Hair is our second face and to make it more beautiful most of us need a heat styling tool and a proper technique to use it efficiently.
Flat Iron may be your best hair tool when it comes to versatile hair styles, but we can’t deny the fact that heating tools cause damage when used often or on regular basis.
Why not reduce the heat related damage from minimum to zero by using flat iron correctly. Let’s know how to correctly flat iron hair from How to Wow!!
Also Check – Recommended Tools For This Technique
How To Correctly Flat Iron Hair
Here ‘the correct way’ literally means to get salon grade hair straightening by using flat iron at home without damaging hair. Damage free professional styling requires little effort, proper technique and some do’s & don’ts.
As we know the steps of hair straightening are –
- wash your hair,
- dry out them,
- apply heat protectant product,
- section hair,
- set the temperature,
- start styling and you are done.
The above steps seem simple but have many do’s and don’ts in between, let’s see what are those –
Flat Ironing Do’s And Don’ts
Do – Prep your hair before styling
Yes, straightening looks much better on clean hair rather on greasy or dirty hair. It is recommended to do straightening on fresh hair. You can use your preferable shampoo to deep cleanse your hair and a conditioner to add moisturize to it.
As flat ironing dirty hair may cause damage to your hair. Shampooing and conditioning will remove all the unwanted oil and product build up from your hair.
This ‘do’ will help prepare the strands for the straightening process.
Don’t – Straighten hair regularly
Though straight hair is your signature hairstyle yet do not wear it regularly. Instead of using a flat iron every day, try to maintain your straight hair last longer.
The solution is to avoid washing hair often, instead keep your hair dry, you can use a dry shampoo when required.
In brief protect your hair from moisture, wear loose hair styles to avoid hair waving and apply nourishing serum to keep strands frizz free.
We are trying hard to keep your hair straight because flat-ironing on daily basis, even small touch-ups will ruin your hair in the long run. You might not notice the damage at the beginning but later on you definitely will.
Do – Apply multipurpose pre-product
Use the multipurpose nourishing serum on wet or dry hair. To avoid using multiple products before heat styling, opt for the one which is specifically designed for heat protection and hair nourishment both.
We recommend – Best Argan Oil Nourishment Serums For Hair That Guards Against Heat
It is very important to use the non sticky product in right amount before you flat iron. Applying too much of product will rather burn or damage your hair when heat is applied on it.
This is one of the best way to nourish hair while protecting it against heat.
Don’t – Use the wrong comb to detangle
By reading the posts at www.tophairstraightenerinindia.in, you must have known by now that detangling hair after applying nourishing product is the best way to distribute the product through out the strands.
But at the same time using the brush with plastic tooth will make your hair more frizzy and create more static.
Therefore it is advised to use the intelliflex bristled detangling brush with nylon tips which helps to tame thick and coarse hair and also massage your scalp.
You should avoid detangling hair vigorously, instead keep patience and do it slowly from tips to the roots.
Do – Rough dry your hair
If you want to correctly flat iron hair, you need to remove the moisture from hair. Flat ironing wet hair will burn your hair and worsen the texture of your delicate locks.
Though there are flat irons or hair straighteners in the market that have the technology to use on wet hair. But still you have to be careful and read the user instructions provided by the manufacturer.
Air drying is the best and healthy way of removing moisture from hair, but busy bees like me needs to do rough drying, to make the entire process of straightening faster.
Rough drying hair means to blow dry wet hair roughly by moving your dryer back and forth over the head until it’s 80% completed, keeping the nozzle facing downwards each time.
The rest 20% of hair you can blow out smoothly or air dry it or use the cool setting to finish it off.
This technique reduce the damage caused by blow dryers.
Don’t – Blow dry dripping wet hair
Blow drying hair which is too wet or too dry can lead to heat damage. Doing this will take a lot of time to dry your hair and make them dull, brittle and frizzy.
Therefore, it’s better to blow dry damp hair, not dripping wet or bone dry hair.
It is always advisable to use good quality blow dryers to avoid heat related harms.
Do – Section your hair diagonally
Hair sectioning or layering of hair makes the entire process of straightening a lot easier and quicker. Release small sections of hair layer by layer to work efficiently and get sleek result like salon.
When you take out the section for flat ironing, don’t section it horizontally because horizontal section tends to leave the hair very much flat looking.
Instead take out the section diagonally and flat iron it by keeping the tool diagonally , this will create a movement and volume to your hair and your straight hair will look more alive.
If you’re wondering how to flat iron hair with volume, this might be the easiest technique.
Don’t – Straighten thick sections
When you flat iron large or thick sections of hair, the heat will not spread evenly inside and you have to do multiple passes to straighten that thick strand, which will damage your outside edges of hair without straightening the interior.
Therefore it is highly advisable to do flat ironing on thin sections of hair.
Do – Observe the temperature
High heat leads to hair damage but good quality hair straighteners made of tourmaline and titanium ceramic, can be operated on high heat effectively and these flat irons straightens hair at one pass only.
But different hair textures and versatile hair styles require different heat levels for straightening. For instance –
- 330°F/170°C – Thin, fine and bleached hair
- 370°F/190°C – Dyed or dark colored hair
- 410°F/210°C – Normal or slightly curly hair
- 450°F/230°C – Thick, curly and wavy hair
You can play around these (above) temperature levels according to your hair texture.
Don’t – Miss user instructions
There are different types of flat irons, constructed with different technologies and each has its own method of operation.
Also there are some do’s and don’t that brand describes about the product in its user manual. All you have to do is to check the user manual of your device, just for better operation.
Do – Flat Iron followed by comb
Now that everything is set, it is time to start styling by placing an inch section between the plates of flat iron.
Keep the iron near the roots, here you have to be careful not to touch the scalp.
Glide the flat iron slowly by pressing the plates to the end of your hair section, followed by the fine tooth comb to remove tangles and crinkles in between.
Because when you apply heat, the texture of hair gets seal and if there remains any crimps or frizz while flat ironing, the strand will not get as smooth as you have expected.
Don’t – Move flat iron too fast
Avoid moving flat iron too fast, doing this will damage your delicate manes, it will encourage frizz and the strands will require multiple passes to get straighten.
Rapid strokes on frizzy hair can make them even more frizzy. Flat ironing each section once and slowly will provide better result.
Do – Final touch-ups by applying finishing product
Apply best quality hair setting spray to last your hair style longer.
As we have already learned above to use less possible products on hair, but trust me a light hold hairspray can help to get frizz free shiny hair that will last longer.
It’s best to wait for the hair to cool down first then apply the finishing product and get the satisfying result of correctly flat ironed hair.
Recommended Tools To Correctly Flat Iron Hair
Practice And Become Pro At Flat Ironing
You must have heard the phrase, “Practice makes the man perfect”, if so, you probably understand that before getting the salon grade smooth and silky hair you need to do lot of practice and follow the correct technique.
As a beginner never ever play around high temperatures of flat iron, instead decrease the heat and gradually increase it according to your hair type, when you know that you can handle it.
Follow the above techniques of ‘correctly flat iron hair’ and you will get the satisfactory results without damaging your precious locks.
To avoid burning your skin, make sure to hold the flat iron away from your face and scalp. It is advised not to touch the flat iron plates to see if they have warmed up.
The indicator light or beep will let you know that your iron is ready to use.
Use the heat resistant gloves and keep your hot iron on heat resistant mat. These protective measures have helped women from getting hurt.
Learn And Get Creative
It’s better to know and learn the fundamentals of flat ironing hair. Because when you know the basics you will be able to use your knowledge to get more creative with your hair style.
As a beginner its time to learn the basics of how to correctly flat iron hair without damaging them.
Once you’ve got your hands on straightening, you can play with your flat iron creating some amazing hair styles that you have never thought possible. For instance, beachy waves, bouncy curls, flicks and more.
Your flat iron soon will be your personal styler and you would not regret investing in a good quality best flat iron.
In this post we have recommended cost effective professional tools to fit you and your professional skills.
Common Mistakes That You Should Avoid While Hair Straightening
The most common mistake to make when it comes to flat irons is buying a low quality product. You might be thinking that getting cheap straightener would save you some money, but the fact is, cheap products are not durable and you will probably end up replacing your tool again and again, which will cost you more comparatively.
Another mistake as a beginner we do is to use the flat iron at high heat levels. You might be thinking that using high heat will speed up the process of straightening, but it really isn’t. It actually will make your hair damaged and brittle looking. Excessive heat might burn your hair badly.
The last very common mistake that we tend to make while using a flat iron is skipping heat protectants. This is nothing but the most important step you should include while heat styling. Never skip or be lazy to use heat protectant product, because it will protect your hair from heat related damage and prevent frizzing out or drying out of hair.
Why Advance Technology Flat Iron
There are some important features that are included in good quality flat irons like floating plates, ionic technology, keratin, argan oil infusion, auto shut off feature and fast heating and recovery time.
These technologies make the hair more healthy and safe from damage. Your hair feels flawless after each styling session.
Today best flat iron means the personal hair styler for creating versatile hair styles in no time. Therefore it is recommended to do a one time investment in a good quality hair straightener which is packed with advanced technologies and the plates are constructed with advance materials.
The quality and performance of your tool is all that matters to keep your hair healthy.
Folding Up
Follow these do’s and don’ts of ‘correctly flat iron hair’ for salon-grade results. These tips are valuable for those who are styling at home and for those who are professionals and want to serve best to their clients.
So make sure to learn and teach your clients the right way of using flat iron and heat styling products to prevent damage and to get better results.
Disclaimer – All of the above techniques mentioned in this post are based on thorough research and personal knowledge. We do not force anyone to apply these techniques and use the recommended products, if they are not suitable to you and your hair type.