HOW TO STRAIGHTEN CURLY HAIR: 7 STEPS TO SMOOTH, STRAIGHT HAIR

Learn how to get straight, sleek hair in 7 steps.

BY JOHN FRIEDA HAIR CARE TEAM

How to Straighten Curly Hair
Hair Straightening Mistakes to Avoid
More Hair Straightening Tips for Curly Hair

Straight, sleek hair makes quite a statement, and with a little effort (and a lot of patience!), it’s totally doable. Depending upon how tight your curls are, you can go from curly to smooth in no time.

Curly hair is naturally dry and prone to damage, so straightening your strands needs to be done very carefully. It’s a delicate process involving lots of heat-protecting products, but if you do it correctly, your sleek style can last several days! Here’s how to straighten curly hair and help prevent damage and breakage.

How to Straighten Curly Hair

1. Wash and condition your curls with a straightening shampoo and conditioner.

Before attempting to straighten your curls, you need to get rid of any product residue or buildup in your hair. Use a hair straightening shampoo and conditioner specifically formulated to control frizz and prep your hair for straightening.

2. Use a leave-in conditioner to strengthen your strands.

After showering, spray a liberal amount of leave-in conditioner on your curls to help lock in moisture, prevent breakage and split ends, and protect against heat damage.

3. Spritz wet curls with a heat-protectant flat iron spray.

To add even more protection against heat damage, use a heat straight flat-iron spray with a strengthening keratin complex. Be sure to coat every strand liberally to achieve maximum smoothness and frizz control.

4. Dry your hair thoroughly.

If you have the time, let your hair air dry completely to save it from unnecessary heat exposure and friction. If you need to dry hair quickly, try using a diffuser to disperse the heat and reduce friction. Gently brush your hair as you dry it to detangle and help coax your strands into straightness. Never attempt to flat iron wet or damp hair! Flat ironing wet hair is less effective and can cause additional damage to your delicate strands.

5. Section your hair for easier straightening.

Once your hair is completely dry, split your hair into sections to make flat-ironing more manageable. The best way to do this is to work from the bottom layers of hair up. Pin the top two-thirds of your mane up, and work on the underside first.

6. Begin straightening.

Working from the bottom-most layer of hair, pull a small section taut and pull it through your straightener starting from the roots. Work with small enough sections that you only have to do two swipes of your flat iron. When the bottom layer of hair is straightened, unpin the rest of your hair and start straightening another section. Continue until each strand is smooth and shiny. For the best results, use a flat iron with long plates for quick straightening and frizz control.

Pro Tip: The ends of your hair tend to be the most delicate and prone to breakage. The ends are also thinner, requiring less heat to straighten. To help protect them from excess heat damage, stop mid-shaft when straightening your hair in sections. Then, at the very end, gather all of your hair and straighten the ends together.

7. Touch up your straight strands.

Give your newly straightened locks a good once-over in the mirror. Did you miss any spots? Run stubborn strands through your straightener again until you’re satisfied with the results. Then, put the finishing touches on your new sleek style with a hydrating, frizz-fighting smoothing cream.

Hair Straightening Mistakes to Avoid

If you’ve straightened your hair, but the results aren’t as sleek and shiny as you had hoped, here are some of the most common hair straightening mistakes and how to fix them.

Your hair wasn’t dry enough. Be sure each strand is completely dry before attempting to straighten. Not only will you fry your hair trying to straighten it when wet, but it also just doesn’t work very well.

The straightener wasn’t in the right heat setting. For thick, coarse, or curly hair, you’ll likely need to set your straightening iron between 350 and 400 degrees. To avoid scorching your hair, start at the lowest setting, and increase the heat as needed to achieve the desired results.

You used too many styling products. Styling products are key to achieving your perfect look, but too many products can weigh down your hair. Focus on using only the products mentioned above that hydrate your strands and provide protection against heat.

You tried straightening too large of sections. Straightening thick, curly hair is best done in very small, 1-inch sections. Smaller sections are more manageable and will allow you to straighten more quickly and effectively.

More Hair Straightening Tips for Curly Hair

Avoid putting your hair up right after straightening. Don’t risk putting a kink in your gorgeous, sleek style! Newly straightened hair is much more susceptible to bends and kinks from hair elastics than two or three-day-old straightened hair.

Deep condition to repair damage. Curly hair is already naturally dry, and heat styling can dry it out even further. Restore moisture and transform damaged, breakage-prone hair into stronger, shinier locks with a weekly hair mask.

Treat dry ends. Instantly tame frizz and nourish dry ends with smoothing hair oil. A dry oil can revive straightened hair, making it look as soft and shiny as it did on day 1.

Get regular trims. Too much straightening and heat exposure can lead to split ends and frizzy strands. Make sure to cut curly hair regularly to clean up dry ends and keep your hair looking healthy.

Sleep on silk. Some of the worst damage to your hair happens while you sleep. Rough cotton pillowcases create frizz-inducing friction, causing you to wake up with some wild bed head. Swap your cotton pillowcase for a silk one to reduce friction and prevent frizz.