Although you enjoy rocking your thick, curly hair, you will want to show off a brand new look every once in a while. For example, you would like to switch it up a little bit when you attend a significant life event like your graduation or your sister’s wedding.
If hair straightening is a sensitive topic and you would want to know whether you can straighten your hair with as minimal damage as possible before you visit a Japanese hair straightening salon or any other salon, you came to the right place.
Wondering how do you straighten your hair without damaging it? Let’s find out.
How to use heat to Straighten Your Hair Without Damaging It
Use a Heat Protectant
If you are going to apply heat on your hair at any point, do not forget to apply a good quality heat protectant first. A silicone-based heat protectant helps protect your strands by building a shield around them that guards them against heat damage.
However, do not use silicones too often as too much of it can build a permanent layer around the shaft, and this can harm your hair. But using it once every few months should be fine.
Use Blow Dryer but Not a Flat Iron
Unlike a flat iron which straightens the hair by direct contact with the hair strands, a blow dryer can straighten the hair without necessarily having it touch the hair. This is by far less damaging to the hair.
Think about it, when you use a flat iron, you have to force your hair to sit between two rods of hot metal plates until each strand is forced to straighten. Obviously, that will leave some form of damage on the hair.
Although a blow dryer also uses heat to do the same job, the impact is less, and it is far more friendly to your hair and scalp.
After Care is Important
To prevent damage, the work extends long after you are done straightening your hair. Heat dries your hair. Hence, although the straight hair may look shiny and vibrant at first, it will start to dry out and break after a few days. This is why after-care is essential.
Two treatments can help prevent this- deep conditioning and protein masking. This will help restore moisture into each strand and patch any holes that the heat might have created.
Non-heat Methods to Straighten Your Hair
Using plastic rollers
This is a great way to naturally straighten your hair – especially if you do not want to use heat. You need to section your wet hair into small sections and use wide hair rollers to roll each hair section tightly.
Then use a hair-straightening spray and spray it all over the hair before leaving it in for several hours to air dry – at least four hours but preferably overnight.
Wrap Wet Hair Tightly Around Your Head Overnight
This method is as simple as it sounds. However, this method is only applicable to people with softer hair, with looser or medium curls.
All you need to do is comb your wet hair until it is straight and there are no tangles. Part it in the middle and then comb one side of your hair towards the back and around to the front. Ensure that all the hair is lying flat on the head and pin it down as you go.
Put Elastic Hair Bands Along the Length of Your Hair in a Ponytail.
This is also just as simple as it sounds. Just hold tight your wet hair in a ponytail and place elastic bands every inch along its length. Do not make the elastic bands too tight if you do not want them to create fonds. For the best results, do it overnight.
Parting shot
These are the tips to consider when you are looking to straightening your hair with as little damage as possible. For the best outcome, have the hair straightened in a reputable permanent hair straightening salon Rockville.