Hey ladies!! Been stalking this thread since before I big chopped not really intending on heat training but just for extra info...now that i've been natural almost two years, I can say with confidence that I will be doing some form of heat training! I'm a type 4a with MAJOR shrinkage! I love being natural & I love my curl pattern but it is a BEAST to detangle when it has shrank (correct verb? lol). I know most people would say "Hey dummy just don't let it shrink up!" Well that's what I do most of the time
..I wear braidouts and twist outs 99% of the time, but I would love to be able to wear a wash and go and have it 1) hang and 2) not give me hell when I decided to wash again. I love my curls but I'd like them to not shrink so much!
I have only straightened my hair 3 times since natural and only had success once. My problem was that I was terrified of heat damage so I used a pretty low heat setting....my hair laughs at anything under 400F lol. This last time that I straightened, I used apex pressing oil and cranked my flat iron up to the highest setting (450F) using the comb chase method & about 3 or 4 passes per section. I know some people are out there clutching their pearls but at that point I just wanted my damn hair relaxer straight and I said I would reap the consequences when I went to wash my hair lol. Surprisingly, I had only a few tendrils of my hair SLIGHTLY looser (barely noticable). My only issue is that I'd like to get all of my hair to loosen uniformly.....any suggestions?
P.S. If it makes any of you feel better I said that next time I will attempt to lower the heat setting hehe