Need Advice...Naturals who straighten...

Neala21

Neala21

New Member
Okay so I have been natural for 1.5 years and decided to straighten my hair yesterday. So here it what I did

* washed hair with a conditioning shampoo by Elasta QP
* rollerset hair using setting lotion and air dried
* once dried I applief vatika coconut oil and chi silk to my hair
* after oils applied I did a dominican blowout
* then flat ironed hair to give a smoother appearance
* finally a silk wrap

I know I applied quite a bit of heat which I'm not happy about. My hair got straight which isn't the issue. The problem is my hair doesnt flow like I want it to and my ends look "noticeable". Now I've done dominican blowouts in the past when I was tranisitioning and relaxed and have had better results.

So what gives? I've seen other natural who straighten their hair and it looks gorgeous! My normal hair routine is really simple with shampooing at least once a week and using a moisturizing conditioner and vatika oil. I rarely use brushes or combs. Also last month I did remove my locks that I started 6 months prior.

Here are a few pics of my hair after straightening. Sorry for long post just need sum advice.
 
:needpics:​

I'm a natural head that straightens my hair sometimes. The only product that keeps my hair nice and smooth from frizzing or reverting is grease.
 
Please view attachments. Had to make a seperate post since I couldn't upload pics from my phone.

There are pics of my hair from 4 different angles and The last pic is a close up of my ends...
 

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I don't know a lot of products so can't tell you what's wrong with what you used. Have you used them before? To me it seems like you used too many different things. And I don't know if your hair was well-moisturized which I think is the big secret to a good press. I've never liked setting lotion. I also think CHI Silk Infusion is a protein which would do nothing but make your hair hard, but I don't know for sure since products are not my forte.

My suggestion would be to look for a thread of someone who had a really good press and follow their regimen to a T. westNDNbeauty had a tutorial of how to get a good straightening job in this thread: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=475506
 
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Neala21 said:
So here it what I did

* washed hair with a conditioning shampoo by Elasta QP
* rollerset hair using setting lotion and air dried
* once dried I applief vatika coconut oil and chi silk to my hair
* after oils applied I did a dominican blowout
* then flat ironed hair to give a smoother appearance
* finally a silk wrap

So what gives? I've seen other natural who straighten their hair and it looks gorgeous! My normal hair routine is really simple with shampooing at least once a week and using a moisturizing conditioner and vatika oil. I rarely use brushes or combs. Also last month I did remove my locks that I started 6 months prior.
Click to expand...

A few questions for ya' - Why didn't you deep condition? How hard/coarse did your hair feel after you air dried? Did you air dry to 100% then decided to do the blowout? Could it be that the oils possibly weighed your hair down? Just trying to narrow things down.

BTW I'm only 50% natural :grin:
 
My personal opinion is that roller setting natural hair is a waste of time unless you have only a slight wave pattern. The tension may help straighten the length of your hair without direct heat but it doesn't do anything for the ends. I don't know what your technique is like or what kind of tools you are using but I think your ends would be straighter after if you blow dried your hair after washing and conditioning. Following up with a flat iron or pressing comb would then make the entire length silky.
 
Thanks for posting pics!

I experimented with coconut oil before. After blowdrying with coconut oil, I flat ironed and my ends looked just like yours in that fifth picture after I got done straightening my hair. I think your results has something to do with flat-ironing with coconut oil. I know some ladies here on LHCF can do it, but I noticed the ones that have success with oils are hair type 3's or looser hair textures.
 
to Lovelynaps26I tried the comb chase method with the first time I straightened my hair which was a month ago and my ends still looked like this although the rest of my hair is straight.

to texasqt & africanqueen456I did deep condition my hair the night before which is why I didn't deep condition on the day I decided to straighten my hair. My hair is completely soft even after all the heat that was applied. I am starting to think that maybe the oils weighed my fine hair down since my hair doesn't really flow. I did a trim a month ago when I took down my locs.

to Black AmbrosiaAfter the rollerset my hair was NOT completely straight as my ends were curly.
 
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You used a LOT of stuff too. When I flat iron the only thing left in my hair is either: redken anti snap leave in/lacio lacio OR just the chi OR phyto defrisant/anti snap leave in.

Plus, those go in when my hair is still damp. I would NOT flat iron with vatika oil no no no. That stuff is great for once your hair is already straightened.
 
i would have done a serious moisturizing DC beforehand, like overnight, then skipped the DB since you were going to flat iron anyway, then did the comb chase with a small tooth comb.
 
I'm not natural, but I think that when you straighten your hair, you probably don't want to rollerset. If you have a tighter texture, it usually doesn't do a thing. You may have been better off just blow drying (using the tension method) in sections and then going over it with a flat iron.

Also, which flat iron did you use? And what temperature? How much oil and Chi Silk Infusion did you use?
When was your last trim?
And I agree with the other ladies, who say that you should have deep conditioned. When you straighten, it's very important to get plenty of moisture into the hair beforehand. It makes for a smoother, silkier, and more swingy press.
 
Poohbear said:
Thanks for posting pics!

I experimented with coconut oil before. After blowdrying with coconut oil, I flat ironed and my ends looked just like yours in that fifth picture after I got done straightening my hair. I think your results has something to do with flat-ironing with coconut oil. I know some ladies here on LHCF can do it, but I noticed the ones that have success with oils are hair type 3's or looser hair textures.
Click to expand...

Question...when you press your hair with grease does it fill weighed down? Perhaps I won't use coconut oil for blowdrying and pressing and just use it after my hair straighten only.
 
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I do comb chase and my hair STILL looks just like yours. I can't understand whats wrong with my method either but it's not always the lack of the comb chase method.
 
GaiasDaughter24 said:
I do comb chase and my hair STILL looks just like yours. I can't understand whats wrong with my method either but it's not always the lack of the comb chase method.
Click to expand...

ITA :yep: with you as I have done the comb chase method when I was relaxed, transitioned and natural and have had good and bad results.

Per the suggestions of these ladies and viewing westndnbeauty youtube on straightening and its really good. :grin:

So I'm going to tweak my regimen especially when it comes to straightening my hair. First, thing is is I am not going to use vatika oil until after my hair is straight. And I plan to really keep it simple and follow wesntndnbeauty regiment when it comes to straightening. I'll just have to find some styles to wear until I can try this new straightening method.

I pray I have no heat damage from this straightening I just did.
 
^^^^^
yup westndnbeauty's vid and method. Nvr tried it but when I do decide to straighten thats what I'll do.
 
It sounds like you used too many products. You probably should have deep conditioned too. Hair frizzes because it is lacking moisture. It sucks in the moisture in the air which makes it swell, hence frizz/poofiness.
 
Neala21 said:
Question...when you press your hair with grease does it fill weighed down? Perhaps I won't use coconut oil for blowdrying and pressing and just use it after my hair straighten only.
Click to expand...

Mine does but I have fine hair. Anything will make it feel weighed down. I usually apply my coconut oil when I'm done just for a little shine.
 
Was this the first time you straigtend in 1 1/2 years? I gave up heat for 6 months and wound up chopping SEVERAL inches of hair :wallbash: The manipulation and constantly being wet took a huge toll on my ends. :nono:

Now I use heat sparingly, whether with rollersets or flat-ironing, and it has really kept the ssk in check, which was the cause of the busted ends..hth
 
Like some other ladies have said, sounds like you used too many products. All I put in my hair before flat ironing is chi silk infusion while damp and motions heat protectant spray. Then I blowdry using the tension method and flat iron right after. I think the rollersetting and airdrying takes too much time and doesn't yield good results when you're going for a silky straight look.
 
the very first time i flatironed my natural hair my ends were "noticeable" too.
I started using coconut oil and flatironing slower down the length and kind bending when i got to the ends to ensure i got them tight and flat.

I also start the whole straightening process on thoroughly DCed hair that has been airdried in a few braids.
 
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