My hair laughed at the flat iron

Ohhhh k. So yesterday I washed and banded my hair. After it dried my friend combed out and began to flat iron my hair. At first we tried it on the low setting. My hair didn't even budge. So we moved it up to medium. The hair did not get straight. But since I'm terrified of heat damage, I didn't want to put it any higher so I told her to continue on medium. When she was done my hair looked like it was blown out. In sort of a straight fro. It looks fine but I'm disappointed because I really wanted to see my hair straight.

Obviously, it's not going to be possible to straighten my course dense 4b hair on any type of low setting. So my question is, should I go back over my hair on the next setting NOW. (Which would be high. But there are two settings even higher.) Or should I just wait another month or so and try again on the next setting? Which would be the least stress on my hair? to do it now after it's already been gone over with the flat iron. or try again later on another attempt?

The videos I've watched, every blow dried their hair before flat ironing it. Maybe you should try that next time.

I plan to band my hair to let it dry but I will also blow dried it, it get it a little bit straighter before I flat iron it.

What heat protectant did you decided to use? I am going to Sallys today.

Did you use a heat protectant?

Try using a fine tooth comb in front of the iron as you as you glide it down your hair. There's a video out there about that somewhere. I'll try to link it for ya.

Sorry I mean behind the iron.

Oh yea. I forgot about that Clueless. Check out Westndnbeautyy on Youtube. She has a fancy tool but you could use a fine tooth comb.

I really don't know if blow drying would have helped because my hair was fully stretched it just wasn't straight. But I will definitely try that next time. It could be the solution.

I think for now I'm just gonna maybe put in some mini twists to take advantage of the length. Because i dont want to shock my hair too much. Sigh...

I used the silk elements heat protectant spray. They didn't have the olive oil one that coilskinkscurls used. So I got the regular one. But the good news is, they're both on sale right now.

We did use a fine toothed comb on each piece. The thing us. As the iron was going through the hair stretched and flattened out. But once she let go of the piece, it poofed back up.

Lynnieluve wrote:Oh yea. I forgot about that Clueless. Check out Westndnbeautyy on Youtube. She has a fancy tool but you could use a fine tooth comb.

That fancy tool takes a little bit to get use too.. If its the same thing we are talking about. I just end up using a fine tooth comb.. Maybe it was me not being able to get the hang of it..

Thanks for reporting back juices-n-berries... I'm pretty sure the same thing will happen to my 4c hair... It'll just laugh at that flat iron...
So I'll keep my fingers crossed that u'll find a way that won't leave u with heat damage..
What I'm thinking is to try on a small section those different heat settings and wash my hair after a day or so to see if u get any damage,..

So plz report back

JnB, you are not alone.

The one and only time I attempted to flat iron I DC'd, blow dried, and then my friend went through in tiny sections flat ironing.

My hair looked like the bride of Frankenstein.

I have since given up on flat ironing, but if you want to take another stab at it I'd suggest waiting a month, doing weekly DCs, and then trying again on a higher heat setting.

Good luck!

Oh also, my good friend has 4b hair and I've seen her hair pretty str8..
She saiys she used the CHI flat iron....I'll ask her for more details...

Is this why you were late to Bible Study last night? hahaha...she didn't have to call you out like that though!

Your hair looked cute though...I thought it was a blow-out.

When I straighten my hair, I use high heat. Low and medium settings do nothing for me and my hair just curls back up or looks puffy. I had experienced heat damage in the past (from straightening way too often), but now that I only straighten about once or twice a year I'm good.

letha wrote:

Lynnieluve wrote:Oh yea. I forgot about that Clueless. Check out Westndnbeautyy on Youtube. She has a fancy tool but you could use a fine tooth comb.

That fancy tool takes a little bit to get use too.. If its the same thing we are talking about. I just end up using a fine tooth comb.. Maybe it was me not being able to get the hang of it..

If there's a skill-set involved with the tool, I'll probably have to pass. Lol.

fanmnatirel wrote:Thanks for reporting back juices-n-berries... I'm pretty sure the same thing will happen to my 4c hair... It'll just laugh at that flat iron...
So I'll keep my fingers crossed that u'll find a way that won't leave u with heat damage..
What I'm thinking is to try on a small section those different heat settings and wash my hair after a day or so to see if u get any damage,..

So plz report back

That's a good idea. Before I put in twists, I might flat iron like 3 pieces on a higher setting and pray for the best. I'll report back.

wyldhoney wrote:JnB, you are not alone.

The one and only time I attempted to flat iron I DC'd, blow dried, and then my friend went through in tiny sections flat ironing.

My hair looked like the bride of Frankenstein.

I have since given up on flat ironing, but if you want to take another stab at it I'd suggest waiting a month, doing weekly DCs, and then trying again on a higher heat setting.

Good luck!

Thanks. I'm glad I'm not alone.

fanmnatirel wrote:Oh also, my good friend has 4b hair and I've seen her hair pretty str8..
She saiys she used the CHI flat iron....I'll ask her for more details...

I have a Chi. I didn't use that because there are no heat settings. It goes straight to 400 degrees. I read on natural haven I think that after 250 or 300 degrees (something around there) the structure of the hair becomes damaged. So I opted not to use the Chi, even though it probably would have worked.

ChrsLvsBks wrote:I think the key is moisturized hair and using few products (esp. no oil) before blowdrying and flat ironing. I plan to check out the following before attempting to flat iron--WestNdn's blog & YT channel, MopTopMaven's blog and LexiWithTheCurls YT channel.

Thanks Chrs. I'll check those people out. What products do you suggest I try?

I just flat ironed and got good results using CHI 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection. I've never gotten my hair (4b-ish) that straight using my conair flat iron (I had it on 10, the highest level is 25, so I thought that was a good low-med setting). It's not bone straight, but I wasn't going for that). I added a little to each small section and just had to go over my hair once (I blow dried that morning).

I bought the sample size (3-4ounces?) for $5 at Ulta. Considering how little I used and that I don't do it often, it should last a long time. I kind of wish I hadn't discovered it, b/c now I want to straighten again, even though I know I shouldn't.

I have some 4b hair on my head and the key to getting it straight on med heat has been roller-setting. Banding is good for stretching out your length but if you want that smoothness that comes with the flat-iron the process has to start early in the step. Try the cheat roller-set method, it gets me from this:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

To this: [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Once it's smooth you can choose whether you want to flat-iron or not.

moonchild wrote:I just flat ironed and got good results using CHI 44 Iron Guard Thermal Protection. I've never gotten my hair (4b-ish) that straight using my conair flat iron (I had it on 10, the highest level is 25, so I thought that was a good low-med setting). It's not bone straight, but I wasn't going for that). I added a little to each small section and just had to go over my hair once (I blow dried that morning).

I bought the sample size (3-4ounces?) for $5 at Ulta. Considering how little I used and that I don't do it often, it should last a long time. I kind of wish I hadn't discovered it, b/c now I want to straighten again, even though I know I shouldn't.

Lol. Actually I forgot to mention that my friend did use the Chi Iron Guard on a few pieces but stopped because she said it was sticky. I also wasn't going for a bone straight look.

tiashaunteé wrote:I have some 4b hair on my head and the key to getting it straight on med heat has been roller-setting. Banding is good for stretching out your length but if you want that smoothness that comes with the flat-iron the process has to start early in the step. Try the cheat roller-set method, it gets me from this:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

To this: [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Once it's smooth you can choose whether you want to flat-iron or not.

Thanks Tia. I will also try this method. Perhaps I'll rollerset, then blowdry, then flat iron for the best results.

If you roller-set, you should not need to blow dry. I simply roller-set and flat iron when dry (with a heat protectant). I am going to post a video sometime this weekend of my hair after just a roller-set and a medium flat iron.

I started to do a flat iron tutorial but opted not to because I didn't want to deal with all the anti-heat natural hair nazis. I may do it anyway one day in the future.

BajanPrincess82 wrote:Is this why you were late to Bible Study last night? hahaha...she didn't have to call you out like that though!

Your hair looked cute though...I thought it was a blow-out.

When I straighten my hair, I use high heat. Low and medium settings do nothing for me and my hair just curls back up or looks puffy. I had experienced heat damage in the past (from straightening way too often), but now that I only straighten about once or twice a year I'm good.

YESSSSSS!!! HAHAHA! Everyone thought it was a blow out. It's cute, so I'll leave it. It just wasn't what I was going for. Sorry to hear about your heat damage. I KNOW my hair can get straight. I actually cut most of my relaxed hair back in 06 and just got it flat ironed professionally for a year. It looked really good. But at the time I wasn't concerned with protecting my curl pattern because I wanted it to be straight. But I don't want to ruin my curls now. That's why I'm so reluctant to turn up the heat.

tiashaunteé wrote:If you roller-set, you should not need to blow dry. I simply roller-set and flat iron when dry (with a heat protectant). I am going to post a video sometime this weekend of my hair after just a roller-set and a medium flat iron.

I started to do a flat iron tutorial but opted not to because I didn't want to deal with all the anti-heat natural hair nazis. I may do it anyway one day in the future.

So Yolanda called you out? Too funny......

Did you take pictures? I bet your flat iron/blow-out style was too cute.

I tried to blow-dry my hair last week, and got scared and stopped and wore a puff. I really don't want to mess up my hair...so I may try again in the spring.

KinkyNappyHappy wrote:So Yolanda called you out? Too funny......

Did you take pictures? I bet your flat iron/blow-out style was too cute.

I tried to blow-dry my hair last week, and got scared and stopped and wore a puff. I really don't want to mess up my hair...so I may try again in the spring.

Yes! She called me out. I came when bible study was over right before the dismissal. Lol. She brought me all the way to the front too. Smh. Lol.

I have pics. It's cute. I'll post later. I think I'll try again in January. I'm going to get kinky twists I think at the end of November. Let me know how yours go at Zayds.

tiashaunteé wrote:I have some 4b hair on my head and the key to getting it straight on med heat has been roller-setting. Banding is good for stretching out your length but if you want that smoothness that comes with the flat-iron the process has to start early in the step. Try the cheat roller-set method, it gets me from this:
Once it's smooth you can choose whether you want to flat-iron or not.

What's the cheat roller set method?? Anything to shorten the time on that must be shared! Thanks in advance!

Juices-n-Berries wrote:

KinkyNappyHappy wrote:So Yolanda called you out? Too funny......

Did you take pictures? I bet your flat iron/blow-out style was too cute.

I tried to blow-dry my hair last week, and got scared and stopped and wore a puff. I really don't want to mess up my hair...so I may try again in the spring.

Yes! She called me out. I came when bible study was over right before the dismissal. Lol. She brought me all the way to the front too. Smh. Lol.

I have pics. It's cute. I'll post later. I think I'll try again in January. I'm going to get kinky twists I think at the end of November. Let me know how yours go at Zayds.

Right before dismissal....LOL I see why she did that. She has an awesome sense of humor!!

I'll send you a picture after I'm done!! Six hours is what she said

moonchild wrote:

tiashaunteé wrote:I have some 4b hair on my head and the key to getting it straight on med heat has been roller-setting. Banding is good for stretching out your length but if you want that smoothness that comes with the flat-iron the process has to start early in the step. Try the cheat roller-set method, it gets me from this:
Once it's smooth you can choose whether you want to flat-iron or not.

What's the cheat roller set method?? Anything to shorten the time on that must be shared! Thanks in advance!

Here ya go:
http://tiashauntee.blogspot.com/2009/11/roller-setting.html

However, I use way less products with this method now. My first time with it I was still experimenting