~~flat Ironing :( :(~~

[Porsche19]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong!

When I flat iron my hair, it gets straight, but I have so much tangling.

Also, my roots don't get straight.

So what I wind up doing is pressung my hair to get it straigher. I lose a lot of hair straightening my hair because the appliance can't get through it.

I detangle my hair before I use the damned things, I comb it and have no tanggles in each section, but when I put the flat iron/pressing comb in my hair, it's horrible. A lot of hair comes out. It looks good afterwards, but I know that it's not normal to have to go through this. I don't experience breakage afterwards,

It almost makes me want to relax so that I don't have this problem... so that I wouldn't have to use heat at all to straighten my hair.

I'm kinda afraid to do that because I'm already texturized and my hair is resistant on top of that. I run the risk of overprocessing and underprocessing it at that same time. If I leave it in my texturized hair too long, it'll be over processed.... if I leave it on my very resistant hair for too short of a time, it'll be underprocessed.



Advice on any part of this post would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sweetyb]

First of all, sorry about the problems you had. I'm natural as well, and I find it very helpful to keep my coils stretched throughout the entire wash/condition/rinse/blowdry/press process. I've flat ironed my hair for the 1st time, twice, since December. I've found it helpful to make sure I'm using moisturizing products at all times. When I properly deep condition my hair, it adds enough moisture to my hair that it doesn't shrivle up so much during the drying process. It also doesn't feel dry--when your hair feels dry before blow drying and/or flat ironing, just know you're in for a long night, because natural hair is no fun when it's not conditioned properly. Also, I never let it dry in the coil's natural state because that also makes it hard to not only style but flat iron if one chose to. Blow dry the hair straight, use rollers, or air dry it in braids or twists, so that the coils are straight enough to run a flat iron over without much stress. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[SVT]

I ususally airdry in braids/twists like Sweetyb mentioned. Other times, I partially air dry then finish by blowdrying each section on COLD. This helps to reduce my hair's exposure to heat.

Flatironing in small sections and keeping the hair taut as you pass the iron across helps to minimize the tangles also.

 

[vangrey]

@Porsche19: Girl, I feel your pain... FLAT IRONS ARE THE DEVIL!!!!
With curly hair, I used to flat iron every week... but first i would wrap and sit under the dryer til it was all straight and dry, then i would flat iron *on 20* and wonder why my hair was falling out. personally, i believe flat irons are more dangerous than blow drying. with flat irons, your hair is caught in between two hot metal plates. When you pull your hair through it can get tangled and damaged from all the direct heat. Now, with blowdrying, if used correctly you will only have to pass it by once for it to get straight... and you can used the cool setting just as well. btw i have an ion blowdryer and i couldnt be happier... when i blow dry my hair, it not only comes out straight as it would with a flat iron... but my hair doesn't fall out as it would with a flat iron. But if you still want to use the flat iron, make sure you do this:
1. check to see what setting it is on: anything higher than 10 can damage your hair(ie. split ends or pull it out)
2. make sure to rollerset or wet wrap dry before flat ironing (makes hair smoother and more manageable to work with). also make sure you use a good leave-in or setting lotion (i used to use motions)
3. always always use a heat protectant ( i like ion's heat protectant spray)
4. if you can't get it straight on one pass, don't do it again. (the more passes can lead to damage... besides if you dried it like i mentioned it earlier.. you should be partially straight)
5. only flat iron from the roots to the middle section of the hair (again, damage control... ends are very sensitive)

 

[karezone]

i believe flat irons are more dangerous than blow drying. with flat irons, your hair is caught in between two hot metal plates. When you pull your hair through it can get tangled and damaged from all the direct heat. Now, with blowdrying, if used correctly you will only have to pass it by once for it to get straight... and you can used the cool setting just as well.

But if you still want to use the flat iron, make sure you do this:
1. check to see what setting it is on: anything higher than 10 can damage your hair(ie. split ends or pull it out)
2. make sure to rollerset or wet wrap dry before flat ironing (makes hair smoother and more manageable to work with). also make sure you use a good leave-in or setting lotion (i used to use motions)
3. always always use a heat protectant ( i like ion's heat protectant spray)
4. if you can't get it straight on one pass, don't do it again. (the more passes can lead to damage... besides if you dried it like i mentioned it earlier.. you should be partially straight)
5. only flat iron from the roots to the middle section of the hair (again, damage control... ends are very sensitive)

i cosign on everything except flat irons being more damaging than blowdryers. I believe that they are equally damaging depending on how often they are used and what the flatiron plates are made of.

I love the ion heat protectant I used it with my ceramic curling iron Th and it was great.