how to use a flat iron without messing up your hair?

[curlygirl493]

hi ladies, i just brought a chi flat iron-but i'm afraid to use it. it seem everytime i try to use heat on my hair, it goes crazy, dry spilt ends. i don't do roller set because it takes to long to do my whole head. i would only use once or twice a month. if any of you have any products or tips that would help, that would be great. thanks

 

[CurlyCrly]

I try to airdry my hair prior to using mine. I also use New Image Damage Free thermal styler/heat protectant, but I don't think they sell that anymore. I also iron on one of the lowest settings. The higher settings give me split ends. I have a jilbere and the heat setting goes up to 30. I set it to 10, but try to iron in thin strips. My hair is thick and it takes a while, but my ends aren't splitting anymore. I use it once a week to week and 1/2.

 

[nurseN98]

I agree w/CurlyCrly, use the lowest heat setting you can and use a good protectant. I use Got2b creme straightener to just lightly blowdry then the serum to flat iron. Afterwards make sure to do a real good deep conditioning treatment or protein treatment as well.

 

[sdumasw]

There is a website, www.growafrohairlong.com, that sells a flat ironing creme formulated for relaxed and natural hair to keep it at a proper ph. This could be beneficial for you, if you are applying heat to the hair. I plan to purchase some as soon as I get enough new growth to flat iron. Plus the site has a lot of good information on it.


Wendy

 

[Angelicus]

I know you don't like to do it, but I think rollersetting is the key to getting my hair its best before flat ironing. I only flat iron the new growth, makes no sense to flat iron the rest because it is straight. Plus I'm protecting my ends by not putting direct heat on them. When flat ironing, use very small sections. It takes about an hour for me to do.

(will you cut your split ends?)