Shield your strands: How to protect your Textured hair

Having textured hair can be a pain at times. Especially if you are a 4C girly like my oldest daughter. Now that she is a teenager she always wants to wear her hair straight. As her mom and a cosmetologist, I had to give her all the options. Of course, I had to offer all the pros and cons for those options. My daughter opted for the easier solution a RELAXER! Then she quickly changed her mind. We went into detail about how to care for her hair. We focused on achieving minimal heat damage when using hot tools. So let me give y’all the same advice I gave her.

1. Picking the right tools

Before you start doing anything to your textured hair, you want to make sure you are choosing the right products.

I suggest that you go ahead and buy a professional grade flat iron if you can. I do know that they can get a little pricey. Any flat iron will do. The more it costs, the longer it will last. Plus, they are now made with ceramic to help with the damage. If the professionals use it, then it is a good product for you to use a well. I still use my BaByliss flat iron that I received with my cosmetology kit. But I also have a Chi flat iron as well. I love them both and would recommend them to everyone. Mostly because you can buy them at Ulta Beauty. If you don’t have an Ultra close to you, you can always order it on the Ulta website or http://www.amazon.com. This two flat irons are trusted among the beauty industry. Almost every professional I know has either one or both.

Investing in salon quality tools has many benefits. Here are some reason why I feel you should spend the extra coins (if you can):

1. Maintains a consistent temperature
2. Has ceramic plates that will distribute the heat evenly.
3. Some of them have automatic shut off features.

Another tool you will need is a wide-tooth comb. You want to make sure that your hair is completely detangled. (Check out our blog on detangling hair textured hair.) you will eventually move to a smaller comb, but that won’t be till you are flat ironing your hair.

No matter what style you are trying to achieve, you always want to detangle first. It will help prevent your hair from tangling and pulling unnecessarily. You can also use a hair brush, but make sure you are using the right type of hair brush. You should be using a detangling brush.

2. Product to use

A product you are going to need for your textured hair is a great heat protector. There are many different kind out there and it can be hard to chose. I recommend Mizani or Design Essentials. They cater to textured hair and have the essentials ingredients in them. They are available at Sally’s locations.

Using a heat protector adds a barrier layer to keep you from burning your naturally textured hair. Now do use your heat protector sparingly. Especially if it an oil based protector. They can leave your hair looking oily. Avoid over applying.

3. Preparing to straighten your hair

Now that you have your tools and products, it’s time to prep your hair. I suggest that you wash your hair at this point. After you have washed your hair it will be time to blow dry your hair. Before blow drying you need to add heat protector throughout your hair. Split your hair into 4 equal sections, 6 if you have thick hair. Apply the heat protector throughout out each section, combing your hair before moving to the next section. This will allow the heat protector to spread evenly.

After, blow drying your hair as straight as you can get it. It is time to flat iron your hair.

4. Flat Ironing Hair

When flat ironing your hair you want to work in subsections of the already made sections. These subsections need to be thin enough to effectively flat iron the hair. This is where your smaller comb will comb in handy. It will need to be a parting comb and should be plastic. A metal comb will get hot and burn you. Below is a suggestion of temperatures you can use:

1. Fine/Thin Hair Types: 300 degrees – 360 degrees
2. Med./Avg. Hair Types: 360 degrees – 390 degrees
3. Thick/Coarse Hair Types: 390 degrees – 410 degrees

Again these are only suggestions. I do recommend that you don’t go over the heating suggestions. The goal is to straighten the hair not burn it and damage it.