I can't straighten my own hair!

[vkb247]

This is the main reason why I stopped relaxing for straight hair 11 years ago and I don't know why I thought that some hair knowledge and good tools was going to change that.

I spent 2 hours flat ironing my hair for the first time and my hair looks like I got a good blow dry! Its fluffy and everywhere! Not to mention going through my hair one small piece at a time showed me some breakage and that I definitely need to trim about 2-3 inches in some places. I feel like I hate my hair right now!

Am I the only one who can't straighten their own hair or has hair that is hard to straighten? What can I do to fix this problem. I was feeling so proud of my journey but right now I am ashamed of my hair

 

[Black Ambrosia]

What temp is your flat iron set at? It sounds like you aren't using enough heat.

 

[vkb247]

I tried from 360 - 380 F. My blow drying skills also suck. My ends were all shrunken up and tangled

 

[ceebee3]

You're not the only one, I have no flat iron skills. I don't use a blowdryer but I wouldn't even know how.

I tried to flat iron my own hair 2 weeks ago and it came out okay but I can never get the roots straight.

It's much easier for me to get my hair straight by rollersetting.

 

[nikki2229]

Can you tell us what your routine was for this flat iron session?
This may help pinpoint where there is room for improvement.

 

[vkb247]

Please help! I thought I did my research!

I put coconut oil and olive oil in it the day before and let that sit overnight
Poo was Pantene Relaxed and Natural
DC with Lustrasilk Shea Butter and Yogurt for about 30 minutes no heat
Detangled under the shower on four sections
Rinsed each section to make sure the dc was out
Applied a little coconut oil
Sprayed with Design Essentials Blow dry and Leave in Spray

Blow dried with denman...or I tried too. My hair dried very fast and the roots are nice and silk and the ends felt coarse and were very hard to clear when I was clearing each small section to flat iron. The comb was only ripping my hair and could never run through smoothly so I ended up using my denman to chase with the flatiron and that was a big improvement.

I added a little design essential serum before flat ironing but my hair was reverting as I was working. It is very humid here. I think that I definitely need to cut for my hair to look the way I want it too. My hair is soft and has sheen but is very light and fluffyish.

How do I get better at this without killing my hair?

 

[SVT]

Are you pulling the hair taut and applying pressure to the hair with the iron as you straighten?

 

[vkb247]

Are you pulling the hair taut and applying pressure to the hair with the iron as you straighten?

I was pulling the hair while holding the denman near the ends. I don't know how taut it was though. Sometimes I would squeeze the iron but only if I had to do a second or third pass and I wasn't using the denman anymore so I could hold the iron with both hands. I only did one pass of the iron maybe like 85% of the time I saw some steam so I was worried about overdoing it.

 

[KrystalClear]

This is the main reason why I stopped relaxing for straight hair 11 years ago and I don't know why I thought that some hair knowledge and good tools was going to change that.

I spent 2 hours flat ironing my hair for the first time and my hair looks like I got a good blow dry! Its fluffy and everywhere! Not to mention going through my hair one small piece at a time showed me some breakage and that I definitely need to trim about 2-3 inches in some places. I feel like I hate my hair right now!

Am I the only one who can't straighten their own hair or has hair that is hard to straighten? What can I do to fix this problem. I was feeling so proud of my journey but right now I am ashamed of my hair

maybe you need a diff iron, I used to have that problem. I have the most resistance hair. look at my post about the hana elite iron. if it can make mine silky straight with no stretching or blow drying, I bet it will work for you! hth!

 

[vkb247]

I am using the Hot Tools Solid Ceramic Iron. I hoped it would do the trick. What temperature do you use? I have resistant hair but I'm not natural so I don't know how much my hair can take.

 

[Vshanell]

What iron do you have? Try a maxiglide, that'll get it relaxer straight because of the pins.

Also, how you pre-stretch your hair prior to straightening will help your hair come out silkier and straighter with less heat. You can do this by rollersetting, banding, braiding, bunning....just something to help your hair dry as stretched as possible. For me the easiest and most effective is roller setting.

 

[Irresistible]

I think no matter what you do when its humid straightening natural hair is a loss

Ive had too many 5 min presses that took hours for this to not be true

Try it when there is no moisture in the air, skip the blow dryer , my hair tangles fiercely with it too, just let it air dry -leaves more moisture in your hair than blow drying first

might need a hotter temp and go slow/small sections

 

[BlackMasterPiece]

hmmmm theres a good chance your iron is just ceramic coated, be sure to throughly read the box you purchase you iron on and be sure that they're 100% ceramic plates because it seems every brand is tryna claim ceramic but it has to say on the box weather they're ceramic coated or solidly 100% ceramic.

It has to start out with a good blowout too you seem like you need better serums and leave-ins for straightening.

Also rather then using the denman, I'd suggest you use a fine toothed comb and implement the comb chase method that really makes a huge difference.

But yea, I'll definitely agree with irresistable, if you're in a highly humid area, presses and flat-irons just wont last, presses do best in low-humidity / moderate to cold temeratures

 

[KrystalClear]

I am using the Hot Tools Solid Ceramic Iron. I hoped it would do the trick. What temperature do you use? I have resistant hair but I'm not natural so I don't know how much my hair can take.

I never exceeded 375, and I didn't even have to use that temp!

 

[Missjetta]

Hi, I am very challenged when it comes to hairstyling, so hopefully, the fact that someone like me can get my hair straight will help you and inspire you to try it again. If I can do it, I think that anyone can

Compared to the wonderful ladies on this board, I neglect my hair (infrequent washings, hardly any products, barely style my hair, etc) because I am laaaazy.

Here's my simple lazy-girl straightening routine:
*Wash with Aveda DR shampoo and conditioner. I make sure I can comb thru my whole head before rinsing out conditioner (detangling when wet is easier for me).

*Band my hair in four sections, or ponytail twist in four sections to keep it from frizzing up.

*Sit under my soft hooded hair dryer attachment thingy until my hair is dry. If I'm feeling impatient, I get it mostly dry, then finish with my blow dryer on high speed but low heat. If I tried to blow dry it from a sopping wet state, I will get insane frizz.

*Once completely dry, I flat iron in very small, even sections using: Ion Anti Frizz Solutions Heat Protection spray (on every single piece) & my Titanium Tools Professional Flat Iron 1" size by Jilbere de Paris (got both at Sally Beauty). I use the chasing method (rat tail comb on already detangled and dried hair to make strands taut, immediately followed by the iron), which gets it really straight. Does anyone have a thread or video link to that method to share with OP?

That's it. I don't have enough patience to do anything more special than that. I have some pics in my Fotki that show my texture and also a couple of my hair straightened after using the method above. I really hope this helps, I certainly know a thing or two about hairstyle frustration.


ETA: My flat iron settings go up to 40, I use between 25 and 30. That little tidbit of info may be helpful.

 

[vkb247]

What iron do you have? Try a maxiglide, that'll get it relaxer straight because of the pins.

Also, how you pre-stretch your hair prior to straightening will help your hair come out silkier and straighter with less heat. You can do this by rollersetting, banding, braiding, bunning....just something to help your hair dry as stretched as possible. For me the easiest and most effective is roller setting.

This is the iron I have. I have a miniglide that I bought for my edges but I actually didn't have a problem with them.

http://www.folica.com/Hot_Tools_Solid_d4924.html

I think that air drying might be the best for me until I learn how to roller set.

I think no matter what you do when its humid straightening natural hair is a loss

Ive had too many 5 min presses that took hours for this to not be true

Try it when there is no moisture in the air, skip the blow dryer , my hair tangles fiercely with it too, just let it air dry -leaves more moisture in your hair than blow drying first

might need a hotter temp and go slow/small sections

Yeah I have been waiting for winter to start wearing my hair straight. But I just checked the humidity for today and it was 74%

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one whose hair tangles with a blow dryer. Stylists are able to get it straight this way so I was hoping I could too. I want to learn how to blow dry properly but I think next time I flat iron I will air dry first and try a higher temperature and smaller sections.

hmmmm theres a good chance your iron is just ceramic coated, be sure to throughly read the box you purchase you iron on and be sure that they're 100% ceramic plates because it seems every brand is tryna claim ceramic but it has to say on the box weather they're ceramic coated or solidly 100% ceramic.

The box and the Folica website says its solid ceramic


It has to start out with a good blowout too you seem like you need better serums and leave-ins for straightening.

I bought the same leave in and serum that the stylist used on me when I got it straightened a couple of months ago. The only thing different is that I used oil, she used a GVP, and that was in ATL

Also rather then using the denman, I'd suggest you use a fine toothed comb and implement the comb chase method that really makes a huge difference.

I tried a comb and it wouldn't go through my very tangled roots no matter how many times I combed through it. I was using this

but my denman worked much better for me.

But yea, I'll definitely agree with irresistable, if you're in a highly humid area, presses and flat-irons just wont last, presses do best in low-humidity / moderate to cold temeratures

I know that humidity is the debil for presses but I know a few heat straightened naturals who live here and have no problem with reversion. I have no idea what state their hair is in when curly because they never wear it that way but it looks nice and healthy.

 

[vkb247]

Thanks Missjetta. I think what is happening (besides the dang humidity) is that I am doing two things that I am very new at - blow drying and flat ironing. So my straight hair is double doomed!

I feel like going to the salon tomorrow and getting a couple of inches cut off because I think my hair would look a million times better. I am afraid that I will make myself even more miserable because I hate having my hair cut. I need a plan for dealing with this partially straight uneven mess.

 

[NerdSauce]

Try a boar bristle brush, if that's not tooo terrifying.

I recently (like sunday) attempted to straighten my hair and while it got straighter than it has in the past (attempting to use Salon Cabelo's technique, on youtube) it wasn't what I wanted though i did like it.

I know EmpressRi posted a youtube clip a while ago of her using a boar bristle brush to get her ends straight and it really does work. I tried it a little bit with a not-quite-hot as the first go around ironing (bad, i know) and the results were much better. I think it especially helps when you have ends that need to go, as I do.

 

[MangaManiac]

Don't get so down and if you do decide to cut, maybe only get a dusting or trim. Keep your head up. Do a DC while giving yourself a facial and mani/pedicure while listening to some good music. Think about 10 things that are great about you and force yourself into a meditative then good mood. Also...

...here are some of the things that I do to make sure my hair gets straight:

1) After conditioning and detangling I put my hair into 8 braids
2) Let my hair air dry 60%
3) Take each braid down individual and put on a smoothing cream (Rusk str8) and heat protectant serum (Fantasia IC - pink bottle)
4) Rebraid and let air dry 90%
5) Go to a place in the house that's cooler that's not the bathroom or kitchen
6) Take down and blow dry one braid at a time with a comb attachment (no brush)
7) Pin up each section except for one
8) Break down into sections, add a small amount of serum and flat iron
9) Squeeze flat iron and pull it down the length of hair slowly
10) Spray with hair glosser (Smooth n' shine)
11) Continue until whole head is down
12) If going to bed - wrap and apply scarf


I don't use anything higher than 220 and I rarely do more than 1 pass. I do ridiculously small sections and make sure my hair is almost completely air dried before blow drying. If you're hair was smoking it means that it wasn't completely dry so that may also be a culprit. I do think that used 100% ceramic plates are a must as well.

I used to never get my hair straight or it would always revert until I started using a smoothing/straightening cream AND serum before apply heat and then a serum and glassing spray afterwards. Just don't be too heavy handed if you do decide to use this method. Your hair will be straight, but it won't have any swang.

Hope my new agey and practical advice helped some! If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me! Good luck!

 

[AnitaTheLengths]

Wow! There are some great tips in this thread! I cannot do my hair to save my life! Last week when I washed/dc'd, I blow dried and my hair tangled like the devil. I detangled before the wash, during the dc rinse and when drying too. Whats up with that? I dried in 4 sections, roots first, then detangle, then I'd dry the ends IF they were still detangled. In the front sections I had to stop blow drying and detangle every couple of passes (blow dryer). I guess I did learn patience during my Jedi training. I cannot get the chase method of flat ironing down - I am so unambidextrous and uncoordinated it ain't funny! Keep the tips coming ladies!

 

[ladytee2]

Wow I thought I was the only one. I am style challenged and have a problem getting/keeping my hair straight. I was just wondering if you are deep conditioning and using protein and if you have checked porosity. If you are having a problem getting the comb through the ends you may need a trim as well and when was the last time you clarified.

 

[vkb247]

Don't get so down and if you do decide to cut, maybe only get a dusting or trim. Keep your head up. Do a DC while giving yourself a facial and mani/pedicure while listening to some good music. Think about 10 things that are great about you and force yourself into a meditative then good mood.

Thank you do much! The new agey advice is right up my alley I needed to here that. Got to focus on the positive. I am going to try some new styles and enjoy the look even though it wasn't what I was looking for.

LadyTee2, I deep conditioned with a little yogurt for protein before I straightened. I used poo at this wash and the wash before which I usually never use. I don't poo, dc, clarifiy, or use protein on a regular basis. I stopped doing most of that when I started using henna regularly. I used to have problems with porosity. My hair is healthy and my reggie is very simple. But I am style challenged and length obsessed. I am holding on to some ends that suffered damage when I was trying to get my hair journey together.

 

[Monroe Lee]

I tried from 360 - 380 F. My blow drying skills also suck. My ends were all shrunken up and tangled

So sorry you're going through this! You're 4b huh? My hair text is similar to yours and I have the exact same problem. I'm assuming our kind of hair needs more heat. Twice or so I got it professionally straightened and it came out nice but after I washed a couple of strands didn't fully revert. I'm kinda scared to try again. But in either case I think you should find a really good stylists to do it for you a couple of times and ask them to teach you how to DIY for your particular hair type and needs. HTH

 

[Shay72]

You're not the only one. That's why I need to stop joining these challenges where I have to do length checks. I will not be a straight natural .