I think in your case, the leave in creamy conditioner might be to blame. *This happened to me recently (burt smell) even though the temp was not too high. But I had adde ton of product to my hair, which I don't do normally.



no, i do this every time, no burn smell.


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## Rina88 (Feb 29, 2012)

What if the flat-iron itself has a smell? Mine is stinky- it has smelled bad since day one so of course when I use it that gets transferred to my hair.


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## Allandra (Feb 29, 2012)

SmilingElephant said:


> I would like to know for future reference. I HATE that smell! Is there a certain serum you use during or after straightening?
> 
> TIA


I've never had my hair smell burnt.


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## Nonie (Feb 29, 2012)

SmilingElephant said:


> I would like to know for future reference. I HATE that smell! Is there a certain serum you use during or after straightening?
> 
> TIA



I don't think it's just the serum because many will use the same serum and some will have the smell and some won't. I think it's how you apply it and also I believe that if you use it along with other products, you will not get the adhesion that would protect the hair as well...plus those products that are not meant for use with heat will burn and add to the smell. 

Before April 2009, I always had that burned smell, even if I didn't have any noticeable heat damage. But in April 2009, I took precautions and decided to use heat protectants for the first time ever, and that was the first time ever not to have that smell. I don't know if it was the combo of products or just my meticulous application but I do think not using anything else helped.

After shampooing, I conditioned with CHI Intra Treatment Thermal Protecting Treatment. After rinsing out (including an ACV rinse) I airdried in Curlformers to stretch my hair. I do not use any moisturizer after the wash because I try to get my moisture during the conditioning. 

I then used John Frieda Heat Defeat Spray on each dry Curlformer section at a time (the sections were so narrow BTW, that I used 80 or so CFs!): I would spray a narrow section till it was wet, pass the iron over it once...then move on to another and repeat...till all sections were done.* By letting my hair dry completely in the CFs before starting this process, I was able to ensure that the Heat Defeat Spray was the only thing making my hair wet. Meaning if every inch I was working on was wet, then it was well covered by the protectant*.

Next applied John Frieda Thermal Protection Serum on narrow sections again meticulously--*the idea was to use ENOUGH not a lot, but to ensure every inch of my hair was covered*. I then passed the iron over it ONCE before doing the same to another narrow section till all were done.

No burnt hair smell at all during the press, or after or even a week later when I wet my hair to wash it. 

*Conclusion: *heat protectants do indeed work and I'll never flatiron without them! Also I think not using anything else but them ensured nothing else got cooked by the iron so nothing would have a burned smell--which I think is part of the smell you get. Also making sure the hair was well covered prevented the iron from coming into direct contact with my hair and therefore from burning the keratin and making it smell.


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## Nonie (Feb 29, 2012)

Rina88 said:


> What if the flat-iron itself has a smell? Mine is stinky- it has smelled bad since day one so of course when I use it that gets transferred to my hair.



@Rina88 do you clean the iron? I always clean my iron so even when I used to get the burned smell, my iron would be cleaned so well it'd not have the smell on it. I am sure there's a "proper way" to do this, but I just used whatever soap or cloth/sponge I had handy...till the flatiron was clean and free of smells. I never stored it with a smell on it. In fact, the iron I used in April 2009 is the same one I always used when I used to get the smell. You always want to make sure you are using a clean iron on clean hair.


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## Rina88 (Feb 29, 2012)

Nonie Yes I clean it after every use. I use alcohol or a cloth with soap and water. I just can't seem to get the smell out. As soon as it gets warm it starts stinking and everyone is running to my room asking what's burning and why am I burning my hair and this is before I've even used it! It's a Solia ceramic flat-iron so it's not some piece of junk I don't know what the deal is.


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## SmilingElephant (Feb 29, 2012)

So maybe its because i used a leave in then....bc there's no heat damage that i have seen...everything curls up like normal. So next time i decide to straighten i will make sure my flat iron is thoroughly cleaned and that i do not use a leave in.

I used GVP Silk Infusion heat protectant....maybe i should find a new one? I've had it for a while...and now that i think about it...even when i was relaxed and i flat ironed...i had that subtle burnt hair smellhwell....and i was using that same heat protectant.

I had been Googling some stuff and i read that the Carol's Daughter Chocolat set is supposed to be pretty good and leave your hair smelling nice after flat ironing...so since i don't straighten that much (maybe 1-2 times out the year)...i think that would be a nice investment....of course i need to smell it first

I'm starting to think it could really be my flat iron tho....it does have a "flat-iron-y" smell to it


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## babyshuf2 (Mar 2, 2012)

KurlyNinja said:


> @babyshuf2
> 
> Not trying to change the topic. But your stylist uses goats milk as a detangler? How is that? And what makes it a good detangler? Does it also have conditioning properties.


 


Hi KurlyNinja...goat's milk has a lot of good things in it such as different minerals, proteins, vitamins, and natural fats.  It helps to add shine and moisture to the hair.  When she puts the goat's milk on my hair, it instantly softens it up so that it can be combed and detangled a lot easier.  She leaves it in to dry and that is all that is on my hair when she straightens it.  After she does my silkwraps my hir is ALWAYS shiny, glossy, and has almost too much body...lol.  Milk in general is good for the hair, especially coconut milk.  I love the goat's milk and I always make sure the shampoo girl adds it to my hair.


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## kandake (May 8, 2012)

I flatironed my hair last night and I want to wash it cause it has this god awful "I flatironed my hair" smell.

My flatirons were clean.  I'm sure it's the products.  I used Trader Joe's conditioner as a leave-in and the braided my hair with Qhemet AOHC.  I let it dry over night, did a braidout yesterday for work and then flatironed in the evening with Sabino Moisture Block.

I'm at a total loss on the smell issue.  I need the products for moisture and to protect my hair.  

This whole natural hair versatility thing it's working in my favor.


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