Top 7 Mistakes You Make When You Straighten Your Hair

When you want to look your best there is no better way than to achieve this look than to make your hair straight, shiny and sleek. This type of look usually looks chic with your evening wear or a relaxed weekend outfit.

However, according to a few experts who specialize in hair, there are various concerns relating to at-home straightening. When clamping your hair in a flat iron, you are exposing your hair to heat that is capable of baking a pizza.

In order for you to get optimum results from your flat ironing experience, here are a few tips to shed some light on what you may be doing wrong.

1. Off To A Bad Start In The Shower

It is important to realize that there is no shampoo or conditioner on the market that will be able to provide you with straight hair. However, products that suggest “smoothing” effects can prepare your hair for straightening by offering extreme moisture. It is suggested that you comb your conditioner through using a paddle brush. Also, when you rinse your hair, do it gently.

When you are drying your hair with a towel, pat gently in a downwards direction. Other helpful tips will include using a DevaTowel that will assist in offering sleeker strands.

2. Blow-drying Your Hair In The Wrong Direction

It has been said that a blow-dryer causes the most damage to the hair strands. If you should use your blow-dryer directly after a shower, use rough drying which involves shaking your dryer back-and-forth over your hair until the hair is around 80% dry. It is very important that the nozzle on your dryer remains in a downward direction at all times to avoid your hair from frizzing. In addition, it is advisable to use a brush made from boar bristles to assist with a smooth and polished finish.

3. You hear a sizzle

Sizzle is your enemy. If you hear a sizzle or you see steam coming from your hair, stop. Hair must be 100% dry before you decide to straighten. If your hair is completely dry, it may be a product build-up that could be causing the problem. You have to be extremely selective about the products you decide to use before you decide to flat iron your hair.

You should never apply a product to your hair when it is dry which is the difference when it comes to curling and straightening. This is due to the iron that clamps down on your hair, and the product has no way of escaping. This means that the product is actually boiled into your hair follicles, which causes extensive damage to the hair.

4. You Don’t Use A Thermal Protectant

You can use a thermal protectant such as Living Proof’s Straight Spray that will coat your hair with OFPMA which is a patented molecule. This product should be sprayed onto damp hair, it resists humidity and can protect your hair from the extensive heat of your flat iron. This product does not contain any silicones or oils which actually weigh down the hair. However, if you have coarse or thicker hair it is still advisable to use a product such as argan oil.

5. You Are Using The Hottest Temperature

A 450 degree setting on a flat iron was only designed to be used in a professional salon for the purpose of keratin treatments. It is important to know that coarser or thicker hair does not require an increase in heat. Fine, damaged, or even color-treated hair should never exceed 350 degrees.

6. You Do Not Section Your Hair

You should avoid just grabbing up random strands of hair. If you put too much hair in your iron, the thicker pieces will not be straightened and reapplying heat can cause extensive damage. It is always advisable to create sections in order to successfully track the progress. You can achieve this by from the middle at the back and to then bring this hair forward. You should be clipping your hair into 4 sections across your scalp.

7. Repeating Each Section

If you pass your iron over the hair shaft more than once it may not be necessary. The tension is what is actually essential to achieving the desired results in one stroke. Try to avoid going through each hair section more than once.