How to Straighten Your Hair
Using Straightening Products

how-to-straighten-hair Learning how to straighten your hair with straightening products isn't just about the products but also about the technique. This method of straightening will give you professional results and can be used on relaxed or natural and curly hair. You may have to make slight adjustments but for the most part, all steps are exactly the same.

Get Your Products

First you need to decide upon which straightening product line you'd like to use. I'd recommend choosing products all from the same line since they are made to work together. You'll need the following products from the line:

Straightening Shampoo
Straightening Conditioner
Relaxing Balm or Lotion
Heat Protecting Serum
Light Leave-in Conditioner (can be from any line)

My recommendation is the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Line. You can read more about these products here.

Also make sure to have some clips and several combs and brushes. A finer tooth comb, and wide-tooth comb as well as a paddle brush or denman brush.

You'll also need an Ionic Blow Dryer. An ionic blow dryer will typically cost more than a regular blow dryer ($50 or more) but it is well worth it. Ionic Blow Dryers will dry your hair faster while keeping more moisture in the hair. The results are soft hair vs brittle hair.

Wash and Condition

The first thing you're going to do is wash and condition your hair. If you have not deep conditioned in a while, you can choose to add that step here. In fact, deep conditioning will give you even better softer results. A quick 15 minutes under a warm dryer will do the trick.

After you rinse the conditioner, go ahead and spray your leave-in all over and then divide your hair into 4 sections. Now take your wide tooth comb and detangle the four sections.

Apply Straightening Products

Now grab your relaxing balm (or lotion) and your serum. You're going to take a quarter-sized amount of the balm and a few drops of the serum into the palms of your hands. Then you are going to mix them together in your hands and fingers. Take this an apply it to one of the sections. Repeat this step for all 4 sections.

Blow Drying

Unfortunately, learning how to straighten your hair will involve learning how to use a blow dryer correctly to get the least amount of damage. The easiest way to eliminate the most damage is by using a professional Ionic Blow Dryer. You can get one at Sally's or online.

You can either use a pik attachment or a paddle brush. Blow dry your hair section by section until it is all smooth. You are not going for perfect straightness but for smoothness. If you've used the right blow dryer, your hair will not feel dry but moisturized.

Flat Ironing

Using a professional flat iron like a Sedu or Solia, starting with one section, you're going to begin flat ironing section by section. Part your hair in teeny tiny sections and go over each piece twice moving quickly. If your hair is a little tangly in any section, make sure to comb it first. You can assure that your ends are straight by having your flat iron follow your fine tooth comb. You may not have to do this all over but just in sections where your hair may not be as straight or detangled.

When you finish flat ironing, you can take a curling iron to make some curls or you can use your fla tiron to add some curls.

You'll notice that your hair is silky straight and not greasy at all. If you've done everything correctly, your hair will look as if you just left a salon, except your pocketbook will be a little heavier!

Maintaining Your Style

Make sure to wear a satin or silk scarf every night. Wrapping your hair will help keep it straight longer provided you don't sweat in your sleep. Otherwise, you can wear your hair in a bun making sure to tuck in your ends.