waff
Well-Known Member
Thank you
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Straight Hair Natural's Support Thread
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waff
Well-Known Member
I decided to go with the Sedu flat iron, I ordered it from Amazon, and now I am waiting on it. I hope I receive it by next wash day which is next Saturday. I also ordered a Conair curling wand. I want to experiment with curling my hair when it's starting to frizz close to wash day.
I noticed that the more my natural hair is taking over, the harder it is to get my hair straight with the instyler. I am transitioning from texlax for almost 2 years and I think my natural hair is almost at shoulder length, my whole hair is at hip length.
I am thinking of looking for a stylist in my area to get a trim next July. Maybe trim an inch or two off and even out my hemline as much as possible. If I find a stylist I am happy with, I might make it a a routine to get a trim by a professional every 6 months or so.
I noticed that the more my natural hair is taking over, the harder it is to get my hair straight with the instyler. I am transitioning from texlax for almost 2 years and I think my natural hair is almost at shoulder length, my whole hair is at hip length.
I am thinking of looking for a stylist in my area to get a trim next July. Maybe trim an inch or two off and even out my hemline as much as possible. If I find a stylist I am happy with, I might make it a a routine to get a trim by a professional every 6 months or so.
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YvetteWithJoy
On break
Hi!
I logged back in because I think I want to become a straight-and/or-stretched haired natural . . . and I have a few questions.
Aside: I am reading through this thread backwards, reading posts in the #70s, then posts #60 to #69, then posts #50 to #59, and so on. 
I'm trying to get the latest information and product reviews first. This thread is very informative!
I'm trying to get the latest information and product reviews first. This thread is very informative!For those who don't want to read all the details below, my most pressing question is this: If I'm going to straighten my hair with the Ion Pro Steam Straightening Brush set at 340 degrees, do you think it would suffice to prep and protect my hair if I layered the following on my hair before straightening:
- (Sally's) Generic Value Product Leave-in spray with keratin (the stylist who straightened my hair last week used and recommended this; it's designed to mimic the It's a 10 leave-in spray that has keratin)
- Jane Carter Curls To Go! Weightless Leave-in (so that the straightening brush can glide right through)
- Tresemme Heat Tamer Spray (supposedly protects the hair up to high heat)
Backstory about my decision to consider/try becoming a straight-and/or-stretched hair natural:
I just got my semi-annual professional silk press and trim, and my hair life has been so peaceful, low-mechanical-damage-inducing, and enjoyable these past few days. I spend about 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night on my hair, and that's it! The other day I put it in a top knot bun to exercise and slept in it overnight. When I took it down, I had pretty beach waves and needed to do nothing to it!
NOTE: For those interested, I share the stylist's products and process, photos of my hair before and after the trim, my length check photos, etc. at this blog post: https://blossomingfitnatural.com/2018/05/18/length-check-trim-and-a-new-to-me-salon/.
As the photos (attached below) from the blog post show, I needed about 1.25 - 1.5 inches of split ends trimmed. (It had been 5 months since my last trim.) I believe the split ends occurred due to all the detangling I do of my extremely coily hair. So, given the freedom and peace of mind of wearing my hair straight or stretched, and given that I'm trying to NOT re-experience all the mechanical damage that comes from the detangling I do, I thought I'd try to develop a straight-and-stretched hair regimen for myself.
Initial ideas for my new regimen:
Because I'm trying to DRASTICALLY decrease the duration of wash (and style) day, I don't think I want to straighten or curlformer set or rod set or anything on wash day. So here's my plan (I'd love your feedback).
Short version:
It boils down to: (1) band on wash day, (2) straighten a few days later and wear straight for about 2 weeks, (3) transition old, straight hair style into a curlformer set, flexirod set, or mini-twists that is/are worn for about a week . . . then repeat the cycle. An interesting soul told me "That's doing too much!" Really? Seems low-manipulation to me. That's 3 weeks of stretched, low-manipulation hair, right?
Detailed version:
- Much more streamlined wash day over what I have been doing before . . . and banded ponytail as the resultant style, to prep for straightening which is to occur in a few days (wear banded ponytail for 1-3 days):
Cleanse hair, steam in the deep conditioner (under olive oil) for 20 minutes, detangle DC-laden hair, rinse DC out with cold water, very light-handedly apply leave-in and foam (latter for stretch), style in a banded ponytail to stretch hair, and apply The Mane Choice Ancient Egyptian Split-End Treatment to ends. - Straighten hair (wear straight hair for about 2 weeks):
As light-handedly as possible so as not to weigh my fine hair down: Apply GVP keratin spray the stylist used, apply a super slippery and light leave-in such as the Jane Carter Curls To Go! Weightless Leave-in, and apply some kind of heat protectant spray. Brush or comb through hair. Straighten hair with Ion Steam Pro Straightening Brush at 340 degrees. (I believe that's one of the temperature settings choices.) - Transition old straight hair style into either a set or 36 mini-twists (wear for about a week, maybe longer, cleansing scalp with something like Cantu ACV Root Rinse if need be)
Either:
Install the extra-wide, extra-long curlformers with Lotta Body setting lotion (does anyone know if the regular version of the Lotta Body setting lotion performs as well as the paraben-containing professional version or not? TIA!).
OR:
Install 36 mini twists, stretch them as they dry, and wear them either down or in a ponytail for the duration of the style.
-------------------
Thank you so much for "listening." I truly appreciate it, as I'm feeling unsure about how to keep my hair healthy if I take a straight-and-stretched approach. Thank you for any tips or ideas you might have. I won't be able to reply to your posts here, but I can read your responses. And soon I will create a blog post similar to this, and I can answer questions that are posted there.
Please excuse any typos. Take care, all, and happy healthy hair growing!
Attachments
YvetteWithJoy
On break
My favorite way so far to preserve my straight hair overnight is the bun. I like Sista with Real Hair's bun method in the video below:
On another note: Wow! In one video, she said that she flat irons with no heat protectant and feels that deep conditioning with a silicon-containing DC is protection enough. Wow!
On another note: Wow! In one video, she said that she flat irons with no heat protectant and feels that deep conditioning with a silicon-containing DC is protection enough. Wow!
waff
Well-Known Member
I have been wearing my hair straight consistently for years at this point. I have retained a lot of length and my hair has become much healthier and stronger. However, I do not care about wearing my hair curly, so losing my curl pattern has never been an issue for me. But if you do care about wearing your hair in it's natural state, then you may have to reconsider regular use of heat. and yes, I have noticed a change in my curl pattern.
sistawithrealhair and glamtwinz have super long healthy hair who is regularly heat styled, and they take excellent care of their locks. But imo their hair when worn curly is clearly thermally altered or "heat damaged".
And yes, having a good regimen will protect your hair from heat and protect the hair from breakage and damage so it grows healthy and strong.
Sistawithrealhair's channel is the truth. I really wish she would upload more. I didn't use heat protectant for the last two years of wearing my hair straight and it's fine. I am recently experimenting with heat protectants though. DC is way more important to get a hanging straight hair.
Experiment with your regimen and how often your strands can handle heat and take note of how your hair's health is effected periodically.
sistawithrealhair and glamtwinz have super long healthy hair who is regularly heat styled, and they take excellent care of their locks. But imo their hair when worn curly is clearly thermally altered or "heat damaged".
And yes, having a good regimen will protect your hair from heat and protect the hair from breakage and damage so it grows healthy and strong.
Sistawithrealhair's channel is the truth. I really wish she would upload more. I didn't use heat protectant for the last two years of wearing my hair straight and it's fine. I am recently experimenting with heat protectants though. DC is way more important to get a hanging straight hair.
Experiment with your regimen and how often your strands can handle heat and take note of how your hair's health is effected periodically.
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Prettymetty
Natural/4b/medium-coarse
I tried it years ago. It was my favorite iron when I was relaxed. Somehow I managed to break it though, and it was a little pricy. I may revisit getting a new one around Christmas.
SlimPickinz
Summer where are you?
After the summer ends I think I will be going back to straight hair. I never wear my hair down when it's curly because it's so massive but I really enjoy wearing my hair down.
whiteoleander91
stay at your best ♥
Y’all are tempting me! I sweat so bad at night sometimes, it makes it hard to want to even bother with the process just for my hair to revert overnight. Winter time is easier, it gets so hot here in the summer.
SlimPickinz
Summer where are you?
Don’t do it Sis! Lol wait till it cools down
whiteoleander91
stay at your best ♥
Lol right?! I need to stay strong bc I really enjoy my hair straight
waff
Well-Known Member
Thank you for your kind words. Yes, sure!
I am weekly washer because I have problmatic scalp, I can't go more than one week without cleansing my scalp. I wish I could stretch it for another week, but that's not going to happen without my scalp going in flames lol
My products are currently changing, but this is what I have been doing for the last two years:
Shampoo: I shampoo twice or three times to get my scalp super clean. Wash, rinse, wash, rinse, wash, rinse.
First wash: clarifying shampoo with Redken cleansing cream. I focus it in my scalp to get the dirt/buildup out.
Second wash: With Nizroal 1% (medicated shampoo for my scalp). It works amazing, but I have to use it weekly.
Third wash: a moisturizing shampoo like Suave shea butter and almond. This wash is to clean the residue I get because of Nizoral sometimes. I want my hair to have body and life.
Sometimes I skip the first wash and I just go straight to Nizoral.
Conditioner/detangler: Suave shea butter and almond oil conditioner. This conditioner has so much slip and helps detangle my hair. I detangle in section and I try to take my time. I start with my fingers and I finish with a wide tooth comb or tangle teezer.
It's tedious but since I have two textures I need to take my time to not cause breakage.
DC for 30 mins minimum: I have been using Macadamia professional moisture rich mask. This DC is amazing and it leaves my hair feeling like butter. I bought it with the recommendation of the glamtwinz and I have never experienced such moisture before. It's a pricey but totally worth it imo
Styling: Blow dry + flat iron
For the last two years I did not use any leave in or heat protectant like Sistawithrealhair. But lately I am playing around with some products.
What I use to do is let my hair airdry for 30 mins or so, then blow dry it. I started using the Revlon one step dryer and that thing seriously made my life sooo much more easier. It gets all of my hair dry in 20 mins which is amazing. I hated blow drying my hair but this product awesome (thanks to Youtube lol).
After I blow dry my hair I usually still feel moisture in my roots no matter how much I blow dry, so I don't flat iron right away and wait till the next day. I am usually exhausted at this point anyway lol It feels less work when I divide the work on two days of the weekend.
Next day I flat iron my hair using the chase comb method. I take my time with each section and try to go only once with iron. I have used the instyler to flat iron my hair.
During the week
I apply some serum on the ends if I feel like they are dry. I try not to comb out my hair too much and just leave it alone at that point. I do not wrap my hair at night because I can never get it right. My hair is too much for me to wrap and I can never do it without waking up in the middle of the night with my hair messed up. I just bun it in a tight bun and I protect my edges with a scarf. It leaves a slight wave in the hair that I don't mind that since I don't like my hair to be pin straight anyway.
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waff
Well-Known Member
A lot of the reviews in amazon were saying something similar about it getting broken but others swear it lasted years for them. I am not sure if they changed the material over the years and it's not as good as the older model. If I feel like it's too flimsy I will return it lol
sunflora
Flowah Powah
When I was a heat-straightened natural (not very long ago
) this was the best technique for me to get my hair the way I wanted it and the best results. Using heat protectant often forced me to use more heat, or made my hair greasy and limp, or dry and rough... no matter what I used. Now, salon tools are hotter than the simple peasantry utilities I have at home, so they are able to use heat protectant without weighing my hair down. But I did not experience that.My heat damage only occurred at the left crown of my head where I already have a looser texture (I'm talking a frizzy type 2, virtually no curl). That area becomes type 1 at the ends over time. Get to know your texture. Any odd birthmark areas that are of a looser texture might be more prone to heat damage or further loosening.
@waff since you wash every week, do you straighten each time you wash? Your hair is beautiful!
waff
Well-Known Member
That's very interesting! Last week I tried using a heat protectant and I noticed similar things. My hair wasn't as soft at all. I am still experimenting at this point.When I was a heat-straightened natural (not very long ago
My heat damage only occurred at the left crown of my head where I already have a looser texture (I'm talking a frizzy type 2, virtually no curl). That area becomes type 1 at the ends over time. Get to know your texture. Any odd birthmark areas that are of a looser texture might be more prone to heat damage or further loosening.
@waff since you wash every week, do you straighten each time you wash? Your hair is beautiful!
Yes I do straighten my hair every week. The only weeks I skip flat ironing is if it's my final exam week and I have nooo time for my hair at all, during these times I just blow dry and flat iron the front and just wear my hair in a bun for the week. I cannot wear my hair without heat styling it at this point since I don't want to deal with the tangles and the long dreaded detangling sessions.
sunflora
Flowah Powah
Wow! It amazes me how much people's hair differs. I think texture and porosity have a lot to do with it. And technique of course. I remember many years ago shortly after my big chop I used a wet-to-dry flat iron (yes, on wet hair) and my hair was wasted for good. Needless to say, I understand heat a lot more now.
I preferred heat styling because it saved me from ssks. The moment I start wearing my hair natural I would basically get one on every strand. Unfortunately, my ends just don't tolerate heat and end up splitting rather quickly. I can keep my length the same by trimming, but I wasn't able to grow it out. I'll probably revisit straight hair once I reach my goal. *sighs longingly*
waff
Well-Known Member
lol I did that in high-school and my hair was fried and a mess, and it was so thin. I use to have the whole sink filled with little broken hairs and I believed that was "normal" lol Flat ironing wet hair completely trashed my hair back in the day. We know better now hopefullyWow! It amazes me how much people's hair differs. I think texture and porosity have a lot to do with it. And technique of course. I remember many years ago shortly after my big chop I used a wet-to-dry flat iron (yes, on wet hair) and my hair was wasted for good. Needless to say, I understand heat a lot more now.
It's good that you know what your hair can handle. I do agree that it's important to understand one's hair and what it likes/doesn't like.
Just purchased the EAP Heat 1 inch ceramic flat iron hoping to use it with a new heat protectant and shine spray I purchased.
waff
Well-Known Member
This are the results of using Sedu for the first time:
I am very impressed at how straight it got my hair with only one pass! My hair is super shiny and bouncy. It made the whole flat ironing process so much faster then usual. It usually takes me 2 hours or more to do my whole head as I like to take my time. But I think this time it took no more than an hour and 15 minutes. I will use it one more time next week to judge if it's a keeper. But I am def loving the results. I will see how fast my edges will start to revert back this week.
I am very impressed at how straight it got my hair with only one pass! My hair is super shiny and bouncy. It made the whole flat ironing process so much faster then usual. It usually takes me 2 hours or more to do my whole head as I like to take my time. But I think this time it took no more than an hour and 15 minutes. I will use it one more time next week to judge if it's a keeper. But I am def loving the results. I will see how fast my edges will start to revert back this week.
waff
Well-Known Member
Let us know how you like it!
Prettymetty
Natural/4b/medium-coarse
I used a sample of Kerastase bain satin and did a dc with Curl Ideal Cleansing conditioner. Detangling was so easy tonight!! I straightened it and wrapped it. Hopefully it lasts a week in this 100° weather
Britt
Well-Known Member
@YvetteWithJoy your hair looks so nice straight !!!
This girl right here has always had gorggggggggg hair! She looks so pretty now! Might be here makeup techniques idk? But she looks really pretty and her hair is truly unique and pretty.
waff
Well-Known Member
It's crazy how quality tools make the biggest difference. My hair still looks as good as it was In Day 1 after wash day. I barely used any serum all week. My edges are slightly frizzy but they are pretty good compared to before. I think Sedu is a keeper and It will be replacing my trusty instyler.
Next wash day I will try Redken extreme line: shampoo and conditioner.
Next wash day I will try Redken extreme line: shampoo and conditioner.
YvetteWithJoy
On break
Beautiful hair, ladies!!!
I'm still rocking the same silk press from the salon. Hair life and hair care and hair styling and all have been so easy, I could cry! I install, for example, a single braid, pin it up to exercise, cover it to sleep, then unbraid it in the morning to wear wavy loose hair or a wavy ponytail. If I need to be quick, I can do a quick bun in literally seconds. It's so easy. My hair isn't constantly seriously tangling every second of the day, so I've been at ease. My heart is light.
My hair still feels soft and silky. Maybe I'll push it to 3 weeks (dare I say 4?).
Also, such easy access to my scalp has me very consistent with my growth oil scalp massages (I use the CurlyProverbz DIY ayurvedic hair growth oil and my electronic scalp massager).
I am putting VERY little tension on my hair. I'm hardly brushing or combing. Mainly finger detangling and chunkily braiding with split-end serum carefully applied to the very ends. I feel so peaceful about this hair and regimen! I'm shook and blissful about it. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long while. I had NO IDEA the EXTENT that the challenge of my hair was affecting me! I knew I was putting in a lot of time, but wow!!!
(At the moment
) I've decided that when I try to redo this for the first time myself, I'll use
I'm still thinking I will steam iron on 340 degrees. I might try 300 or 310 or whatever the previous setting is FIRST, I'll see.
I'm still rocking the same silk press from the salon. Hair life and hair care and hair styling and all have been so easy, I could cry! I install, for example, a single braid, pin it up to exercise, cover it to sleep, then unbraid it in the morning to wear wavy loose hair or a wavy ponytail. If I need to be quick, I can do a quick bun in literally seconds. It's so easy. My hair isn't constantly seriously tangling every second of the day, so I've been at ease. My heart is light.
My hair still feels soft and silky. Maybe I'll push it to 3 weeks (dare I say 4?).Also, such easy access to my scalp has me very consistent with my growth oil scalp massages (I use the CurlyProverbz DIY ayurvedic hair growth oil and my electronic scalp massager).
I am putting VERY little tension on my hair. I'm hardly brushing or combing. Mainly finger detangling and chunkily braiding with split-end serum carefully applied to the very ends. I feel so peaceful about this hair and regimen! I'm shook and blissful about it. I haven't felt this peaceful in a long while. I had NO IDEA the EXTENT that the challenge of my hair was affecting me! I knew I was putting in a lot of time, but wow!!!
(At the moment
) I've decided that when I try to redo this for the first time myself, I'll use- Beyond the Zone Protein Cocktail (stylist used it),
- Tresemme Heat Tamer, and
- Jane Carter Solutions Curls To Go Untangle Me Weightless Leave-in (for the slip, unless it proves problematic).
I'm still thinking I will steam iron on 340 degrees. I might try 300 or 310 or whatever the previous setting is FIRST, I'll see.
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YvetteWithJoy
On break
Thanks for all of the help, ladies! I read this thread every day (even when I can't log in.)
YvetteWithJoy
On break
You have gorgeous hair! I find when my edges get frizzy, the ebin edge control slicks them right back down and they look like I straightened them. I barely have to touch the product with my brush when applying, so you only need very little.
Any ladies in here have a dry shampoo they can recommend?
I found switching from silk to satin scarves (too chicken to go cotton) keeps my hair from weighing down so fast, but I have yet to find a good dry shampoo. I don't use any product in my hair other than my heat protectant serum on wash day only.
I found switching from silk to satin scarves (too chicken to go cotton) keeps my hair from weighing down so fast, but I have yet to find a good dry shampoo. I don't use any product in my hair other than my heat protectant serum on wash day only.
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