Flat Iron v. Blowout For Natural Hair

[w332]

Hi Ladies!

I know it has been discussed already, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on straightening natural hair. Is flat ironing or blowouts better for 4b/4c hair?

I go to a really good Jamaican lady every two weeks who takes good care of my natural hair. It is growing well, but my only problem is that I think it may be thinning my hair out because she gets it so straight.

I asked a trusted dominican stylist (who lives in another state and gave me good advice in the past) what I should do, and she suggests asking the Jamaican lady to do a blowout instead of flat ironing my hair. She thinks direct heat from the flat iron could be a problem. She says rollersetting and then blowing it with a dryer is a better course of action that will lead to healthier natural hair over time.

What do you ladies think?

 

[JudithO]

I don't agree with the the dominican blowout (rollerset then blowdry)... BUT I think the blowout will be better for your hair overall.

 

[beana]

I think the flat iron is better, ask your stylist to use a lower temperature and to blow dry your hair using the tension method.

I'm not a fan of using the tension of a round brush and the extreme heat of a blow dryer on already dry hair.

 

[almond eyes]

Depends on your hair texture. If you have fine hair blow dry tension method on medium heat. I never follow it up with a flat iron as it is too much heat. Best, Almond Eyes

 

[w332]

Thanks Ladies. Sometimes I think the flat iron is better because the tension that the round brush and blowerdryer add is not there. Then, when the flat iron makes it thinner than I like, I wonder if the blowout is better. I'm still undecided.

 

[30something]

Flat iron is more designed to get the hair straight, it takes a lot of effort and heat to get type 4 to get straight with a blow dry. If your into kinky straight hair then blow drying is fine but if your looking for pretty sleek styling flat irons might be a safer route.

 

[Danewshe]

In my opinion the two styling methods yield different results, so it all boils down to what look you're going for. If you want it bone straight, then flat ironing is better. But if you just want to stretch/lightly straighten your hair, blowdrying is best.

 

[candy626]

A rollerset with the roots blown out is fine, as this protects your ends more. But the way most Dominicans blow dry your full length definitely will lead to thinning and breakage overtime.

Most Dominican stylist I've been to go over the same section over and over and over. I do not think that's better then flat ironing. Flat ironing every now and again on the right temperature setting should be fine. Find out what temperature she's flat ironing your hair to see if she can adjust it to a lower temperature.

 

[w332]

Thank you ladies! I want it straight, but thick rather than thin. It seemed like it was growing long fast but thinner than I would like. I remember when I got blowouts, it took a lot of heat to straighten my hair, and the brush was pulling it...I don't like the thought of that.

I guess the seeming thinness is bothering me. Do you think it will get thicker? The Jamaican hairdresser claims that it will get thicker as it keeps getting healthier. I hope she's right.

 

[Seamonster]

I know I am natural, but I am curious about why you choose to use a heat chemical reaction instead of a relaxer. Seems like you are interested in having straight hair all the time. Heating most natural hair weekly or every other week causes breakage, dry and brittle hair. Furthermore, hair that is straightened every other week becomes heat trained, and develops permanently straightened pieces of hair. This can create the critical fragile point of two textures on one strand of hair.

There are some people that are experts with heat, but since you said your hair is getting thinner, it might be time to think about your style choice versus hair type? What do you think?

 

[southerncitygirl]

why bother with direct heat take a break for 4-6 months and do stretched textured styles.

 

[Victorian]

I guess the seeming thinness is bothering me. Do you think it will get thicker? The Jamaican hairdresser claims that it will get thicker as it keeps getting healthier. I hope she's right.

NO. If what she's doing is causing it to thin, it will not start getting thicker all of a sudden unless she starts doing something differently.

Really you might just want to learn to do your own hair. Once you get the hang of it it's not hard at all and you can control how much or how little heat you want to use.
If you don't want to/aren't ready to do your own hair, you definitely need to communicate your concerns to your hairdresser. Let her know you're glad it's growing but you've noticed it getting thinner and you'd also prefer to keep more volume in your hair. You can flat iron regularly without your hair getting thin or breaking off--she needs to turn the heat down.