New to hair straightening? Or just don’t have enough experience when it comes to styling your hair? Don’t worry we’re here to help! It’s super important to know what you should and shouldn’t do when it comes to straightening your hair in order to avoid hair damage, breakage or any other hair horrors.
What you should know before you start styling your hair...
Do:
Use quality hair tools.
Hair tools that are low quality don’t always use good heating plates, and don’t have unique heat settings, which can be ultra damaging to your hair. You want to make sure you get the right straightener that matches your hair type (i.e curly, thick, thin).
Use products that protect against heat damage.
There are tons of great serums out there that you can apply to your hair before you straighten your hair that protect your strands against the heat! There are also great ones that you can apply afterwards that will repair damage, and keep hair looking silky smooth.
Make sure your hair is 100% dry.
Even if your hair is a little bit damp and you use a hair iron you are increasing the damage by double! You want to make sure your hair is completely dry before straightening so that you won’t cause any hair breakage.
Understand the heat level that is right for your hair.
Most good hair straighteners allow you to choose the amount of heat you will be using. If your hair is thinner, use a lower heat; if your hair is thicker use a higher heat setting. The lower the heat setting the better for your hair, so try to monitor the lowest level of heat that will still straighten your hair.
Clean your hair Iron.
Your hair iron can get a lot of build up over time, which is then transferred over to your hair. After your straightener is off and completely cooled down, take a wipe and clean any dirt, or build-up.
Don’t:
Straighten Wet hair.
Straightening wet hair will cause your hair to sizzle, and break. You want to make sure that you never straighten your hair when wet! It’s even recommended to air dry it 50% before using a blow dryer to dry it to 100%.
Go over the same piece multiple times.
It’s smart to section your hair when straightening so that you don’t forget what pieces you’ve already straightened. Once you’ve gone over one section you should move on to the next. That way you don’t add too much heat to one piece.
Let your hair steam.
Some people straighten their hair slowly and wait till the hair strands heat up and steams. This is a big NO NO. You want to straighten each piece in a continuous motion and not for a long period of time. You want to avoid any hair steaming.
Touch the flat iron plates.
Many beginners make the mistake of touching the flat iron plates to see if it heated up enough. This is a sure way to get burnt. Instead of touching the plates, you could take a cloth to test the heat, or if you have a flat iron that displays temperature you can measure it that way.
Not wait for the iron to cool off.
Once you are finished straightening your hair, you should leave your flat iron out and unplugged to cool off completely. If you put your flat iron away when it is still hot, the heat can cause furniture heat damage, and even damage to the straighteners plates.