Naturals that straighten their hair. Please help

[bermudabeauty]

Hello natural ladies. I have been type 4a/3c natural since April and I finally decided I wanted to straighten my hair this weekend to see what it would look like. And it was a big fat FAIL. I blowdried my hair with a handheld blowdryer with a pic attachment then I attemted to flat iron two pieces of hair with a generic Chi on 300 degrees! My hair laughed at me. erplexedSo I didn't attempt to do any other strands of hair.

I always see such beautiful heads of straight natural hair. Please provide me with your hair type and straightening regimine.

You assistance is appreciated.

 

[lana]

I'm sure the "current" naturals will reply, but I was a LONG time natural and I wanted to say that even though I'm texlaxed now...my hair then needed special pretreatment with straightening shampoos and conditioners. So I use those now and they help tremendously. Are you using something like Redken Smooth Down or Paul Mitchell Silky Straight? Always use a heat protectant and a straightening treatment. I love the Redken line and I also like what Keracare Humecto conditioner does to my hair now.

Also remember that if you always wear your hair natural, the first FEW times you try to straighten your hair may revert quickly or not straighten much at all. Be careful not to damage your curl pattern if you wish to straighten the strands regularly. Heat protectant is needed - can't stress that enough. I hope this helps.

 

[Supervixen]

Ponytail method rollersets work well for me. I'll have a voluminous straight style. If I want it bone straight, I have to go to the salon for that.

 

[MsBoinglicious]

I found setting the hair while its wet works best for me. Try rollers, banding, foam rods or bantu knots. I find blowdrying just makes my ends look crazy and they dry in different directions. When you set the hair while wet its stretches and the ends dry straight.

Take small setions of hair when you flatiron. The thicker the hair the smaller the section should be. Also use the chase method with your flatiron. Dont forget that heat protector.

 

[bermudabeauty]

What about pressing the hair with a pressing comb. Does anyone do that?

 

[Lylddlebit]

What about pressing the hair with a pressing comb. Does anyone do that?

Okay you would have to do a cost benefit analysis on what your goals are vs what you are willing to pay/do to make it there. When I press my hair, as potentially damaging as it is... Nothing makes it pop as well as blow drying it with a blow dryer, paddle brush and a little heat protectant ( I have really liked straighten up by sunsilk and heat protexx together). After that I take my good old fashion brass challenger hot comb and heat it up in my ceramic stove and press it in small sections putting only a little bit of protectant on the finished product( like a oil, serum, or even more cream protectant). Once that is done I have it styled and trimmed however I want it.

There are ways to straighten it that are healthier for your strands, and I am still experimenting with those, because I do want to choose hair health over fly style. However, for fly style this method..NEVER lets me down. In practice over the years I don't get permanent straights or scorched spots doing it myself like I have with stylists(well after I got past my trail and error period of learning to self press). It's a risk...but most potentially damaging methods get better as u practice perfecting them.

 

[kooskoos]

Here's my reggie. I get my hair SUPER straight, and I think we have similar hair types. I also henna, which I think makes my hair easier to straighten...but I'm not exactly sure

 

[kooskoos]

What about pressing the hair with a pressing comb. Does anyone do that?

Oh...and I absolutely killed my curl pattern with a pressing comb and had to wait for all the damaged parts to grow out before I ended up cutting them off. So no pressing combs for me

And you can probably turn up the heat a little bit on your flat iron to 350 without any problems if you don't use it often (like once a month maybe) and use a silicon-heavy heat protectant (I recommend IC Serum)

 

[pmichael52172]

I use the pressing comb. Still transitioning but I use it on my roots only. My stylist does it and taught me how for those days when I can't make an appointment. That's only been twice but I've done good.

I blow dry on low. My Keracare Cream press is a heat protectant but not sure how powerful it is next to other serums and heat products. I also use Aveda Anti-Humectant Pomade. I put these on while damp then blow dry. Dab more Keracare as needed before I press with a WARM I repeat WARM comb, then flat iron the rest.

 

[Nonie]

I think the secret is wet-to-dry presses. Ever since discovering how silky smooth they make my 4B hair, I've never looked back. I did improve on technique though. In the past, I'd press hair that was wet with water to dry it as my first step. But this time I pressed hair that was wet with heat protectant. Made a huge difference. No burnt smell. No hint of damage. I share my technique in this thread: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=8024273&postcount=7

 

[ladylibra]

^^^What Nonie said.

Also, you didn't mention what product you used. Did you try to press naked hair? I hope not. Not only for the sake of protecting your hair from the heat, but also think about it - heat just temporarily breaks the hydrogen bonds in your hair to alter the shape (are they hydrogen bonds? Hope i didn't just make that up ). If there is a hint of moisture around, the bonds are rebuilt and your hair reverts.

Trust me on this. My hair reverts if someone even says the word moisture.