The Truth About Straightening Your Hair

Keeping your hair looking and great and healthy can be a big challenge. Making your hair look great and ensuring that it’s healthy don’t have to be opposing goals. One way in which hair is damaged is through straightening. Any hair care tools that involve heat can lead to damage to your hair. Blow dryers are also notorious for damaging hair, but straighteners, in particular, should be used in moderation and with care to prevent damage to your hair. Fortunately, there are ways in which you can get the benefit of straight hair using a straightener without damaging your hair. Here are some helpful tips.

Completely Dry Your Hair

Never use a hot straightener on wet or damp hair. This is a terrible idea that will definitely damage your hair. Allow your hair to dry completely or use a hair dryer sparingly to accelerate the process if you need to straighten in a hurry, but never apply a hot straightener to wet hair.

Use a Heat Protector

One of the more effective ways of protecting your hair against the damaging potential of straighteners is using a heat protecting serum or spray before straightening. Look for a quality product to ensure that your hair will be protected. Serums are good because you can more fully integrate them into your hair, though quality sprays can be effective as well. Apply it evenly to your hair and allow it to absorb.

Heat the Straightener Appropriately

An important consideration when using a straightener is to only heat the straightener to the temperature you need for your individual hair. In other words, choose the heat level for your style of hair. Straight or loose, slightly wavy hair doesn’t need 200 degree heat–go with 150-180. Thick, curly or frizzy hair may require more heat.

Start at the Roots and Move Down

The key to straightening effectively is to start at the roots and slowly move down. Going slow will help the hair straighten faster. Going over your hair too many times can break the hair shaft, so avoid repeating more than 5 times over. Clamp the straightener down, count to ten or so, and slowly move it down to the ends of your hair.

Keep Hair Intact & Condition

Keeping your hair straight as long as possible will help prevent you from having to constantly straighten it, risking damages. Apply a gel or hairspray or any non-frizz product to help keep your hair straight and in place. At least once a week, you should also deep condition your hair to give it the moisture it needs after drying it out with a heated straightener.