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In recent times, natural hair has become quite the trend. It has also served as empowerment to black ladies especially after Beyonce and Blue ivy sang “Brown Skin Girl”.
However, despite the hair being the race of the season and many more seasons to come, it has its challenges. Natural hair has a mind and can be very challenging to handle especially when using a flat iron.
This article will talk about how to flat-iron natural black hair like a celebrity hairstylist. We will also give you hair care routine tips and things to avoid when using a flat iron.
Step by Step Process of Flat Ironing Natural Hair
Wash the Hair
The first step is to wash your hair. Clean hair achieves way better results than greasy hair. Do not vigorously rub your natural hair tresses with shampoos or other hair wash products so that your natural hair will not tangle.
- You should follow these steps for a clean hair wash.
- Detangle the hair. You should detangle your hair with a wide-tooth comb or with your fingers. Do this very gently to avoid hair breakage.
- Divide your mane into four quadrants for adequate application of shampoo.
- Focus on one quadrant and rub a generous quantity of shampoo into the hair. Massage your scalp adequately to eliminate the build-up of dirt, dead cells, and dandruff. Avoid rubbing your hair vigorously to prevent tangling.
- After washing all the quadrants thoroughly, use warm water and rinse the hair. Allow the shampoo and lather to run. This step is essential if your conditioner is going to work. It helps to leave the hair cuticles open and allows for proper absorption of the hair conditioner.
- Remove water from your hair by squeezing firmly, and then apply a generous quantity of hair conditioner. Focus on the bulk of the hair.
Washing your hair before flat ironing makes the hair free from dirt and oils. If you skip this step before flat ironing, you will no doubt bake dirt and oil into your hair strands. As a result, it can cause more damage to your hair.
Related: Silk Press vs. Flat Iron
Blow Dry Your Hair
You should dry your hair gently with the use of a blow dryer or a bonnet hairdryer. Then, run your hair through with a Denman brush to loosen the curls while drying. This step is essential as only dry hair can be flat ironed.
Apply Hair Serum
Natural hair is very delicate, and it frizzes. Hence, the need for hair serum application. Application of hair serum or smoothing balm helps hold the hair in place and prevents it from frizzing up. Hair experts recommend that you use humidity-resistant formulas.
Heat Protectant
It is a widely known fact that very high temperatures are bad for natural hair. It does a lot of damage to the hair. Therefore, using a heat protectant is like a glass of cold water on a very sunny day.
It does a whole lot of good.
Note: heat protectants will not protect the hair if the temperature used for flat ironing is too high.
Related: Flat Iron Temperature Guide
Flat Ironing
Flat ironing is the all-important step. Start by sectioning the hair into four parts again. Gently section a chosen part with a tail comb to make flat ironing much easy.
Then, using your flat iron and a comb, gently run through the hair. Ensure the motion is from the root to the tips and go gently but firmly.
Use the comb directly in front of the flat iron to remove any kinks before you iron.
Maintain the same motion until you are done going through all the hair parts, and the hair now has a silky feel and look. Your hair can have different textures.
For example, the hair atop your head is curlier than the hair at your sides. This information is noteworthy because it helps in temperature adjustment.
Curlier hair requires a higher temperature than straighter hair. To avoid hair damage, use the best flat iron for natural hair at a temperature below 400°C. Anything above this can damage the hair.
It’s worse if you coat your hair in oil before flat ironing.
Setting the Hair
After your tresses are flat ironed and now silky smooth, don’t just get up and be on the move. Use a silk scarf of a satin head wrap and tie your hair for about 20 minutes. It helps set your hair’s smoothness.
Related: Can You Flat Iron Synthetic Hair- Different Ways
Final Touch
After 20 minutes, you can unwrap your hair. Then spray a generous quantity of anti-humidity spray. It helps to hold your hairstyle in place for a while.
For your flat ironing to last for a while, you must use the following tips.
● Do not sleep bare-haired on a cotton pillowcase. It dries out your hair and can aid in hair breakage. Always use a bonnet or a satin scarf to tie your hair before you go to sleep.
● Before wrapping your hair up, ensure you wrap in a circular motion. It would resemble Bantu knots somewhat. It is to retain moisture in the hair and prevent drying out before you tie it with a scarf.
● You should flat-iron your hair at most once a week to avoid damage to the hair.
● Ensure there’s no oil on the hair before flat ironing. It helps to prevent frying your hair.
● You can go through your hair roots with a flat iron again for a fresh look especially if your hair roots get puffy fast. Avoid doing this every day.
● Make sure you flat iron dry hair. Flat ironing dry hair makes it frizzy.
● Do not rush through the flat ironing process. Take it slow and steady.
Conclusion
A lot of people are faced with the challenges of how to flat-iron natural hair. Following the above steps will not only make it possible. But you will be able to do it like a celebrity hairstylist. So have fun while looking like a bag of money.