So here’s the story - I have very fine hair. A lot of it, but very fine. As in it slips out of barettes and braids fine. It also has just a bit of a natural wave, which drives me nuts, because the wave is always going in the wrong direction. Wash-and-wear is not an option, unless I want to go out with my bangs looking like Mr. Creosote’s.
The last time I got my hair cut, the stylist flat-ironed it, which I’ve never had done before, and I really liked the way it looked. A little pomade on the ends afterwards, and my hair behaved all day! So I went and got my own flat-iron. What I’m worried about is, if I do it daily, will it damage my hair? If so, should I look into getting my hair chemically straightened, or would that be even worse? Thanks for any info.
Well, yeah, it will damage it eventually. It’s like a curling iron, only flat. You can minimize the damage by buying one with an adjustable heat setting and keeping it on low. Learn the pace you need to use to straighten it in the shortest time and with the fewest passes possible. Don’t straighten on your days off; give your hair a break when you can.
Have you tried simply straightening with a large barreled round brush or a flat brush as you blow dry on low or medium?
I flat iron once or twice a week. I also have a natural wave to my hair. Put the iron on the lowest setting that works and don’t straighten it every day. I also use a leave on conditioner and that helps.
Yeah, I have, I found though that the blow-dryer really sucked the moisture out of my hair and left it really fluffy with flyaways. The flat-iron seems to let me keep some moisture.
It’s definitely not something you want to do every day, in my opinion. But on the upside, if your hair can bear a day or two without washing, you won’t HAVE to do it every day.
I love my Remington Wet to Straight iron, it dries and straightens my hair at the same time. I really only use it once in a while, but I have a ton of thick, curly hair, and it takes me about an hour to straighten it. I don’t have the patience to do it often, but when I do take the time to do it, I get at least two or three days out of it.
A tip if your using the wet to dry iron is to use some sort of oil in your hair (just a tiny bit on fine hair I’d say), which will both tame flyaways and seal in some moisture.
I’ve had my hair chemically straightened a few times. I’ll tell you right now that you get what you pay for with those - I got one that cost me about 150 USD and one that cost me half that much and the latter left me with tattered ends not long after (this was back in Seoul - the prices might be different here). FWIW I felt like it was worth it - I have rather frizzy hair that I hate dealing with, and back home I’d just get my hair straightened twice a year to minimize the fuss.
I had mine chemically straightened (*not * the Japanese thermal method) years ago, and it was both pricey and futile. My hair really didn’t respond to it at all.
I’ve heard great things about the thermal method, but it’s wildly expensive, and you can’t color your hair for quite some time after you do it, if that’s a concern.
Hm, maybe the one I’m talking about is the thermal method. Is that the one where they put chemicals in, flat iron your hair, then put more chemicals in, then flat iron it again?
There was a period of time when I had hair about halfway down my back. Thick and frizzy, not curly. I flatironed, and you could tell the damage it was doing. But I delayed the inevitable by using some stuff that provided a bit of protection from the heat. Sorry, I don’t remember the name – I actually spent some time last night searching for it because a friend wants to borrow my flatiron, but it appears that I’ve gotten rid of all of that product.
But I agree that if you don’t do it every day, and if you’re good about using something to protect from the thermal damage, you’re in good shape.
Now, my hair is only about shoulder-length, and for some reason that mostly permits it to curl rather than frizz. So the blow dryer and metal round brush get the job done for me.
Yup, that’s the stuff. It wasn’t widely available when I got mine done, so what I had was like an un-perm. Essentially the same chemical process, no rollers. Ladies, avoid, avoid, avoid.
Campion, curly hair is a pain in the ass, in that it has to be exactly the right length relative to it’s thickness and texture for you to get really good curl. Otherwise, it’s frizz-city or fro-town. Mine is best at about shoulder-blade length. Much longer and it’s too heavy, any shorter and I get that delightful dandelion-gone-to-seed effect.
And yeah, product is key. I thank the powers that be every day for being born in the era of anti-frizz serum.
I have colored baby fine hair and I have a flat iron. I use it in the days that I don’t wash my hair to take out the frizz and wavy bits.
I got one with ceramic plates that has a rheostat (temp adjust) at Sally Beauty for about 40$. It took a few times to get it to the right setting, but now it works pretty well for what I want it to do.
I use a hair clip and work from the bottom up with a few passes (2-3) on each section of hair. It takes me about 15 minutes to go from bride of Frankenstein to not too shabby
Ahhh. Yes, I had that done in high school. Second the advice to avoid - it did nothing for me other than ruin my hair.
The Japanese thermal thing worked wonders for me, as I mentioned above, but I’ve heard that it’s more expensive here in the US. All my Korean friends get their hair done every summer they go back to Seoul to visit their families, but for most people that’s not a feasible option.
Lately I’ve been taming my hair with anti-frizz serum from Aveda. It smells nice and keeps my hair reasonably flat.
if they didn’t make ‘zero frizz’ hair serum, i could not have the below shoulder-length tresses i do now.
**goddess ** you didn’t mention if you were black, white or whatever, or if your hair is colored.
i started coloring about 20 years ago when the gray took over what was once midnight black hair (i’m white), but my hair has always been thick, heavy and naturally curly. i’ve fought it for years or kept it very very short.
(**dianag ** we were seperated at birth. :D)
since hooking up with the divemaster, at his request, i started growing it out for him. that was five years ago, but if we didn’t have the kind of products available, i couldn’t have done it.
so far, i’ve had hair irons for over a year and use them every day and haven’t had a bit of trouble, but then my hair survived a botched chemical straightening about 15 years ago that thoroughly fried my scalp, AND a double case of stripping and bleaching (more hair stuff that went terribly terribly wrong, and this was by so-called professionals!) without incident. the hair was fine, the scalp got a bit cranky, and the chemical straightening failed miserably.
today i’m blonde, and i’ve noticed the bleach effect helps to calm down what used to be frizzoid on top of my head. that and the hair serum, too.
you said very fine hair, so i’d take the advice about low temps and extra thick moisturizing to heart. i only wash mine once or twice a week at most, as i don’t smoke. it keeps the hair better hydrated if you just rinse it with conditioner.
Ask your stylist about products to aid with straightening and with moisturizing. I use a ceramic flatiron 2 or 3 times a week because I have the hair I fantasized about in highschool but nature saw fit to deny me. I color every 6 weeks, touch up the highlights every couple of months and give my hair days off—I work it hard and it deserves to rest.
Natural beauty—BAH!
SuperNatural Beauty!
That’s what I do, too. I have 3 subtle layers in mine, so I can wear it straight for the Louise Brooks look, or let it air-dry with mousse in it and my wave doesn’t look like a bad perm growing out.
I pin up the top two layers, iron the bottom, unpin the middle and iron it, and then do the top. That’s how I dry it on the round brush, too.
I use a flat iron pretty much daily. I haven’t noticed any damage, but my hair’s fairly short and I use it to just flip under the wayward parts around the back and my bangs. Oh, and I color, too. Use conditioner, and not a really high heat, as everyone has said, and make sure your flat-iron is the ceramic-plate kind. Unless they’ve come out with something better, that’s the smoothest, least damaging kind.
Yep, and because I’m a moron, I’ve decided to start growing my hair out again. I’ve forgotten all about the fact that when my hair gets long, it’s heavy, and instead of pretty curls, I get Little Orphan Annie frizz. Like I said, I’m a moron. I give it six months before I give up and cut it all off again.
Amazon Floozy Goddess, the stuff I used to protect my hair when I flatironed was Rusk Deepshine. A little goes a long way; I’d mostly dry my hair, put some of this in it, and then go to town with the flatiron, sectioning it as others did.
Good luck! I loved my hair flatironed, even though it was a pain to do.
As many have mentioned, there are heat protecting products you can use on your hair. Also be sure to deep condition every so often to make sure you’re still treating your hair right.
Make sure you get a good flat iron- one with ceramic plates is a must. Whatever you do, do not compromise and get one with metal plates because you will just burn off your hair.
If you can afford it, I seriously suggest a Chi flat iron. Yes, they can be ungodly expensive, but I can tell you that that thing is a miracle worker. It flattens your hair smoothly and quickly, all while making it look shinier. After using the Chi, my hair actually feels softer to the touch than it normally does! For what it’s worth, you can regularly find Chis at Costco for $60.
