Oiy! Temptation!

[hennalove]

I have not used heat on my hair since mid-December and thanks to a multitude of henna treatments, my hair is at the point of not really needed a straightening iron. However, as smooth and frizz free as it is with very, very little wave, it is still not that poker straight, polished, sleek look that a flat iron gives. Since the first of the year I have focused on henna. Every time the urge to get the flat iron out arises, I oil my ends and put my hair up in a bun if it isn't already. So today, I stumbled upon Tibees video 'Straightening Knee-Length Hair' and all I can say is Oiy! I am definitely fighting the urge now ;) Drumbing my fingers...I might just have to do another henna earlier than I thought!

[JennGalt]

Step away from the flatiron! Resist the urge!

I'm a former flatiron junkie too. Whenever I get the urge I remind myself how much damage it did to my hair. I stopped trimming my hair partly because I thought my terminal length was APL. Wrong! My hair just broke off because I kept literally frying it. I used to jokingly say tell my husband I needed to do my makeup and burn my hair whenever I needed time to get ready to go somewhere. Ironically, that statement had more truth to it than I realized.

I haven't seen any pics of your hair, but it sounds like your results from henna have been quite lovely. Keep doing what you've been doing--and don't get back into the habit of burning your hair!

[Groovy Granny]

Don't do it :tmi:

Learn to embrace and enhance your natural wurls and texture :cheer:

[Beeboo123]

No! Don’t do it! Flat ironing made my ends very thin and sparse, it’s taking to long to trim the thin portions away. It’s just not worth it! In any case, hair looks better with some texture and movement to it, and it’s much shiner than fried straight hair

[Reyesuela]

Could it be blow dried straight instead? Medium heat would damage less than a flat iron.

I do rag curls every so often, so I understand the urge. :)

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Don't do it - do you want damaged hair again?

[leayellena]

tibees has coarse hair. and I don´t think she straightenes it on a daily basis. maybe on special ocasions or so.

[Stray_mind]

I would advise against it. Blowdrying it straight on low heat would indeed be a better idea, less destructive for your hair.

There might also be some products that straighten hair, similar to curling mousse...

[Glitch]

Have you tried hair wrapping after a shower? My hair is waist length too, and pretty wavy naturally, but I always achieve sleek and straight hair after. It takes some practising and there are a couple other methods that work great too! It was annoying to get the hang of it at first, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to resist the straightener if I quit trying lol. Now that I’ve got it down, it looks like I use a straightener anyway :)

Random notes: I only use 3 loose claw clips (very little tension) and sometimes to speed up the drying process, a hair dryer on low and cool. That’s it -no hair products etc.! Additionally, not that I have experimented with this, but you can look into keratin treatments if you really can’t help it. We have a good informative thread all about it here :D

[Joules]

I love the sleek look that heat styling gives. But I know that it's unnatural, just like plastic surgery (not as permanent, but still), and therefore...why bother? If you accept your body the way it is, accept your hair the way it is. Of course you can try to make it look as nice as possible without heat, there's no need to have a mess on your head 24/7. Occasional heat styling for a very special occasion with heat protection is ok, otherwise it's completely unnecessary. That's my philosophy.

[hennalove]

Step away from the flatiron! Resist the urge!


Thank goodness I resisted the urge :) I amused myself with making my henna schedule for April. I've come so far and am still amazed at how nicely my hair air dries now so I'm glad I didn't use any heat. Talk about temptation though!

[hennalove]

Could it be blow dried straight instead? Medium heat would damage less than a flat iron.

I do rag curls every so often, so I understand the urge. :)

I haven't tried blow drying yet. I might try on cool setting rather than use heat but right now it is really air drying nicely. That urge was sure strong!

[hennalove]

tibees has coarse hair. and I don´t think she straightenes it on a daily basis. maybe on special ocasions or so.

At her length, I was surprised to see her straightening it. She didn't mention using a heat protectant either but I imagine she would have. Her hair is quite impressive, gorgeous without straightening!

[hennalove]

Have you tried hair wrapping after a shower? My hair is waist length too, and pretty wavy naturally, but I always achieve sleek and straight hair after. It takes some practising and there are a couple other methods that work great too! It was annoying to get the hang of it at first, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to resist the straightener if I quit trying lol. Now that I’ve got it down, it looks like I use a straightener anyway :)

Random notes: I only use 3 loose claw clips (very little tension) and sometimes to speed up the drying process, a hair dryer on low and cool. That’s it -no hair products etc.! Additionally, not that I have experimented with this, but you can look into keratin treatments if you really can’t help it. We have a good informative thread all about it here :D

No, I haven't tried wrapping. I think I will start experimenting with that technique since air drying is giving me fairly close to straight now. I think a couple more henna treatments will do it! Still, finding a way to get that sleek, polished look without the heat would be nice. Thanks for the idea! Do you have a YouTube video you recommend?

[hennalove]

I love the sleek look that heat styling gives. But I know that it's unnatural, just like plastic surgery (not as permanent, but still), and therefore...why bother? If you accept your body the way it is, accept your hair the way it is. Of course you can try to make it look as nice as possible without heat, there's no need to have a mess on your head 24/7. Occasional heat styling for a very special occasion with heat protection is ok, otherwise it's completely unnecessary. That's my philosophy.

My hair actually straightens nicely and looks naturally straight but my anxiety level goes up. You know, unexpected rain or sweating or humidity that gives the odd ripple where it shouldn't. I'm really working at keeping my anxiety in check so now isn't the time for straightening plus the henna has done a remarkable job. Aside of the henna, I agree the more natural the better :)

[Glitch]

No, I haven't tried wrapping. I think I will start experimenting with that technique since air drying is giving me fairly close to straight now. I think a couple more henna treatments will do it! Still, finding a way to get that sleek, polished look without the heat would be nice. Thanks for the idea! Do you have a YouTube video you recommend?

Honestly I haven't come across any hair wrapping videos which work for me. They either use too much tension, leave crinkles from bobby pins etc., or the hair never dries overnight and such. However, this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i_W19d3IDk) is the closest to what does give me straight hair. Just imagine that she has wet hair though, lol. Also, unlike that girl, I gently detangle damp hair in about 30 seconds with a wide tooth comb, and then wrap that hair around my head without further combing, which also takes very little time. I guess I just linked that video because around 2:50, with that claw clip she put in, is what all my hair looks like before I let it air dry or blow dry on low. Sometimes it takes 1 claw clip, sometimes 2-3, and the placing changes each time too.

Well anyway, there are some videos with 10 million+ views and good feedback, so maybe one of those could work well for you :D As you can tell, it just takes a good amount of experimenting!

[hennalove]

Honestly I haven't come across any hair wrapping videos which work for me. They either use too much tension, leave crinkles from bobby pins etc., or the hair never dries overnight and such. However, this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i_W19d3IDk) is the closest to what does give me straight hair. Just imagine that she has wet hair though, lol. Also, unlike that girl, I gently detangle damp hair in about 30 seconds with a wide tooth comb, and then wrap that hair around my head without further combing, which also takes very little time. I guess I just linked that video because around 2:50, with that claw clip she put in, is what all my hair looks like before I let it air dry or blow dry on low. Sometimes it takes 1 claw clip, sometimes 2-3, and the placing changes each time too.

Well anyway, there are some videos with 10 million+ views and good feedback, so maybe one of those could work well for you :D As you can tell, it just takes a good amount of experimenting!

Thanks so much! I will give it a try and see how I like the results. I can imagine a bit of practice is needed :)

[nycelle]

Congrats on resisting the urge!! I'm another one that used to love my flat iron. But I used it more for waves, or as a finisher for those pieces that just didn't straighten enough via my hair dryer (cow licks in the front)

The video though.. <cringe> . She has no idea how use a flat iron properly- absolutely horrible. I sincerely hope no one watching it thinks it's OK to flat iron the same pieces of hair over and over. She goes over the same sections of 5-8 times, brushes and goes over those sections again. That tells me she's clueless. Such a huge no-no and she definitely damaged her hair for doing it.

[Glitch]

Thanks so much! I will give it a try and see how I like the results. I can imagine a bit of practice is needed :)

You're welcome, have fun! :)

[MoonRabbit]

Congrats on resisting the urge!! I'm another one that used to love my flat iron. But I used it more for waves, or as a finisher for those pieces that just didn't straighten enough via my hair dryer (cow licks in the front)

The video though.. <cringe> . She has no idea how use a flat iron properly- absolutely horrible. I sincerely hope no one watching it thinks it's OK to flat iron the same pieces of hair over and over. She goes over the same sections of 5-8 times, brushes and goes over those sections again. That tells me she's clueless. Such a huge no-no and she definitely damaged her hair for doing it.

Depending on ones texture, they may have to use that same technique to get straight hair. Or she was simply using a lower heat setting.

[nycelle]

Yes, you're right.. but not that many times. Her sections were too large, the brushing should have been done before, and there should be tension on the hair. She really doesn't know how to use one properly.

If anyone's going over the same section that many times (I counted 9 at one point then stopped), they need to rethink using one, or how they're using it.