Anyone who straightens their hair knows it takes both time and skill, and they wish they had more of both. We have this crazy idea that the faster we go over our hair with the flat iron, it will save us time. Or even when we blow dry, we shake the blow dryer around all frantic and end up with out of control frizzy hair. SLOW DOWN TO SPEED IT UP.... trust us here, it's the solution.
Fastest Way to Straighten Hair
- Clean hair straightens better, so start out with either shampooed hair the day of or night before...or use a dry shampoo. When the hair is dirty, it's more likely to smell when compressed with an iron. If hair has excess oil, that is fine, oil adds slip and helps protect hair.
- Always work with a heat protectant product because heat causes damage. Products are not an option, they are a necessity to protect hair, reduce frizz and add slip - especially on medium to coarse hair textures. Apply Redken Align 12 protective straightening lotion to each section before compressing.
- Wrap dry (brush in X pattern with blow dryer directing heat directly behind the brush) hair with the Sam Villa Professional Ionic Blow Dryer and Sam Villa Paddle Brush, stretching hair to reduce curl pattern and help smooth (if hair is already dry, skip this step).
- Section hair in half above the ear, so the crown/top layers are pinned up and the rest is left down. Use your Sam Villa Sleekr Straightening Iron to iron to work through the bottom section. The size of your section can be a little larger here, (1/4" - 1/2" thick) depending on the density of your hair. The width of your section should never be wider than the plates on your flat iron. Using medium compression and slow-to-medium speed, work through the hair and don’t worry about being so precise since this hair is typically not seen.
- Take down a section from the top half (this is the hair that everyone does see) and pass the iron slowly through the hair. Remember, slow down to speed up. Hair texture will come into play – coarser textures will take require more compression and a slower pass while.
- Stay in control of your sections for the best possible results. Continue working through the top section, repeating the process we just mentioned above, until the entire top half is straightened.
- Finish with Redken Control Addict 28 strong hold anti-humidity hair spray. If your hair is dry or damaged, we recommend applying Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine after you flat iron your hair to add back a little moisture and shine.
Do you have a preferred way that you use to straighten your hair? Tell us about it! Please leave your comments in the box below.
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