Wet to Dry Press on POROUS hair?

[davisbr88]

I straightened my hair yesterday and as soon as I went out in the after-rain air, my hair went POOF! Lol. I am hoping it won't be this way when there isn't so much moisture in the air but I don't know. Since my hair is porous, maybe I should have used protein or Roux in my straightening regi at some point to close my cuticles. I've been interested in the wet to dry press method for a while since people say it lasts so long despite humidity and they get full reversion, but I don't know if it's safe on porous hair. Does anyone know?
TIA ladies!

ETA: Before I flat ironed, I clarified, DC'ed overnight, applied a couple of heat protectants, air-dried in bands, applied a little Sabino to the banded sections and pressed.

 

[Nonie]

@davisbr88, I don't think it's the WTD that stops humidity from affecting the hair but the products used that seal the hair to stop humidity from getting to it. From WestNDNbeauty's thread, well-moisturized hair does seem not to be affected by humidity much, so perhaps focus on that more by deep conditioning before hand.

Now about porous hair, I don't know if the WTD method is "safe" for it. There are those who say it isn't safe for anyone due to "bubble hair" but I think that would happen with any product that penetrates strands and that is used during flat-ironing. I do think using Roux PC might be a good idea, but I do want to stress that using some serum is the only way I know to prevent reversion after a press, not just having closed cuticles. Also I think it does depend on why your hair is porous. If it's from damage and you have lost a lot of cuticle, then I don't know how much Roux PC can help, but if you just have naturally porous hair, I think it can help in making your strands stay moisturized.

Also full reversion is usually because your hair wasn't damaged during the press, and I have found using heat protectants to be the only way to be somewhat sure of avoiding damage. When I last used them, I didn't just use one, but I started by using a conditioner by CHI for thermal protection then used two heat protectants during the flat-ironing process. The fact that I didn't smell burning hair at all during the process or after or even when I wet my hair was a clue that my hair wasn't damaged. And the full reversion was proof that it wasn't.

 

[davisbr88]

Hey Nonie. I was JUST changing my post to include my process. I definitely DC'ed and used a WHOLE bunch of heat protectant ANd a serum... I don't know what's wrong with my hair!

 

[Nonie]

davisbr88, the only thing I can think of is was perhaps you were working on big sections and were not as meticulous as I was in your product application. I worked on really narrow sections and made sure to coat my hair very well. I don't mean I slathered on a lot, but I made sure every inch of ever strand was covered as if my life depended on it.

What products exactly did you use and at what stage? Perhaps it's your technique or timing or order of use?

 

[davisbr88]

I clarified with Bee Mine Rhassoul Clay Bar, DC'ed with Silk Elements Intense Moisturizing Treatment overnight, rinsed that out, separated my hair into 10- 12 sections, and to the sections applied: a little bit of Donna Marie Detangler and Conditioner, 2 pumps of Redken Velvet Whip, 2 pumps of Redken Heat Glide. Then I banded my hair until dry, applied a little bit of Sabino to each section and then flat ironed, comb chase method. I used pretty thin sections... Maybe I didn't apply enough Sabino?

 

[Nonie]

Hmm.... :scratchch It could be you didn't use enough Sabino.

Question for everyone: do you all use many products during pressing? Anyone use less and get good results?

davisbr88, what do each of those products do? I wonder if there's such a thing as using too much?

 

[davisbr88]

Velvet Whip is a thermal softening treatment, Heat glide is a heat protectant. I wasn't going to use the Sabino, but then I checked the weather and saw that it was going to rain. Maybe I just have to make sure it's a dry day. I just thought maybe since I have porous hair that if I do a WTD, that the moisture of the water would kind of be sealed in so my cuticles wouldn't be wide open to grab all the water out of the air.
Eh. I give up.

 

[Yetta]

I need some help too davisbr88, my hair seems to be the same texture as yours because the slightest bit of humidity will fro mine up quick! I have tried so many products and methods but it poofs up all the same.....less product, more product - same poof.

 

[PPGbubbles]

Only thing I can suggest on top of your routine...is to use small (thin) sections of hair and apply your serum section by section. I dip one finger in the serum and apply that to the thin section just before I run the flat iron over it. This does take time but it is the only way I can achieve a silky flat iron that doesnt revert instantly.

and dont forget to use the comb chase method so that the tension can get your hair ultra smooth and reduce frizz.

wet to dry didnt work for me...I have porus hair and all it seemed to do was evaporate all my hair moisture away. I do best when I air dry... then lightly blow dry on 90% dry hair then flat iron.

 

[davisbr88]

Okay so maybe I need to blow dry next time. I just air dried in bands. I have, however, applied serum to each section I flat ironed before, but I still got poofy hair. Definitely not as poofy as yesterday, though, and that WAS in the summer, so I will try again in the winter with putting serum on each section. I already employ the comb chase method with the jilbere straightening comb.
Thanks so much for your response! At least someone actually tried the WTD with porous hair!

 

[Nonie]

The only other thing I want to say is when you think you have narrow sections, go even narrower. Think of the plates of the iron touching every strand, not just the top and bottom and likewise, when you smooth serum over hair, make sure it's on a flat section so your fingers are touching both sides of each strand. This is an example of how thin the sections I press are--about as wide as a braid section when I'm wearing extension braids:

 

[Tiye]

All heat straightened hair reverts in humidity - even people with relaxers and naturally wavy straight hair (type 1b and 2) can verify this. A wet to straight press will make your hair flatter but it doesn't prevent reversion.

 

[Nonie]

All heat straightened hair reverts in humidity - even people with relaxers and naturally wavy straight hair (type 1b and 2) can verify this. A wet to straight press will make your hair flatter but it doesn't prevent reversion.

@Tiye, I dunno if i totally agree with you. When I take a shower, my bathroom is all steamy but when I had my last press, my hair still looked smooth and straight a few days later. I still believe moisture cannot penetrate a serum that isn't water soluble, which is why reversion only happened for me when I shampooed.

Reversion will happen if you leave loopholes for moisture to reach your strands.

 

[FocusLady]

Nonie, what serum do you use? TIA

 

[Nonie]

Nonie, what serum do you use? TIA

FocusLady, John Frieda Frizz-Ease Thermal Protection Serum is what I used this time after using John Frieda Frizz-Ease Heat Defeat Spray. In the past, before I discovered heat protectants, I simply used the regular Frizz-Ease serum.

While in the past with just the regular serum, I never had reversion even in humidity--as humid as the DVA area can get--I did have reversion when I took a steam shower. Not a hot shower with the little steam that mists the mirror but a shower that has steam vents that envelope you in total fog. Hence my heat craze and daily touchups that were a set back in 2004.

This time around, I was very meticulous in my preparation: DCing well first and then ensuring that I coated my strands very well as if I truly believed they'd be spared the heat if they were fully coated. People who use Sabino moisture block say it does the same thing, so I'm guessing it could probably work too.

I also do not use any other product besides the serum--which perhaps means my seal isn't diluted or interfered with so that it is able to do its job well. I just trust that any moisture my hair would have gotten was received at the DCing point and then the WTD press which I did with the Frizz Ease Spray.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

It sounds like you used too much products to me. I believe in just using a heat protector during the blow dry process only. If you add more product, you could end up with short lasting strait hair. I use Vigorol's mousse after my leave in conditioner. I'm only 8 weeks post relaxer, so my hair is technically relaxed.

 

[Yetta]

Nonie I used your method last night and my hair has never been straighter while natural! Today there's no humidity in the DMV but I'll see how it holds up later in the week. I have too many products in my hair to contribute the results to just one. But last night I only used Hask heat appliance serum and a little coconut oil....I parted my sections smaller and turned the heat up on the flat iron. My hair was still bone straight after a hot shower.

Thanks again for the tip!

 

[Nonie]

Nonie I used your method last night and my hair has never been straighter while natural! Today there's no humidity in the DMV but I'll see how it holds up later in the week. I have too many products in my hair to contribute the results to just one. But last night I only used Hask heat appliance serum and a little coconut oil....I parted my sections smaller and turned the heat up on the flat iron. My hair was still bone straight after a hot shower.

Thanks again for the tip!

Yetta Thanks for trying it. Did you make sure that you applied that serum as meticulously as possible, covering that hair as if it were a vampire and would melt in sunlight if any section wasn't covered? Doing smaller section does get straight hair but what will keep it is if the hair is very well covered.

I appreciate the feedback. :blowkiss:

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie I used your method last night and my hair has never been straighter while natural! Today there's no humidity in the DMV but I'll see how it holds up later in the week. I have too many products in my hair to contribute the results to just one. But last night I only used Hask heat appliance serum and a little coconut oil....I parted my sections smaller and turned the heat up on the flat iron. My hair was still bone straight after a hot shower.

Thanks again for the tip!

What part are you in? I live in DC, and there's a WHOLE bunch of moisture in the air! That's how mine poofed up on Monday. But if your hair stayed straight even with that, I definitely am going to try putting serum on each section, and I guess I need to start putting my iron up higher than 350. Maybe I will try 375 next time.
Thanks for the responses everyone!

 

[butterfly_wings]

Do you apply the serum to the hair before you blow dry or directly before the flat iron??

 

[Nonie]

Do you apply the serum to the hair before you blow dry or directly before the flat iron??

butterfly_wings, for me, neither (well, sort of).

I do not blow-dry but just airdry. I guess my first "wet-to-dry" iron pass is the step at which people blow dry, and no I do not apply my serum then. Even when I never used heat protectants (which I do not advise anyone to do), I would do the "wet-to-dry" flat iron pass on bare hair ie with no products whatsoever. My hair would look sort of as if it had been blown out or blow dried after the WTD pass on bare hair (or more recently heat protectant spray).

It is on my next and final iron pass that I apply the serum. To me the part the serum plays is to lock in the results I have achieved so far...ie the straight hair. While my hair doesn't look sleek before the serum as you can see here:

...after the serum (which for years was not a heat protectant but now I found one that is), my hair would look sleeker:

When I was relaxed, I'd apply the serum to damp hair and let my hair airdry then use a curling iron to create a bob by using it as if it were a flat iron. I'd have very smooth swinging hair that way. But as long as I have been natural--which is most of my life, if I skip the wet-to-dry flat iron step, my hair has always looked like it was just blown out. Because for years I've always done WTD on bare hair, I've never considered applying he serum to my damp hair for the WTD pass so I don't know if the results would be as good. And now that I have found a spray whose directions seem to support WTD (Spray on damp hair and blow-dry straight. For ultra-straightening, spray on small sections of dried hair immediately before using a flat iron), I don't think I'll ever do it any other way than the way I've always done it: serum being the last step in my straightening procedure.

 

[beautyaddict1913]

I dont even understand what wet to dry pressing is but let me tell you when I got my best results:
I watched WestNDN's yt and followed her method as closely as I could
I clarified my hair
Deep conditioned overnight using relaxer method
Steamed an hour the next morning
Rinsed with cold water
West sprayed her hair with Nioxin Thermal bliss and detangled
I used Doo Grow detangler instead, the ingredients are similar, to me the important thing is the dimethicone, sillicones, cones, etc. Thats all any heat protectant is. Sabino is a bottle of dimethicone.
Normally I would use the fantasia ic heat protectant or the bio infusion glosser protectant but I didnt.
The cone heavy detangler was my protectant
I blow dried my hair on high cool with a paddle brush. I didnt do it as intensely as I should have or my hair would have been straighter. When I had done each section I went back and blowdried it with heat but it was only for like 5 minutes for the whole head...this was the step that got my hair really straight with minimal heat.
I then flat ironed with a WIGO iron, a pink and zebra Tourmaline iron from Ulta, nothin fancy lol. I kept it on 380 the whole time. It goes up to 425. And I used the comb chase method too, just like West!
My hair probably would have gotten straighter if I had of used the paddle brush more during blow drying. I was having trouble with it so I used my blow dry comb moreso.
But the results were fab and my hair stayed straight and of course my curls returned!
Hope this helps!

 

[lana]

The one and only time I tried using a flat iron on "damp" hair with serum and heat protectant I got "bubble hair" and I'm still waiting for that one section to grow out so that I can cut it off. Bubble hair is just a bunch of frizzed out hair that won't straighten completely and doesn't hold moisture. I've been cutting it off month by month as it grows.

Now I make sure my hair is completly dry and I mean completely(!) before I flat iron.

I use Redken Smooth Down - Shampoo and Conditioner and a spray on heat protectant for shaky straight results. I'm a 4a/b and the only time my hair gets "silky" is when it's wet or when I used to get it styled at the salon and they would BLAST it with heat (no-no).

Now I'm very gentle with my hair and as long as it's shaky and straight from the minimum amount of heat I use with the flat iron - I'm happy.

 

[davisbr88]

lana What temp was your iron on?

 

[GreenEyedJen]

Hmm.... :scratchch It could be you didn't use enough Sabino.

Question for everyone: do you all use many products during pressing? Anyone use less and get good results?

davisbr88, what do each of those products do? I wonder if there's such a thing as using too much?

I've noticed that less products seem to be the key for me to get my hair super straight and swingy, relaxed or natural. I used to use KeraCare Silken Seal (spray or serum) when relaxed and after trying other things, I'm back to that for my natural hair too.

I make sure my hair is WELL moisturized/"proteined" from a nice DC, then rinse and apply heat protectant only (Silken Seal serum is two 'cones), then I blowdry with the pik and flat iron in small sections afterwards.

If I use more than JUST this product (yeah, even leave-in is a no-no for me when straightening) my hair gets straight but has no swing at all. Same thing if I try to fit too much hair in my flat iron. My hair is super fine, so it took me a while to realize that I have to use super small sections as well.

It takes me a LONG time to straighten my hair now. Over an hour and I'm only CBL. I don't do it that much because I honestly don't like my hair straight anymore, but when I do it for length checks or whatever, this is the only way I can get it to last more than a day.

 

[keelioness]

Just wanted to add..I've been rocking pressed hair for a month..its been humid / rainy as here in NY..girl go put ur hair up in a cute cap when u go outdoors..I wear a cute BeBe cap. when i walk into work i just take off the hat and let my hair down.No reversion at all

 

[davisbr88]

^^ Girl I wish. I know a lot of girls that can do that but I sweat in my head! Even when it's cold, I sweat like crazy....

 

[lana]

It was on about 300 I guess. I keep it between 260-340. I use a Sedu.

But the thing was one section of my hair was damp and ever since then it hasn't been right. I know I got bubble hair from using a flat iron on damp hair. I have about three inches on the ends of that section left and I'm trimming it slowly.

 

[davisbr88]

300?! 260?! Wow.
Do you blow dry? There is no way my hair would get straight at 300 unless I blow dried my hair first. I had it on 350 last time and it barely got straight, but I band my hair to dry, so it doesn't get straight-straight, you know?
If you don't blow dry, I guess I need to invest in a Sedu!

 

[BonBon]

I shampoo, DC overnight, Porosity control and then twist my hair with a bit of creme moisturiser sealed with a little coconut oil overnight. I flat iron the next day using sabino and the comb chase method. My hair thanks me for it but I know a lot of posters like to do it immediately with no extra moisturiser.