question about flat ironing

[notsomebody]

I use a lye relaxer. I never relax my hair till bone straight. I just use it to relax my curl pattern. This has helped tremendously in the health of my hair as well as its thickness.
But, it makes it impossible for me to know exactly how long my hair is. Shrinkage is a major problem for me when trying to judge length. I was thinking of getting a ceramic flat iron and using it once a month to measure and possibly take pictures of my progress. If I only use it once a month what are the chances of me doing major damage to my hair shaft? I haven't used heat in my hair in three years (besides deep conditioning and rollersetting). So I am a little nervous about the whole concept.
Any advice? Especially for those of you who relax and use the flat iron. How do you avoid damage or at least minimize it. Do you ever use it on the full length of your hair (meaning from the head to the very ends) or do you stop before you get to the ends?

 

[VALLEYGIRL]

I use one every once in a while. What I do is deep condition before ironing and after (when I wash my hair at the end of the week). I also use a heat protectant or a good leave in to buffer my hair from the heat. I also use Wild Growth Oil when ironing. The heat protectant I use is New Image Damage Free Thermal Styling Lotion. You can get it from Sally's. I have used Infusium 23 as my leave in before I discovered the New Image.
Also start at the lowest setting and then work your way up to make sure you only need the least amount of heat necessary to get your hair straight. I only pass the iron over each section one time.
Also airdrying and not blowdrying before ironing also helps me minimize damage.
HTH
Valleygirl

 

[sbj4115]

bump for more suggestions or ideas

 

[buffyangelfan2]

It is perfectly safe to flat iron your hair. Just don't do it everyday. Once a week is ok. When I get a relaxer. Mine never comes out straight and my beautician uses a flatiron. She just uses a heat protectant( I don't know which brand) and sprays LOTS of oil sheen on my hair. I have not had any problems whatsoever. The thing is, it's impossible to avoid heat. It really is. Lots of people underestimate the heat from the sun beating down on your head with the far more dangerous UV rays. So yeah, go ahead and flat iron. But just use a mild setting.

 

[myco]

I agree. It's important to do it on "cleaned and conditioned" hair for the best results. I think days worth of buildup from products, high temps. and frequent use really contribute to fried hair. But the proper occasional use shouldn't be a problem. After a while you lose the urge to do it more frequently because you'll have so much hair on your head that you won't want to be bothered.