Looking for some advice!

[Dak]

Hello All!

I hope to get some good advice here. For the last 15 years or so I've worn my hair curly, (I'm a 3C), and suddenly decided I'm ready for a change and want to start wearing it straighter. I hired a beautician to flat iron it for me and I really like the change, ironed out my hair is so much longer and I like the way it softens my face, my husband told me it makes me look younger and at 50 that's definitely a good thing!

My question is, is it possible to flat iron it regularly, say every other week and not damage it? What's a healthy routine? When the stylist did my hair I got a smell of burned hair (?), it that normal or is that too hot? I've been reading about the BKT, has anyone tried it here? Any warning signs I should be aware of? I just bought a generic Chi (Sally's knockoff) and tried doing a roller set using KMS Flat Out then ran the flat iron through. I didn't get it as straight as the stylist did, but I was afraid to use too much heat. What would be a good temp. setting?

Sorry for all the questions, looking forward to getting to know some of you!
Dak

 

[Missi]

Silvergirl has 3c hair too: thats wat her siggy looks like if you ever came cross it: yall two have a lot in common. HTH

UPDATED: May 30 2007
http://public.fotki.com/louisvuittongurl/
100% natural - Last relaxer July 2005 - Bc'ed Feb 23 2007

 

[newflowers]

I'm not quite sure how much help this will be to you, but...

My daughters have 3b/c. They like wearing their hair straight sometimes, but simply cannot. Pressing and/or flat ironing hair will dry it out and it will break. You canuse protective products, but, in the long run, too much heat will damage your hair.

I'm not sure what you would do about washing and conditioning in between the two weeks. Do you not wash it at all? My 22 yo says if she did that with her 3b hair, it would be oily at the top and dry at the bottom - not pretty at all. What about wearing it straight sometimes?

 

[Dak]

hmmmm, sounds like it's not realistic to consider using a flat iron all the time. Is there a way to do a roller set and have it manageable? Any product recommendations?

Wearing my hair curly I usually wash it every 3 days or so, when I had my hair flat ironed I went a week and a half and no, it didn't look bad. Maybe that comes from having a stylist do it.

I'll have to keep an eye out for Silvergirl, always nice to find a hair twin.

Thank you both for the imput!