How to Use a Hair Straightener without Damaging Your Locks

How to use a hair straightener? You might think that it is as easy as pulling a piece of your hair through those hot plates. However, the truth is, there is more to it than just practically exposing your hair to high heat. More than that, you should also think about the health of your hair.

In most cases, people burn their hair while they are straightening it because their hair is not properly prepped for the flat-iron. Other than that, others tend to really put a lot of force to the pinching and expose their hair to heat for a lot longer than necessary. If you do all these, you might just have a ticket in being the next viral video superstar—hairless at that.

For these reasons, we are going to tell you the right way to use a hair straightener. At the same time, we are also going to give you a list of dos and don'ts when using one. Finally, we will also share with you some of our most prized hair straightener hacks.

Are you ready to ace your hair game? Then, keep on reading.

There are three major steps that you should follow if you are going to use a hair straightener. These steps, in turn, fan out to other steps. These are:

• Hair preparation
• Actual straightening
• After-care

Hair Preparation

Let us start with the most crucial step, and it is preparing your hair for the exposure to high heat. Yes, this step is actually the most important part compared to nailing the actual straightening technique.

Why? Well, solely because this is the step that will assure you that you will not burn your hair. Here are the things you need to do:

• Dry your hair completely if you just washed it
• Apply a heat protectant serum or spray
• Concentrate the product on the ends of your hair
• Let the product dry
• Comb your hair to remove any tangles
• Section it off based on the workable sections of your preference
• Put on a glove

Actual Straightening Process

We are now moving on to the main event. Keep in mind that you should never straighten your hair after you just plugged in the flat iron. In fact, you have to let it reach the proper heat before using it. This is just like when you are baking, it is best to pre-heat.

Here are the things to do:

• Make sure that the flat-iron is already hot
• Pinch the two plates together to get rid of excess heat
• Take a section of your hair and run the iron through it in a slightly fast and fluid motion. This will get rid of any tangles left.
• Run through the section again until it falls straight
• Do not pinch too much and do not run through it slowly
• If your hair does not straighten out the second time, continuously run through it until you get the desired effect

After-Care

This after-care part does not point out to the time when you need to get treatments done on your hair. In fact, there is also after-care for your hair immediately after straightening it. Here is what you need to do:

• Comb through your hair to remove tangles and to let the excess heat to escape
• Get a hair treatment, oil, or cuticle coat
• Take a lot of it and spread the product to your hair
• Do not rub your hair strands together
• Add extra product to the ends of your hair
• If you have a hair straightening seal product, spritz some of that to the middle up to the ends of your hair

We have already discussed the three major steps on how to use a hair straightener. We should now elevate what you have learned by giving you some helpful tips that can improve your hairstyle and the health of your hair.

Dos

• Always apply a heat protectant to your hair
• If you want pin-straight hair, it is best to straighten it with second-day hair
• Let your flat iron reach the optimum heat before using
• Wait for hair to cool before combing
• Part your hair accordingly before straightening it
• Apply cuticle coat or other leave on treatments after straightening

Don'ts

• Never straighten wet hair
• Do not use the iron when it is still not hot
• No stopping in the middle of the hair section, this will give crimps
• Do not move slowly through the section of hair
• Do not stay long at the ends of the hair
• Avoid straightening your hair using different angles
• Not wearing gloves
• Not using a heat protectant
• Combing a hair section immediately after straightening it

Let us now go through some hacks that you never knew you needed. Get ready to have fabulous hairstyles!

• For your hair to look more done and not just have a basic straight style, straighten your crown the opposite way. You can do this by flipping your hair upside down and straightening only the section of your crown. This will give that section more volume to give you that natural look.
• You can curl your hair with a hair straightener. The usual route is to make a U when going through your hair, but you can also curl it horizontally for a different type of curl.
• Giving your ends a bit of an inside flip makes for a polished look.
• You can get the easiest beachy waves style by twisting a section of your hair and running it through the hair straightener.

Final Words

Those are the steps on how to master your hair straightener. Do remember that the preparation before the actual straightening process is the most important part, so never skip that step. Also, keep in mind that your desired effect is only as good as the tool and products that you are using.

With that in mind, you should make sure that you are maintaining your hair straightener because obviously, as a hot tool, it wears out fast. At the same time, know what products work out for your hair texture and thickness. Definitely, there will be hair products out there that can help you achieve the straight hair of your dreams.

Other than that, just practice caution and never rush the process. You would not want to have burnt fingers, right?