Follow these steps for sleek, smooth locks.
Products Required for Straightening Hair
- Blow dryer: ionic and/or ceramic is best to reduce dry time and damage. Recommended product: Paul Mitchell Express Ion Dry v.1
- Comb: professional combs have no seams that tend to break hair. Recommended product: CERAM-ION Wide Tooth Rat Tail Ionic Comb
- Styling product and Thermal Protectant: high hold and protection from high heat. Recommended products: Thermal Str8 products by Rusk, ghd creation spray, and Paul Mitchell’s Super Skinny Serum are formulated specifically for straightening
- Clips: jaw clips hold large amounts of hair securely. Recommended product: Dannyco Expandable Jaw Clips
- Flat iron: look for one with ceramic plates to seal and smooth strands of hair. Recommended product: ghd IV styler
Prepare the Hair
Apply styling product and thermal protectant to wet hair from roots to ends, such as Thermal Str8 and Super Skinny Serum.
Dry
Hair must be dry. Some flat irons called ‘wet-to-dry’ claim to straighten damp hair but do not give the best results. Excess moisture prevents hair from holding style. Let hair dry naturally for less heat damage, or blow dry thoroughly.
Unless hair is extremely coarse or curly, pre-straightening with a brush while drying is not required for most people. For normal hair, eliminate the amount of stress put on hair from brushing and let the flat iron do all the work.
Protect and Style
- Comb hair gently to remove any tangles
- Clip top ¾ of hair with jaw clips, leaving the remaining bottom ¼ in a fringe around the head.
- Take a 1” section of hair and spray lightly with a thermal protectant, such as ghd’s creation spray (if one was not applied to wet hair), holding hair 90 degrees away from the head.
- Clamp flat iron close to the scalp, parallel to the head. Keeping the section of hair at a 90 degree angle, pull flat iron through hair slowly and away from the head letting hair drop after ends slide between the iron’s plates. Don’t straighten in a downward motion. It is hard to judge if the iron is straight, resulting in rounded or flipped ends. With ghd’s IV styler, there is no need to go over sections more than once. A microprocessor keeps temperature consistent to prevent heat transfer, meaning only one swipe is necessary. Straightening the same section of hair more than once creates excessive damage.
- Wait for hair to cool before combing. Warm hair is pliable; waiting prevents the comb or brush from bending the hair.
- Repeat Steps around fringe
- Let ¼ of pinned hair down each time a fringe is straightened, and repeat all steps until all hair has been straightened.
Experiment with a flat iron to also create curls and twists.
Jill Nessel - Jill's writing career began while a student in Broadcast Journalism, writing news copy and features for local radio and television. Jill ...
Join the Conversation