Beauty

How I Straighten My Hair

It’s no secret that I have curly hair. But a lot of people are often surprised (or simply don’t believe me) when I tell them… or, rarely, show them. My hair is actually quite nightmarish! Especially during the hot and humid summer months in Florida.
I put together a video (which I find pretty entertaining) of how I use a hair straightener. I sped it up super fast and put it to some music. All my friends and I started straightening our hair in middle school. We’d go to sleepovers and straighten each other’s hair. I was always intrigued by the different ways we went about getting pin straight hair. I’ve been using the same method since eighth grade.
I’d love to know how you straighten yours!
Here are the tools I use:
(You might notice that I’m talking throughout it, but I promise I’m not talking to myself… Sporty Sister filmed and she and I were having a conversation haha!)
Also, please do not be alarmed by the insane amount of hair I have. I am fairly certain that the director of The Princess Diaries got his inspiration for Mia’s makeover scene from ME.

Unless I’m rushing in the morning, I generally allow my hair to air dry a little bit. I’ll put on makeup, answer emails, or pick out an outfit while I let my hair dry. I use a lot of heat, so I try to give my hair at least a little bit of a break! If I can shave a few minutes off the blow dry, I will.

(I always use some sort of heat protection!!!)

Once I’m ready to blow dry my hair, I make sure to get the front of my hair completely dry. I get the worst frizz around my forehead so I really blast that area to make sure it’s as straight as it can get. I go back through the layers of my hair to make sure I have completely dried it before moving on to straightening.

I basically straighten by layers. I used to do a ton of layers, but nowadays I can get through with three to five only. (Three when my hair is cooperating, five when it’s at its unruliest!) I section of the hair and then clip the rest up on top of my head. Once a layer is straightened, I loosely tie it back so I can keep it separate. I go up and up through the layers until I get to the front section of my hair.

After I find my natural part (maybe with a little help from my pinky finger), I again go through sections until it’s straight!

As curly as my hair is, I’m always surprised at how straight I can get it. I’m not an expert blow dryer, but when I get my hair done at a salon, the hairdresser can usually get it straight with a blow drier alone (i.e. without a flat iron).

What’s your “strategy” for hair straightening?

xoxo

PS I was sent new shampoo and conditioner (in a singing box… but seriously…) called Clear Scalp and Hair Therapy and I LOVE it. Normally I get these products, use it once and then discard it for one reason or another without mentioning it on here at all… but I think this shampoo is so great. Honestly! The smell alone is fantastic and, while my hair still gets frizzy from extreme humidity, it’s shinier!

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27 Comments

cYa

Great post! I love the way my hair looks straightened, but I'm afraid it's damaging my hair. Do you think your's is being damaged? Also, love your gray tee! Where is it from? I'm in need of a go to plain tee!!

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carly

Sorry for the late response! I get my hair trimmed frequently and use some sort of protectant. It definitely gets damaged at the ends, which is why I get the trims!

Also, the grey shirt is from Old Navy!!!

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Emily

i NEED that straighter, I have insanely thick, curly hair and my CHI takes forevveer

xx Emily @ laughliveandshop.blogspot.com

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purplepluspearls

I came up with a system in high school. At night, I'll wash my hair and put it in two french braids. In the morning, it's mostly dry (the roots are which is the most important thing for my hair) and as I unbraid, I use my CHI on each little section. It only takes me about 20 minutes in the morning, but if I'm too tired to shower at night, that means I either have to figure out a way to hide that my hair might be oily or wear it curly.

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Meghan

How long does it take for your entire routine? I have very similar hair (curly, thick, relatively unmanageable) and it usually takes me about 25 mins for the straightening alone.

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carly

It takes about 20-25 minutes depending how diligent I am… but that's for both straightening AND blow drying. Typically it's only around 20 minutes. But I do things in between showering and blow drying (like putting on makeup) and between blow drying and straightening (like cleaning my room).

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lovealamode

Well this is pretty much my life in a nutshell. My hair gets really huge and curly when it's dry (it's much longer than yours though) and I've had a lot of luck using the Aquage protecting spray with my chi turbo. I'm curious how long the whole video actually took though before you elapsed the time? My whole process (not including shower time) takes just over an hour I'd say.

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Jasper & Bee

Have you tried surf spray to help shape your curls? It's my new HG product – instead of a frizzy mess I end up with beachy waves after just a quick spritz. (Okay, I soak it in the stuff almost.)

I wanted to "do" my hair this morning and couldn't even find my hair dryer… that's how much this stuff has changed my life.

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Madilene Lake

My hair is super curly too! I actually do pretty much the same thing. My whole process (shower and drying included) takes about 40 minutes. How long did yours take?

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carly

I can wake up, take a shower, blow dry, straighten, put on makeup, and get dressed in just about an hour. But I have to be speedy (and can't open my laptop or check my phone haha). Typically I wake up two hours before I have to leave so I can be relaxed when I get ready, answer some emails, and maybe make a phone call or two.

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breakingsilence

I have super curly Hispanic hair (haha) and the best straightener I've ever had is the one I use now: A $25 Conair Instant Heat straightener…which can be found at Target!! It gets my hair super smooth. When I want to do curly hair, I use the Pantene Curly line. Again, it works just as well as the super expensive Paul Mitchell stuff I used to buy!

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Southern Living: Preppy Style

I have naturally curly hair as well…very curly. But it's not an attractive curl and very frizzy. I look like I need a big chiffon bow in my hair like Cindy Lauper in the 80's when I wear it curly (maybe once a year).
I've been straightening since 8th grade and most people do not even realize (including Husband) that it really is curly. I use Garnier leave-in conditioner and then a small amount of Chi Silk Infusion. I then blow dry and then use my Chi flat iron. It stays SO straight all day long, and I live in South Florida! 🙂

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Katrina

I do my hair just like yours – with layers and clips! However, to cut off some time and save my hair a little bit, I usually shower at night, and let my air hair dry so I don't have to blow dry my hair in the morning. I have so much hair as it is (plus it's pretty long), so anything I can do to save time helps! Your hair is so beautiful straight 🙂

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Samantha Elisabeth

Have you tried giving yourself an at home blowout? It might me a nice break for your hair from the heat of a straightener. I'm not sure how it'll work on curly hair, but here's how it basically goes:
1) On your damp hair (get excess water out) put in some serum (I like Garnier's serum) from about midlenth to the ends.
2) Blow dry your scalp. Get all the dampness out of the hair on your scalp (if you don't, it makes things a lot frizzier).
3) Then, using a flat brush in layers, blow dry. Do the layers like you would with your straightener. And never blow dry with the nozzle pointing up, but start with it pointing down and brushing out to the ends.
4) When you're done, light spritz your brush with hair spray, and brush over the top of your hair to smooth down flyaways.

Like I said I'm not sure how foolproof this formula is. I have Asian hair, so I'm always trying to get it curly, but these are the basic steps I've gotten from reading about blowouts and what I've tried on my hair.

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Alicia Farnos Wilker

The secret to getting super straight, sleek (and voluminous!) hair simply by blow drying is the right brush and a professional grade dryer. I swear by these products:

Brush: Olivia Garden Ceramic + Ion Turbo Vent Combo Round Brush – this brush is literally the best for blowing out your hair, it has boar bristles for smoothness and shine but also has plastic round-tip bristles to help the brush glide easily through your hair and prevents tangling and tugging (common problems with boar bristle only brushes).
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?skuId=2115689&productId=xlsImpprod481692&navAction=push&navCount=1#sku2115689

Dryer: Rusk Speed Freak 2000 Watt Ceramic and Tourmaline Dryer
This blow dryer is God's gift to girls with curly/kinky hair! It has cut my drying time by 2/3 and make diy blow outs a quick piece of cake! Seriously, it's worth the investment.
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod3540311

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Julia D.

Don't hate me, but I have naturally straight hair. However, when I do decide to curl it the process I have to go through rivals yours.

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mrh.

I separate my hair like yours but blow dry it while its separated and straighten it after it's dry. Then let down other sections and repeat.

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sxsupp

I have gotten blowouts, colored my hair, keratin for several decades – What a disaster! My hair had never been so dry, brittle, and breakable as it was. I tried several of the different brands. In desperation, I decided to try Shielo.com, figuring that if the Shielo Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner was as good as my colorist recommended, then it would be worth it. Your hair is EVERYTHING!

My hair is finally getting healthy again, and noticing a BIG difference, as the Shielo shampoo is noticeably returning my hair to a soft, healthy-looking state once again. I highly recommend this product and wish that Shielo would let it return to the chain stores

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moonie barnes

Hi, I have wavish curly hair. My hair stays straight overnight. But you have to do this method everyday before you go to bed. 1. Wash your hair with conditioner/shampoo or both. 2. Get out of shower and comb hair or paddle brush it.3. When hair is damp or wetter than damp put on some leave- conditioner or spray on some detangler depending on your hair type.4. Start putting on the hair ties do the first one then the one 2 in. Below etc. 5 leave in hair ties overnight. 6 wake up take out hair ties bottom one first then take off the rest. 7. Brush hair with paddle brush or comb. Put detangler or leave in conditioner If needed. 8. Enjoy straight hair
One more thing is you have to do this method every night before going bed

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anounymous comment

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+2348155425481 DR.OBODO CONTACT INFO.
Thank you once again.

Monique
South Africa

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Anne Smith

Try Karmin Products Line! I have been using the Karmin clipless curling wand for about a year now and love it. It such a versatile tool! I can use it to curl, wave or just simply add volume to my hair. I am most impressed with how long my curls stay in as I have really thick, stubborn hair but they last all day with just a touch of flexible hold hairspray after using this curling wand.

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