My hair laughs in the face of Flat irons *pics*

ThePerfectScore

ThePerfectScore

Well-Known Member
so I decided to straighten my hair, since I hadn't flat ironed it since BC'ing on Super Bowl Sunday.

my hair in its natural state of fabulous




So I washed and conditioned my hair with Dove Intense Damage therapy shampoo and conditioner. Detangled with my quidad double detangler comb with the conditioner... and my hair looked so lovely wet and detangled that I almost didn't straighten it at all. The curls looked lovely... but I decided to press on (literally haha)

Then I applied a nice mixture of heat protecants- I sprayed Elasta QP Design silk thermal styling spray, a lil Aveda Brilliant Universal styling cream, a lil Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1, and then a lil Maxius beyond straight. Now I know this seems like a lot, but really my hair didn't feel weigh down at all.

so then I blow dried my hair on high :look: (yeah I know.. BAD, but I held the blow drier a good distance away) with my Conair Ion shine 1875

my hair post blow drying





then I brought out my Maxiglide... turned the setting to 5 and started to flat iron small pieces I combed out with a small tooth comb....

during the process



I decided to do my hair all the way with setting 5....too paranoid to turn it upm but as you can see how much shrinkage my hair has even with blow drying. (the short piece sticking out hasn't been flat ironed)

All Done :nono:




then I just shook my head and let it been free



Needless to say... it was straighter than it's natural state. so much so I was able to put it in a pony tail



Crazier thing is my hair feels really soft and smooth, even if it doesn't look it
But Alas.. I think tomorrow I'm going to trim the ends and move on with my life....
 
so do you guys think next time I attempt this whole flat iron thing I should turn the temperature of the maxiglide to maybe an 8? Hmmm this was so much easier when I was relaxed... haha
 
loonggood said:
but it is already beautiful
Click to expand...

Aww thank you! I did it because A) everyone wanted to see how long is was straight... and B) I was curious too.

And the reason I did it on 5 was b/c everyone was saying the maxiglide gets sooo super hot, yadda yadda... well needless to say my hair didn't think so. And I did super tiny portions of hair... hmm.... maybe the maxiglide isn't for me. I've never really liked it, even relaxed.
 
ThePerfectScore said:
so do you guys think next time I attempt this whole flat iron thing I should turn the temperature of the maxiglide to maybe an 8? Hmmm this was so much easier when I was relaxed... haha
Click to expand...


and this is why i relaxed and loving it. i think you just need to turn the heat up tho. if i could get my hair pin straight with a 25$ flat iron when i was natural, i know you can do the same with a maxiglide fa sure. :yep:
 
AdoraAdora24 said:
and this is why i relaxed and loving it. i think you just need to turn the heat up tho. if i could get my hair pin straight with a 25$ flat iron when i was natural, i know you can do the same with a maxiglide fa sure. :yep:
Click to expand...


Yeah... I think next time I'll try it at 8.. since the Max is 10... and girl I am sorta missing my $25 BSS flat iron! I might have to bring it back out!
 
I think you need to perfect your blow drying. Your blow dried hair should look like the first and second flat ironed pictures. I know it's hard. I couldn't flat iron my hair myself until my hair got longer. Also moisture before blow drying is a major factor to help prevent reversion.
 
I think you should use a straightening balm on towel-dried hair, blowdry it straight with a brush, REALLLY blowdry it so it should be laying down not standing up like in your pics :), and then you should flatiron it.
 
Thanks for all the tips! I'm just glad I don't really want to wear my hair straight any more now that I know the ease of a wash and go. lol Do you suggest a specific straightening balm?
 
i love my maxiglide, but when my cousin used it on 10, she thought it wasn't hot enough. I forgot what she said she used at home, but, :/ maxi has never let me down.

I think if you follow the advice in practicing better blow-drying techniques (i too had that problem at first), and use the flatiron on 8, you may come out a little straighter. Also, Im an advocate for Maxius Beyond Straight. it resist humidity and worked well for me in the hot humid summer when my hair would usually revert in 1 hour while outside.
 
I can tell from the products you used exactly what did you in:

1.) You used a few too many- try to narrow it down to 2 protectant leave-ins prior to blow drying
2.) Most importantly Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 contains humectants, particularly glycerin which attracts moisture and makes it impossible to straighten.
3.) You man need to perfect your technique. Use thinner sections (no more than 1/4" thick and 2" wide)
 
Hi,

Consider looking into this post: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=475506&highlight, she had some good suggestions for flatironing. I tried method on my daughters 4a4b hair (I did not use the same products) and the end results where the same and looks fantastic. I was using the Maxiglide but have since purchased a tourmaline ceramic flatiron and I like the results better. Its been a week and my daughter has some reversion but the reversion looks like rollers were set to it to make it wavy and thats only at the ends the area closer to the scalp still is very straight. It looks really nice.

The products I used:
Deep conditioner (kept on 40 min rinsed with cool water, I did not need to shampoo after because I have used this mixture on my own hair and did not have a problem with residue, I guess it depends on your hair. Her hair is very dense. I did not go overboard with the conditioner so this may have played a role):
1/2 cup moisturizing conditionr(does not contain glycerin)
3 T OILS: EVCO, EVOO, Wheat germ oil
1/4 cup Aloe vera gel
1 cap of Jerri Redding Veggie Protein
1 T honey (microwaved 30 sec so her hair will not get lighter)

Roller set to stretch the hair used diluted Lottabody Foam wrap lotion 1 cap lottabody to 3 caps distilled water. Next time I may blow dry on warm to cool to shorten the process.

I use a flatiron that is 1 1/2 inches (400 degrees) with a little IC straightening serum (pink one) on each piece ( I focus more on the ends) I use the comb chase method, I do 1 pass on the last couple of inches fairly quickly and then 1 complete pass moving down the strand slowly).

The shine was amazing and her hair was swanging all over the place.

I always used to wonder why her hair would split after flatironing and now I know why. There was not enough moisture in the strand.

Every night to every other night I apply oyin handmade whipped pudding the ends and hairline.

Thanks WestNDNBeauty
 
Last edited:
Okay, take my advice with a grain of salt because I'm still practicing at flat ironing.

1. Maybe blowdrying with heat is too drying for your hair. I know that it is for my hair. I've been blowdrying on low/cool & using the cool shot button & I've been getting much better results in the look & feel of my hair.

2. Ditch the glycerin products because, as another poster mentioned, they attract moisture & add to the poofiness.

3. Maybe you could prep your hair with a smoothing or straightening heat product line (Redken and Alterna have smoothing lines; Dove have straightening lines. You said that you used Dove, though. Did you use the straightening line?).

4. Although you said that your hair didn't feel weighed down with all of those products, it might have been. The people who get the best flat ironing results mainly go light on the products.
 
ThePerfectScore said:
so do you guys think next time I attempt this whole flat iron thing I should turn the temperature of the maxiglide to maybe an 8? Hmmm this was so much easier when I was relaxed... haha
Click to expand...

I would try to get it straighter with the blowdrier first. The straighter it is from the blowdry the easier it is to flat iron. My blowdried hair is pretty much straight. The flat iron just smoothes it out and bumps it.
 
(Not trying to highjack the thread, but prior to tryin different techniques, my straightening process yielded results just like OP's). Last week I attempted to hot comb my hair with an electric ceramic hot comb. I purchased it last summer, just tested it on a piece of my hair in the front, and since it worked, I put it away. I don't straighten much. Anyway, last week I was wearing my hair in a bun with a bit of mango butter and aloe-vera gell to lay it down. I called myself trying to see if I could straighten the hair without washing it, and it laughed at the 350 degree heat. I was shocked it wouldn't straighten, but it was due to the product buildup (glycerin products, gel, etc). So, Saturday I washed all that out, braided while damp, and let it air dry.

Last night I attempted to straighten the whole head this time (1st time since Dec. 08), and it worked very well. All I used was my Maxius Mini-glide (no temp control), the ceramic hot comb (up to 400 degree temp, but used it on 325), smoothing heat protectant cream, coconut oil pomade, and heat-protectant straightening serum. I'm pleased with the results, and will post pics later. I decided to begin "heat training" my hair b/c the curl pattern is quite tight, and I'd like to wear it straight more often, just without chemicals, which is why I'm transitioning.

This heat training will enable me to spend less time next time to straighten it. I noticed my NG is much thicker (even when straightened) than the texlaxed hair. No more chemicals for me. Will post pics in Fotki. I'm proud of the results of my 1st hard press on 10 mos post hair. Took me 2.5 hrs, but proud none the less. :-) I pray it won't revert before I'm ready to wash! Sabino Moisture Block here I come. I agree, you should probably use minimal product and do a slow heat pass. I can't blow-dry my hair, it sheds badly and comes out. I have to air-dry, then press/flat-iron.
 
Myjourney2009 said:
Hi,

Consider looking into this post: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=475506&highlight, she had some good suggestions for flatironing. I tried method on my daughters 4a4b hair (I did not use the same products) and the end results where the same and looks fantastic. I was using the Maxiglide but have since purchased a tourmaline ceramic flatiron and I like the results better. Its been a week and my daughter has some reversion but the reversion looks like rollers were set to it to make it wavy and thats only at the ends the area closer to the scalp still is very straight. It looks really nice.

The products I used:
Deep conditioner (kept on 40 min rinsed with cool water, I did not need to shampoo after because I have used this mixture on my own hair and did not have a problem with residue, I guess it depends on your hair. Her hair is very dense. I did not go overboard with the conditioner so this may have played a role):
1/2 cup moisturizing conditionr(does not contain glycerin)
3 T OILS: EVCO, EVOO, Wheat germ oil
1/4 cup Aloe vera gel
1 cap of Jerri Redding Veggie Protein
1 T honey (microwaved 30 sec so her hair will not get lighter)

Roller set to stretch the hair used diluted Lottabody Foam wrap lotion 1 cap lottabody to 3 caps distilled water. Next time I may blow dry on warm to cool to shorten the process.

I use a flatiron that is 1 1/2 inches (400 degrees) with a little IC straightening serum (pink one) on each piece ( I focus more on the ends) I use the comb chase method, I do 1 pass on the last couple of inches fairly quickly and then 1 complete pass moving down the strand slowly).

The shine was amazing and her hair was swanging all over the place.

I always used to wonder why her hair would split after flatironing and now I know why. There was not enough moisture in the strand.

Every night to every other night I apply oyin handmade whipped pudding the ends and hairline.

Thanks WestNDNBeauty
Click to expand...

@ the bolded...that knowledge paired with the video visual... most flat ironing newbies should be on their way to better flat iron jobs.
 
Jewell - your post inspired me. I'm a texlaxed 4a/b and I just finished an almost four month stretch and then I texlaxed again, but surprisingly although it all went well. I miss my natural new growth. I've pretty much reached my goal of BSL, for sure within the next two months, I'll claim it! So what am I waiting for? I am this close to going back natural and using straightening balms for my texture over texlaxing. :spinning:

I also lose a lot of hair with the blow dryer, even when I section it off, blow dry slowly, with heat protectant. My hair does MUCH better when I airdry and flat iron or rollerset and flat iron. Thicker, healthy hair.

I use Redken Smooth down consistently to help loosen my texture before blow drying and flat ironing. But my goal is to get rid of the blow dryer completely.
 
Im taking notes. I want to flat iron once I can get my hair into a decent bun. And I get the feeling that my hair will not be coorperative lol
 
Wow, I'm so glad you mentioned this. I always wondered why I seemed to find more splits after flat-ironing than when I'm in my natural state (even though I regularly S&D and DC )

Myjourney2009 said:
Hi,

Consider looking into this post: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=475506&highlight, she had some good suggestions for flatironing. I tried method on my daughters 4a4b hair (I did not use the same products) and the end results where the same and looks fantastic. I was using the Maxiglide but have since purchased a tourmaline ceramic flatiron and I like the results better. Its been a week and my daughter has some reversion but the reversion looks like rollers were set to it to make it wavy and thats only at the ends the area closer to the scalp still is very straight. It looks really nice.

The products I used:
Deep conditioner (kept on 40 min rinsed with cool water, I did not need to shampoo after because I have used this mixture on my own hair and did not have a problem with residue, I guess it depends on your hair. Her hair is very dense. I did not go overboard with the conditioner so this may have played a role):
1/2 cup moisturizing conditionr(does not contain glycerin)
3 T OILS: EVCO, EVOO, Wheat germ oil
1/4 cup Aloe vera gel
1 cap of Jerri Redding Veggie Protein
1 T honey (microwaved 30 sec so her hair will not get lighter)

Roller set to stretch the hair used diluted Lottabody Foam wrap lotion 1 cap lottabody to 3 caps distilled water. Next time I may blow dry on warm to cool to shorten the process.

I use a flatiron that is 1 1/2 inches (400 degrees) with a little IC straightening serum (pink one) on each piece ( I focus more on the ends) I use the comb chase method, I do 1 pass on the last couple of inches fairly quickly and then 1 complete pass moving down the strand slowly).

The shine was amazing and her hair was swanging all over the place.

I always used to wonder why her hair would split after flatironing and now I know why. There was not enough moisture in the strand.
Every night to every other night I apply oyin handmade whipped pudding the ends and hairline.

Thanks WestNDNBeauty
Click to expand...
 
You used too many products. Less is more when it comes to blow drying and flat ironing. Try using just one multi-function product b4 the blowdry and a tiny amount of serum b4 the flat iron if needed.
 
NapfroConsulate said:
I have nothing to ad except that you look like Jennifer Husdon....tis all.
Click to expand...

HAHA I've gotten that a lot on this site. Thanks



Okay guys... Notes have been taken!!! Thanks a bunch! But Meh... I am deep conditioning my hair and going back to my curliness... maybe in another 6 months I'll try this again.
 
You have really nice hair and skin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A4uwEUk6nU
I hear this mixture is good if your wanting to straighten hair, i havent tried it yet(i have a weave currently) it appears to relax the curl for a bit, so this, then blow drying and then flat ironing should possibly leave you with better results
 
That's what my first flat-ironing job looked like :perplexed :lachen:

I really don't have any good suggestions. After that, I started pressing it with a heat protectant (Fantasia IC - in the pink bottle - serum). It gets straight and didn't leave damage.
 
BEAUTYU2U said:
That's what my first flat-ironing job looked like :perplexed :lachen:

Good to know I'm not alone! haha

I really don't have any good suggestions. After that, I started pressing it with a heat protectant (Fantasia IC - in the pink bottle - serum). It gets straight and didn't leave damage.
Click to expand...


As a natural I have to relearn everything...but I don't regret my decision to go natural at all! I just have to figure out what the heck I'm doing! I actually don't think I'll straighten my hair again until its full APL or something spectacular like that.
 
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