How to Straighten Curly Hair

4. Using a wide tooth comb, part and comb your hair. You absolutely cannot straighten knotty hair.

5. Work a hair serum through your hair.

6. Work a heat protective spray or serum into your hair.

7. Dry your hair in sections using a paddle brush or large rounded brush. Using a hair dryer nossle extension to direct the air down the hair shaft works great! When blow-drying, be sure your hairdryer is pointing down from root to tip along the hair shaft. Take your time. This step is essential and makes all the difference in your end result.

8. After your hair is completely dry, put the top half of your hair up into a bun.

9. Divide the bottom half of your hair into small, thin sections. For best results use sections that are 1-2 inches wide and only about 1/2 inch thick.

10. Take a section of hair and hold it taut with one hand while using the other hand to hold the flat iron and clamp it down over the hair as close to the root as possible. Hold the hair firmly in the flat iron and be careful not to touch your skin with the flat iron.

11. Glide the flat iron down over the small section of hair in one fluid movement. If it is not completely straight after the first pass, do it again, and sometimes even several times before it becomes how you want it. Do not be alarmed if you see steam rising from the iron. The plates are very hot and there is often moisture in the hair plus moisture from the sprays that can cause steam to rise from the hair being straightened.

12. Continue to do this around your head, straightening small sections all the way around as you go. After you get the bottom hair straightened, remove the bun taking the middle section out, putting the top hair back in the bun, and repeating steps 9 through 11 on the middle section of hair. When you finish with the middle section, do the same with the top section.

13. Examine your work in a mirror. Glide the flat iron over any missed spots.

14. Do not spray your hair with water or add mousse. This will only cause your hair to curl or frizz again.

15. If you are going to be in a humid environment, apply hair spray.

16. Add a small amount of silicone based hair shine solution. Add only a few drops and rub between your hands and then smooth over hair.

17. When you wash your hair, it will return to normal. Most hair can go at least 2-3 days without being washed. Also, the less you wash your hair, the less oil your hair will produce over time. The more you wash your hair, the more your scalp will produce oil. Oil is what our scalps produce to protect our hair, and so when we constantly shampoo it away, our scalps think it needs to produce more.

Hair Straightening Tips & Warnings:

• DO NOT BURN YOURSELF! Be extremely careful when using a flat iron, especially around your face. If you do burn yourself, run the burned area under cool water right away.
• Do not use hair spray unless you need it. It can cause drying over time.
• Don’t straighten your hair everyday because it will become damaged.
• Using a wide-toothed comb is better than using a brush when your hair is wet. Using a brush can stretch the hair and cause it to break.
• Don’t go over one piece of hair too many times as it can damage your hair.
• If you are in a rush and need to dry your hair, DO NOT attempt to straighten your hair when it is wet thinking you can eliminate the blow drying step. You will be frying your hair by using your flat iron as both a drying technique and a straightening technique. Always dry hair completely prior to straightening. The only exception to this is if you use an ionic or wet to dry straightener.
• Keep your flat iron moving. Do not leave the flat iron on one section of your hair.
• Unless you are flat ironing over a section that has been hair-sprayed, if you hear a sizzling noise, stop – that is the sound of your hair sizzling and burning.
• The biggest mistake people make when attempting to straighten their hair is pointing the blow-dryer in a direction other than down along the hair shaft. So, tip #1 is when blow-drying, be sure your hairdryer is pointing down from root to tip along the hair shaft.
• Prior to starting your blow-drying, use a heat protection spray. Our favorites are: