Air Dry vs Blow Dry before Flat Ironing....

MsLizziA

MsLizziA

Well-Known Member
So I clarified my hair and did a henna gloss. Well I got to thinking about WestNDBeauty's method and decided to try it.

I gotta say that the silk elements deep conditioner is.the.truth. I CAN'T BELIEVE I been sleepn on it this long! Anyway, once I got to te blow drying part, I figured it might cause some moisture issues but I tried it anyway.

Lo n behold just as I had thought, the damn blow dryer dried my hair out. So when I got to the flat iron part it had swang! But it was definetly puffy. I knew I had dried it out some. Anyway, I said next time I try her method, I'm gonna let my her air dry after the DC.

Do y'all get better results with air drying then flat ironing?
 
i definitely can't air dry as a type 4, coily natural. the flat-ironing would take soooo long to do. my hair does retain plenty of moisture after a blowdry, and i use the same DC. how long did you leave it on?
 
I have never blowdried my 4B hair before flat-ironing so cannot compare. I'm satisfied with airdrying so have no plans to try out the blowdrying to compare.
 
I air dry but that's only coz I don't like my blow dryer - if I had a better one I'd use it. The benefits of blow drying for tight coilies is that it helps to straighten out the root area - whereas if you air dry and stretch you can end up with straightened out ends sitting on top of a little fro.
 
Rocky91 said:
i definitely can't air dry as a type 4, coily natural. the flat-ironing would take soooo long to do. my hair does retain plenty of moisture after a blowdry, and i use the same DC. how long did you leave it on?
Click to expand...
about an hour which probably wasn't enough


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MsLizziA said:
So I clarified my hair and did a henna gloss. Well I got to thinking about WestNDBeauty's method and decided to try it.

I gotta say that the silk elements deep conditioner is.the.truth. I CAN'T BELIEVE I been sleepn on it this long! Anyway, once I got to te blow drying part, I figured it might cause some moisture issues but I tried it anyway.

Lo n behold just as I had thought, the damn blow dryer dried my hair out. So when I got to the flat iron part it had swang! But it was definetly puffy. I knew I had dried it out some. Anyway, I said next time I try her method, I'm gonna let my her air dry after the DC.

Do y'all get better results with air drying then flat ironing?
Click to expand...


I've tried airdrying only and got good end results but it was much more time consuming because the hair has set too hard into whatever technique I used to dry it. I found that it took more effort and risked more damage due to combing manipulation since now I have to separate "set" twists or braids then basically comb out the "set" just to get the hair stretched out enough to flatiron. I haven't rollerset my hair in ages and ages but the few times in the past that I did, I experienced the same problems of having to deal with "set" hair.

Bless you if you understand what I was trying to say up there ^^^ LOL!

I've air dried to about 75-80% then lightly blow dry with much better results. The hair is pliable enough at that stage to easily comb out a section. The hair doesn't have to endure as much heat from the dryer, is quicker and much less manipulation is required to stretch out the hair. The hair just feels better! This is the best technique for me.

I've also blowdried then immediately used the flatiron but not too often. It takes too much time to undo each twisted/braided section and blowdry all that hair on the warm setting or if using the hot setting, risk drying it out too much. I only do blowdry-only if I'm in a real rush to get it done.

Another trick I taught myself was to only blowdry to about 85%, make about 8-10 big twists, let it air dry and get a "soft set" from the stretched out hair. It's easy to stretch out the hair sections with a comb and flatiron it that way .

Sorry for all the long, drawn out details......
 
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I finally flat ironed my hair about a month ago for the first time EVAH using Silk Elements etc. I flat ironed after blow drying the day before since I got a trim. It tooke me 4 hours to straighten my hair. I can't do this again. I asked my stylist if he can do it using my flat iron but he didn't want to use mine. He wanted to use the marcel flat iron and that was just NOT going to happen.

The hair came out fine, in fact I'm still wearing it straight with a long braid hanging in the back.
I'm scared to wash it out and see stick straight hair. I might just lose it.
Next time I'm air drying though and yes I'll post pics next time...
 
I tried the SE Megasilk this wknd and i too love it!!! I don't flat iron my hair often (I'm relaxed) but I get pretty good results either way...it all depends on how much time I have.
 
My recent flat ironing of my hair was done on banded hair that was thoroughly detangled and allowed to air dry overnight. Next morning I was able to brush out each banded section before I flat-ironed and my hair was completely dry. I washed my hair around 5PM the night before, and by 7am the next morning I was good to go.

Like Nonie, I don't intend to blowdry my hair before flat ironing.
 
~~HoneyComb~~ said:
My recent flat ironing of my hair was done on banded hair that was thoroughly detangled and allowed to air dry overnight. Next morning I was able to brush out each banded section before I flat-ironed and my hair was completely dry. I washed my hair around 5PM the night before, and by 7am the next morning I was good to go.

Like Nonie, I don't intend to blowdry my hair before flat ironing.
Click to expand...

I might try the banding technique next but this blow drier thing gotta stop. And ya know my blow drier gotta be hot because I always blow dry my hair on warm! I never use hot

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When I flat iron my hair, I do ponytail roller sets (thanks Pokahontas) to dry and stretch out my hair. My hair would take forever to air dry, so I don't even bother trying that method.
 
~~HoneyComb~~ said:
My recent flat ironing of my hair was done on banded hair that was thoroughly detangled and allowed to air dry overnight. Next morning I was able to brush out each banded section before I flat-ironed and my hair was completely dry. I washed my hair around 5PM the night before, and by 7am the next morning I was good to go.

Like Nonie, I don't intend to blowdry my hair before flat ironing.
Click to expand...

This is my same routine. I've retained more moisture with this method.
AA
 
blow dry a braidout. I plait my hair and leave then braids in overnight or for a day. Then I blowdry on cool. My hair gets pretty straight. But honestly rollersetting works best because I dont get dry hair
 
Also for those who airdry and then flat iron do you airdry with any oils/butters and then flat iron? My understanding is that is a no no. If not, then do you air dry with minimal product in your hair?
 
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Nix08 said:
Also for those who airdry and then flat iron do you airdry with any oils/butters and then flat iron? My understanding is that is a no no. If not, then do you air dry with minimal product in your hair?
Click to expand...

I personally airdry w/o any products. I use Curlformers and put them in on wet hair after rinsing out conditioner and only take them out when my hair is fully dry.
 
So far i've realized that blow drying my hair before flat ironing is too drying..and no matter what even with the maxi glide..good DC all of that.. my hair is still a ball of poof....I'm thinking to air dry in loose braids...and maybe blow dry on cool.. if anything is not dry... will be more helpful for me...It's almost time for my 2nd flatiron of the yr.. I will let you know how this works out...
 
Nonie said:
I personally airdry w/o any products. I use Curlformers and put them in on wet hair after rinsing out conditioner and only take them out when my hair is fully dry.
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I never thought about curlformers. hmmm i don't have any but i plan on buying some. Have you ever tried doing flexirods?
 
MsLizziA said:
I never thought about curlformers. hmmm i don't have any but i plan on buying some. Have you ever tried doing flexirods?
Click to expand...

@MsLizziA No, but I don't think they'd work as well as Curlformers. There's something magical about the way Curlformers actually stretch my hair so that it looks as if I used some type of heat. Wrapping my hair around flexirods I doubt would take my hair from this to this since I would not be able to stretch it out just using my fingers and trying to wrap it without it slipping back into shrink mode and I imagine I'd give myself a headache trying to do it. CFs make this a breeze.
 
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Nonie said:
@MsLizziA No, but I don't think they'd work as well as Curlformers. There's something magical about the way Curlformers actually stretch my hair so that it looks as if I used some type of heat. Wrapping my hair around flexirods I doubt would take my hair from this to this since I would not be able to stretch it out just using my fingers and trying to wrap it without it slipping back into shrink mode and I imagine I'd give myself a headache trying to do it. CFs make this a breeze.
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Wow so do curlformers hold your hair really tight?


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MsLizziA said:
Wow so do curlformers hold your hair really tight?


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Click to expand...

They do. The only scary part is the hook is made of plastic so it has a seem which can rip at your strands, otherwise if you file it well (with one of those electric nail files that spin and can fit in the nook), then it's great to work with.

MsLizziA If you watch this video of how to put them in, you'll notice the hook pulls on hair that is being held in one hand so that hair goes in stretched taut. It is then locked in that stretched state that also winds in a spiral shape which is why you end up with hair that is no longer shrunken.
 
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