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“Repeat until your hair is dry, adding more leave-in conditioner if needed. This method takes time and won’t get you perfectly straight, but it helps you avoid heat styling.” If you chose this method, invest in a quality brush made for damp hair, says Jamie Wiley, a professional hairstylist. “It will help to detangle the hair without pulling or breaking,” she says. While beachy waves and glossy curls are always stunning, sometimes, all you fancy is the glamour and minimalism of straight locks. Since only one out of 12 hair types is truly straight hair, most women have to use various types of hair straightening treatments to achieve this kind of look.
Apply a Serum or Oil
12 Best Flat Irons for Natural Hair, According to Hairstylists - Teen Vogue
12 Best Flat Irons for Natural Hair, According to Hairstylists.
Posted: Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
And since a lot of women can still use some step-by-step direction around straightening locks and getting salon-worthy results via a flat iron, we are all about finding out how to get straight hair in the easiest, most efficient way. If you do use a dryer out of the shower, Sarah suggests rough drying (which is a technical term for shaking the dryer back and forth over the head) until it's 80% finished. "But it's important to keep the nozzle facing downwards the entire time, otherwise the hair will frizz," she notes.
Redken Extreme Shampoo
As with any hair matters, the look of your straightened hair will only be as good as the health of your locks and your confidence in wearing them. Moisturizing products, like Head & Shoulders Smooth & Silky shampoos and conditioners, have an extra advantage – they nourish and protect your hair, keeping it in good condition while you straighten it. "For long hair, use about six jumbo rollers and section the towel-dried hair to the rollers' width, comb it up, and wrap your hair flat against the roller," says Engelsen. "Then, secure with a duckbill clip on each side." Plastic rollers, over Velcro or foam, work better to achieve a smoother effect. “Another option is to use a smoothing shampoo and conditioner specifically designed to smooth the cuticle,” says Wiley.

Roll with plastic rollers
Science-y brand Virtue uses a human-identical form of keratin in its advanced formulas, meaning the hair recognises it and knows exactly how to put it to good use. This super-lightweight volumising shampoo leaves hair clean while swelling lacklustre strands, but it's the long-term nourishing benefits that make it really worthwhile. Hold a flat iron horizontally and place a small section of hair in it. To all of these methods, add a few drops of sweet almond or coconut oil to further tame frizz and smooth out the look.
If you feel like you’re constantly pumping mousses and dry shampoos into your roots, only for them to fall flat mere minutes later, you likely need to take a few steps back. The road to thick, full hair actually starts in the shower – specifically, with a specialist shampoo for fine hair. Now that your hair is sleek and smooth, you want it to stay that way!
Since keratin treatments are not designed for pure straightening, ideal candidates are those who want to soften, not completely straighten, their natural waves and curls, as well as anyone who wants to make daily styling easier. In general, wet hair is more at risk for breakage because it's more elastic than when dry. This is true whether you're brushing it or doing a vigorous towel dry (via Self).
Lock in Your Style
We also measure the outer surfaces of each iron to ensure that it doesn't get too hot to the touch. We log the temperature at three spots on every iron every ten seconds for ten minutes, resulting in 183 temperature measurements for each iron. Sign up to our newsletter and get exclusive hair care tips and tricks from the experts at All Things Hair. A shine serum or lightweight hair oil, such as Nexxus Clean & Pure Nourishing Detox 5-in-1 Invisible Hair Oil, helps seal in the sheen.
How to Straighten Your Hair
When curling the back sections, imagine a line dividing the head into two halves. Continue this rocking motion as you move up the head, adjusting the direction based on the length of the hair. Begin at the bottom of your hair and work your way up, sectioning off small portions of hair to curl. The Free People beauty blog recommends making a milk and honey mask.
Add finishing touches

You can create larger sections than above in Step 4, but still point the nozzle down your hair shaft and use a boar bristle brush for the bristle’s straightening effects. Whichever method you choose, you’ll want to make sure your hair is 100% dry before moving on to the next step. What you use to wash and condition your hair also impacts its health. Thick, curly hair should avoid shampoos that lather and instead stick with sulfate-free shampoos, which are less drying.
Just apply them to the hair once it is fully cooled post-straightening since layering these products onto the hair while it's still warm or hot can cause the hair to dry out. If you keep your hair sections pulled tautly, they'll need fewer pass-throughs with the flat iron (and fewer passes mean less damage, of course). Passing over hair with the iron more than once won't kill the hair, but you shouldn't need to do it as much if you're pulling your hair and creating tension. "A blowout involves using a blowdryer and typically a round brush," says Roque. The brush adds tension to the hair, holding it taut as the blow dryer dries the hair, resulting in a smooth finish.
Hair relaxation is one of the most popular techniques used to straighten very curly and coily hair. Chemical relaxers come in various types and strengths and the stylist needs to choose the one that matches your hair condition and your curls type. Believe it or not, you can also use rollers to straighten your hair. "For long hair, use about six jumbo [plastic] rollers and section the towel-dried hair to the rollers' width, comb it up, and wrap your hair flat against the roller," Engelsen revealed. The right shampoo and conditioner can help smooth and moisturize your hair, making it easier to straighten when you’re out of the shower. Next, take 3-inch sections of hair and run a flat iron over each section.
If your hair is dry but also short on body, a deeply nourishing shampoo can sometimes veer a bit too heavy. Pairing caffeine to stimulate root follicles and aloe leaf juice to hydrate and soothe ends, this lightweight formula aids with lacklustre locks struggling with volume and shine. Fans of Moroccanoil's famed original formula should flock to this gentle lather when struggling with fine, flat strands. Infused with antioxidant-rich argan oil, it gives your hair a weightless body without ever being rich enough to weigh it down. This one lends fine hair a touch of weightless nourishment, so you can use it on its own.