Scared to straighten!

I tried to flat iron my 4B hair the other day. I washed, detangled and put it in big twists for a couple of days to stretch it. Then I used the heat protectant on a small section. I had the flat iron on 20 (highest is 50) because that things gets hot. I passed the flat iron over my hair 4-5 times and the section got straighter, but it definitely was frizzy and far from silky. I think I need more heat but I'm too scared to turn it up. I panicked, picked up the spray bottle and doused that section to make sure it would curly back up lol! I want to give this another try soon but I think I need a little help. How much heat is an ok amount? I want to do it myself because I'm definitely scared of the salon frying my hair. Are there any guidelines, tips, tricks on this?

Lady we are in the same boat! I tried to blow dry my hair so I could flat iron it, but my hair laughed at the blow dryer on high heat. I got scared because I remember even in my permie days my hair took a lot of heat to straighten so I can only imagine how much it would take now. I'm scared too now lol

I'm joining the scaredy cat team too. I haven't straightened by hair since last Nov. My hair has retained so much lenghth and feels so healthy so I'm scared to mess it up. Granted I'm way overdue for a professional trim but I don't trust anyone with heat near my hair anymore.

Neems wrote:I'm joining the scaredy cat team too. I haven't straightened by hair since last Nov. My hair has retained so much lenghth and feels so healthy so I'm scared to mess it up. Granted I'm way overdue for a professional trim but I don't trust anyone with heat near my hair anymore.

I agree. My straight hair days are over.

Let the heat protectant dry, or it won't look shiny!

I'd say 300 degrees F should be your maximum. If it won't get straight then don't worry about it. The Natural Haven is helpful also for tips

I'm a chicken too. I think the most I will do is probably a roller set. But I am afraid to ever pick up a flat iron again...I should go to jail for the flat iron abuse I put my hair through in the past.

Do you think you could roller set it and then do a silk wrap to get the same effect? MahoganyCurls had a video about it. Might be in Nikki's archives. If I find it I will post it here.

ETA: MahoganyCurls Roller Set and Silk Wrap Video

I think I always kept my temp around 300 to 320.. There is a video on you tube on how to flat iron using a comb. You put the comb in front of the flat iron and as the comb goes thru the flat iron is right behind it and this is suppose to make it where you only have to flat iron once.. I tried it and it worked out great for me.. I am transitioning also so I'm not completely natural. Right not I'm not to pressed about my hair being straight and I think when I am natural I still might feel that way..

Still use a heat protectant

Not sure I have the right name for the video Taren.. I think that's her name

Yeah, Im right here with you guys. I have been planning to straighten my hair since May 2010. I always chicken out because Im afraid that my hair wont get straight which will mean I just wasted all that time on my hair only to have to wet it and re style which =too much manipulation (at one time anyways). The other fears are that my hair wont be as long or full as I hoped it would be.

I have recently decided to roller set to stretch my hair, then flat iron, then pin curl my hair next weekend when I take out my twists style.

Another thought I had was to do the usu wash routine, plait my hair to stretch it, then put it on rollers, let it dry and then flat iron.<-- think it'll work

Letha, here's Taren's video on how she flat irons with the comb: Taren916 - How I Straighten My Natural Hair

I was and still am the same way. I just did my second attempt at straightening my hair since I stopped relaxing but my first time since I BC'd...I blow dried it which resulted in a BAA sort of like...lol..I then got my flat iron out(Sedu) let it heat up and then proceeed to do very small sections. I t was not as easy as before when I was transitioning. My hair is very very very thick and 4b/4c-ish and my hair was sort of laughing at the flat iron....The first day it was nice but I could tell I needed a trim because my ends were crazy mainly from my self BC and not really caring if it was even. Now I have layers unintentionally and am scared to go anywhere to get it trimmed(another post...lol) But the second day I woke up after I wrapped my hair very tightly and with bobby pins and it was straight but not straight enough to wear out. So I braided it up like my usual style. It is not as defined as when my hair is damp but it is smoother and flatter. Ill post some pics later...This is now day 3 and it is semi straight still after my braid out..