straightening natural hair Archives - Page 2 of 2

My No Heat Blow Out

Posted on by Michelle

I’ve been straightening my natural hair nearly once each month ever since I went natural over three years ago. I used to blowdry my hair every time but found that it made my straight hair feel dry. I also felt like using two heat styling tools in one session was too much heat for my hair. I decided to start using another method to dry my hair before using the flat iron while stretching it at the same time.

Air Drying
Basically, I let my hair air dry which takes longer but works great for me because my hair actually absorbs the product better. My favorite method is to use ponytails with the ends two strand twisted. This way the roots lay flatter and the hair dries in a smooth wavy pattern. You can also use braids but I found that the twists dry quicker and serve the same purpose; stretch the hair while it dries. Another favorite is to pull all of my hair back into a bun with the front and sides slicked back. I’ll wear this as a style for a whole day and then at night, part it down the middle and do two french braids to help dry the center.

Brush it Out

Air drying overnight using ponytails with
two strand twists

The final step of the process is to take down the twists or braids and brush the hair out. I like to use a paddle brush but a wide tooth comb also works. I realize it’s considered a no-no to do this on dry hair but this is possible because of the products I use. While my hair is still damp, I always apply a creamy leave-in conditioner, oil and a hair serum on each section. This makes my hair soft enough to comb through once it is dry.

The Result
When my hair is dry and brushed out, it still looks just as big and stretched as a blowout. It amazes me that so many naturals grab the blow dryer whenever they want to have stretched hair. Sure the blowdryer is faster but why risk the damage? Since I discovered how to do this it has become the method I use to stretch my hair everytime I want to straighten it or see some length.

I use a Creamy Leave-in Conditioner and Hair Serum
for dry hair soft enough to brush through

Wearing a bun all day gets the edges smooth
while drying

Finally APL and Holiday Hair Styles

Posted on by Michelle

My Holiday Make-Up Look
with Roller Set hair

The Holidays were fast and furious which left me feeling like I needed another break after it was all over. Still, it was a lot of fun dressing up and going out with the family. I especially enjoyed finally getting to see how long my hair was after the two Hair Growth Challenges I participated in over at K.I.S.S.
last fall.

One of the challenges encouraged participants to start using Hot Oil treatments on a regular basis while the other asked everyone to start using a Growth Aid to help speed up hair growth. I kinda fell off the bandwagon on the first one because since I sometimes have gel in my hair, I wasn’t too crazy about applying oils on top of that to do the treatments. However, I do feel like the second challenge introduced me to an interesting growth aid that appears to actually work. I’ll speak on that later on down the road.

The two challenges ended in December so I was really excited to see if my hair reaped the benefits of all that hard work. I am happy to announce that I have finally reached my goal of APL length hair! The top layers are still hovering around my collar bone thanks to that mini big chop I did last year but the back and bottom layers are doing really well. Since I like to wear my hair in big curls I can see that I won’t be satisfied until my hair is around BSL or longer. Right now with curls my hair sits just below my shoulders.

I also needed a trim so I took care of that and decided to wear my hair down for the holidays. Since I’ve been using roller sets to stretch my hair out I only ended up flat ironing the entire length of my hair once. The rest of the time I was able to enjoy a straight look with the help of my rollers and a little flat ironing at the roots. My hair has reverted back and is going to be put away for awhile again but it was fun while it lasted.

Roller Set styled in a
Pin-Up Do with Back Down

Flat Ironed hair after
air drying in braids overnight

Flat Ironed Back View

Recovering from Heat Damage

Posted on by Michelle

After my most recent bout with heat damage, I wasn’t too sure how to go about getting my curls back. I wore my hair straight for Easter Sunday but decided to use the flat iron again later in the week after using oils in my hair. My curls did not revert back like they normally did when I wore my hair straight and I was afraid that the damage was permanent. Was I upset? You damn skippy I was! I couldn’t believe that I let this happen again. Not only that, I just chopped off 1/2″ of damage at the start of the year which gave me curls galore. Now I was right back where I started and worse.

What did I do you ask? Well, I did what I always do when I need answers, I went to the internet. I was pretty certain that what I was experiencing was permanent heat damage but I was really hoping that someone out there had a magic remedy. I stumbled onto a YouTube video that I remembered watching by Taren916, where she used the Aphogee 2 step Protein Treatment to help repair her heat damage. She showed a before shot where her hair was limp and not so curly and another after the treatment when her hair had more texture.

After watching that, I went to the hair forums and read articles for more info on how the protein treatment worked. Basically, heat can cause significant damage to the cuticle layer of the hair strand. This is the protective outer layer (imagine tiny shingles that overlap one another). Once these cuticles are damaged, the hair is vulnerable and more prone to dryness and breakage. The protein in the Aphogee treatment helps to fill in the gaps where the hair strand is missing these important little pieces.

So, the very next day, I shot over to Sally’s and made a B-line for the Aphogee products. I still wasn’t too sure if this was all I needed so I grabbed a silicone based conditioner (the GVP version of Paul Mitchell’s The Detangler) and said a prayer. After the application and rinsing it all out, I was very surprised to see curls where there was once very non-descript strands. The treatment actually worked, but the curls were still looser than before (as you can see from the photo). My hair was still much thicker at the roots. Afterwards, I decided to go back to an old regimen I employed when I used to use semi-permanent color on my natural hair.

Damaged hair regimen:

Deep condition 2x per week- 1x with moisture; 1x with protein
Stay away from heat…lol
Protective styles to avoid further damage

My curls 4 weeks after the treatment.
Using braids to protect hair from too
much manipulation

Silicone based conditioner for detangling and co-washing

I added the silicone conditioner because the primary reason for using silicone in hair products is so that it can help mask damage incurred by heat styling, hair color and chemical treatments. Thankfully, my hair is back to being nice and curly but is just a bit more stretched than before with a few lazy curls here and there. Some people use heat for this effect but that was never my intention. Needless to say, me and my curls are stepping away from the heat for a good, long while.

Choosing a Ceramic Flat Iron

Posted on by Michelle

My FHI Ceramic Flat Iron

When my first flat iron quit working after only one year of use, I decided that I would definitely look into buying something of better quality the next go ’round. Little did I know that it would be 7 months before I would finally purchase a new one. Instead of running out and replacing it right away, I decided to take my time and do some research. One of the first things I did was start looking into styling options that didn’t require the use of heat. This started me on my Natural Hair journey which meant that the flat iron of my dreams would have to be able to straighten my natural hair texture, kinks and all.

I looked at Consumer Reports on the subject and found tons of info on the different types of flat irons. There are a lot of heat styling tools that are ceramic now but the real question is, how ceramic are they? It turns out that my previous joke of a flat iron was only ceramic coated which would explain the $40 USD price tag. The material started peeling and would catch my hair. This exposed the metal plates underneath and caused lots of breakage. However, professional tools that used full ceramic plates were priced way more than I could afford and were very fragile. One drop and crack goes the flat iron. I later read that the mid-range variety ($80-$150) used plates that have multiple layers of ceramic coating and sometimes even added tourmaline.

It is the tourmaline that helps the iron produce more negative ions. No, this is not chemistry class folks, we’re talkin’ hair here! Apparently the more negative ions the better the heat. Of course, using direct heat on the hair is never considered a good thing but I found out that there are different types of heat. This information explained how some flat irons give excellent results and also cause less damage while others burn the hair to a crisp.

Of all the brands out there I finally narrowed it down to the FHI Technique G2. I found the pink version on sale at Ulta for $79 but still see it at Target for ten dollars more. It definitely puts my old iron to shame but the sucker gets hot so I have to be extremely careful with it. I like that it has a beveled edge which makes it really easy to do flips and curls. If I could do it all over again I would hold out for the FHI Platform which has a dial so you can adjust the heat setting. Maybe one day…a girl can dream, right?

**Check out this article for more info on choosing a quality Flat Iron**