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There are several reasons your hair becomes poofy after you straighten it.
One of these reasons is exposing your hair to high heat without protecting it with a suitable heat protectant.
Your straightener removes moisture from your hair and without heat protectant, your hair can wind up damaged.
Find out other reasons your hair gets poofy after straightening it and how to fix it.
Reasons Why Your Hair Is Poofy
Asides from heat damage, there are other reasons your hair looks poofy even after you straighten it. Here are some of them.
1. Poor Hair Prep
We always stress that the quality of results you enjoy after straightening your hair depends on your preparations. If you do not wash and condition your hair before straightening it, you may wind up with poofy hair.
Notice how we mentioned conditioning your hair?
Yes, because many people skip this step.
Using shampoos alone without conditioning the hair will leave your hair rough and puffy. So to have a perfectly sleek look, you must condition your hair.
Related: How to Bleach Hair at Home
2. Shampooing Hair the Wrong Way
Most people don’t realize that they are washing their hair the wrong way. First, shampoo with lukewarm water, not hot water! Hot water damages your hair and makes it poofy.
3. Poor Detangling
While you condition your hair, we advise you to detangle your hair with either your fingers or a wide-toothed comb. This ensures that your hair is free of all the usual tangles that can ruin your look.
4. Your Hair is Not Moisturized
Dry hair becomes poofy after straightening, so ensure that your hair has the right amount of moisture. Use a moisturizing shampoo to wash and a protein-infused conditioner to condition your hair.
After that, lock in the moisture with nourishing oil. We love to seal in moisture with argan, jojoba or coconut oil.
Related: What Are the Side Effects of a Keratin Treatment
5. Wrong Hair Straightener
We know you don’t want to hear it, but your straightener could be the reason for your poofy hair. Select the right hair straightener for your hair type so that you can get the best result.
7 Ways to Avoid Poofy Straightened Hair?
Here are some great tips to help you avoid poofy hair.
1. Use a Heat Protectant
One reason your hair is poofy after you straighten it is that your hair is damaged. Damage occurs to hair when it is overexposed to heat during the styling process.
A subpar flat iron or a lack of heat-protective products used when straightening the hair may cause overexposure.
2. Shampoo the Right Way
Wash your hair thoroughly with a sulfate-free shampoo. Ensure that the water you use is warm and not hot. You can use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of the pent-up products. Finish your shampoo session with a cold water rinse.
3. Always Use a Natural Conditioner
Your conditioner will help to moisturize your hair, ensuring that it remains sleek and smooth after straightening. It also helps you detangle your hair easily, smoothen your hair cuticles, and helps make your hair more manageable.
Choose a conditioner that is lightweight and suitable for hair types. We recommend conditioners that do not contain silicone.
Related: How to Air Dry Hair Overnight
4. Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize!
If your hair is dry, it will become poofy after you straighten it, so keep it moisturized. The best way to ensure your hair is properly moisturized is to understand your hair type.
If your hair is low porosity hair, then you should add more moisturizing hair products to your routine and lay off on protein treatments. Products like Jojoba oil and protein-free conditioner are great for low porosity hair.
If your hair is high porosity, you will benefit from incorporating protein treatments into your routine. They add volume to your hair, repair the damaged portions and add shine.
As I Am leave-in-condition is a great product to try out. Coconut oil also works magic for high porosity hair. It helps your hair retain moisture.
5. Check Your Hair Products
Sometimes, maybe you are using the wrong products for your hair. And when your hair is not healthy, you run a higher risk of winding up with poofy hair after straightening. Switching up your regular hair products may help.
6. Straighten Your Hair In Sections
The best way to avoid poofy hair is to straighten your section by section. That way, you can ensure that heat is evenly distributed throughout your hair.
Don’t fall into the temptation of sectioning your hair in large parts. You wouldn’t save any time or effort, what you will end up with is poofy hair.
7. Use the Right Hair Straightener for Your Hair
If you still have poofy hair after following all the tips above, then it’s time to look at your straightener. Normally for coarse or thick hair, straighteners with ionic or titanium plates are best. They prevent puffiness and frizziness.
If your hair is thin and fine, the best hair straighteners for you are straightening irons with ceramic and tourmaline.
Recommended Hair Straighteners 2022
These are two of our favorite hair straighteners for thick or coarse hair.
1. GHD Platinum
The best GHD flat iron is one of the top hair straighteners of 2022 and it has two Best of Beauty awards to show for it. The ceramic plates help smoothen out your hair without destroying the strands. So, you end up with perfectly straight hair.
Conclusion
It is very annoying to find your hair poofy after you’ve just straightened it. It has happened to even the best of us and we’ve all asked why?
Heat damage is one reason why your hair gets poofy after you straighten it. We provided other reasons for poofy hair and ways to fix and avoid it.
