The Verboten Straightener - A Question

[MNoelH]

I know this is relatively verboten around here, but sometimes I just feel like I just want to straighten my hair. It looks better if I do and I choose to do it and it makes me happy.

The question I have is about the only straightener I have ever purchased. It is a Wet 2 Straight Remington:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OMC36DnwL._AA300_.jpg

This was recommended by a Good Housekeeping (I think) review on the Oprah show a couple of years ago. It has a temperature control. That same show also advised to always put on heat protectant first. got2b crazysleek hot smooth flat iron & blow dry lotion is the one that was recommended:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41m0Iz-kILL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

I've read here, multiple times, how horrifying it is to be boiling your hair or some other scary descriptive. Is this really as bad as I've been led to believe? I don't do it very often, yet the terminology I've heard associated with the wet to dry straighteners has been frightening.

I'm not sure if the responses I've read are simply for using a straightener on wet hair, or if it's because most straighteners aren't designed to be used this way.

Can someone please educate me? Thanks in advance.

[thatjengirl1]

Straightening your hair when it's dry like maybe once every two weeks is probably fine.

But straightening often, like multiple times a week, or everyday, will cause dryness, split ends, and breakage.

Going from "wet" to "straight" is the worst thing you could ever do to your hair is what i've heard.
You literally burn the hair when you add extreme heat to it when it's wet. Sometimes you can smell it when you straighten it...yikes

[Buddaphlyy]

I occasionally straighten my hair, but never with a wet to dry iron. Mostly because I think that it would take several passes of the iron over each section to get the hair dry. And that is damaging.

I think you'd be better of air-drying completely first and then using the heat protectant and a lower temperature on the iron.

[Sweet_Decadence]

Well, when I stopped straightening my hair 5 times a week was when I started to notice vast improvements in my hairs condition, especially my split ends. I trimmed just after I stopped, this must have been August, and they're a lot fewer in numbers than they would normally be 4 months after a trim. I've also noticed a reduced shed.

I've been really really trying to find some solid information from reliable sources about finding the most hair safe hair straightener and heat defense. So far all I can find is that flat irons with thick ceramic plates are the best ones because they distribute the heat evenly thoughtout the hair instead and do not have hot spots which can just burn the hair and thats about

I can't even find any information on how a heat defense works. I still do straighten my fringe and i want only the best for my hair. It majorly sucks thats there seems to be a slight lack in information about these products.

[little_cherry]

I used to straighten my hair until I read this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79) article... I used to use a straightener on wet hair; it slowly made my hair feel dry and look dull. I used to straighten twice a week.

[Bonkers57]

I'd like that info, too. The only way I can get my hair to look right is to either blow-dry or use a curling iron. There must be a way to minimize the damage. Plus, I don't plan to grow my hair crazy long; BSL is my goal.


Well, when I stopped straightening my hair 5 times a week was when I started to notice vast improvements in my hairs condition, especially my split ends. I trimmed just after I stopped, this must have been August, and they're a lot fewer in numbers than they would normally be 4 months after a trim. I've also noticed a reduced shed.

I've been really really trying to find some solid information from reliable sources about finding the most hair safe hair straightener and heat defense. So far all I can find is that flat irons with thick ceramic plates are the best ones because they distribute the heat evenly thoughtout the hair instead and do not have hot spots which can just burn the hair and thats about

I can't even find any information on how a heat defense works. I still do straighten my fringe and i want only the best for my hair. It majorly sucks thats there seems to be a slight lack in information about these products.

[mellie89]

There's nothing wrong with straightening your hair if it makes you happy! That said, I would really avoid the wet-to-straight straighteners if you can.

I had that exact straightener, and I used it a couple times a week for almost two years, and I can tell you without a doubt that it damaged my hair. I had a crazy amount of splits and white dots, and my hair was extremely dry. I had breakage for the first time in my life, too.

Before I owned that one, I used a regular old straightener, nothing special but not a wet-to-straight one. I used it a couple times per week for about a year, and it didn't do much (if any) damage to my hair. I never got any splits, and it never felt dry. I grew my hair past BSL and it looked and felt great, even while I was straightening regularly.

So basically, please stay away from wet-to-straight flat irons. Even with a heat protectant, I really think that they are about the worst thing you could do to your hair. :flower:

[Bonkers57]

Thanks for your reply, Mellie. This is the info I wanted! I have just a plain old curling iron that I use on dry hair. I plan to grow mine to BSL, so it doesn't sound like there'll be much harm done if I'm careful. Did you use a heat protectant with your old straightener (that you used on dry hair?)


There's nothing wrong with straightening your hair if it makes you happy! That said, I would really avoid the wet-to-straight straighteners if you can.

I had that exact straightener, and I used it a couple times a week for almost two years, and I can tell you without a doubt that it damaged my hair. I had a crazy amount of splits and white dots, and my hair was extremely dry. I had breakage for the first time in my life, too.

Before I owned that one, I used a regular old straightener, nothing special but not a wet-to-straight one. I used it a couple times per week for about a year, and it didn't do much (if any) damage to my hair. I never got any splits, and it never felt dry. I grew my hair past BSL and it looked and felt great, even while I was straightening regularly.

So basically, please stay away from wet-to-straight flat irons. Even with a heat protectant, I really think that they are about the worst thing you could do to your hair. :flower:

[UltraBella]

From a professional standpoint, wet to dry straighteners are not allowed in my salon. Your hair is at it's most vulnerable when wet. I would prefer someone to blow-dry their hair and then flat iron once dry then to use one of these. The extreme heat on wet hair is enough to make me feel slightly nauseated.
That being said, flat irons overall are pretty bad for your hair. A spray protectant helps minimally, in my opinion. If someone feels the need to flat iron I recommend a professional grade fat iron, there really is a difference between the cheap ones and a good one. You want to look for floating plates, smooth edges and above all - temperature control. That way you can turn the temp down and still get a nice smooth result.
I curled my hair atleast four times a week with a large barreled curling iron for six years. It was temp controlled and I used the lowest heat setting that would still leave me with curl. I did not have damage, so heat can be okay for some people and terribly damaging for others. Seeing that you have fine hair, I would be very cautious.

[MrsGuther]

I just recently gave up the flat ironing habit myself... it's been tough, I will admit. I just can't bear to do that to my hair anymore after I saw the article with pictures of healthy hair vs damaged hair. The picture of hair with the "white dot" thing was horrible!!!! :( I am horrified that I ever did that to my poor hair...
But I still get the urge to straighten it. I've been diligently saying no to that urge though! LOL

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I'm sorry, but ironing your hair will cause some major damage. There's no getting around to preventing the damage, including heat protectants.

That shouldn't stop you from flat-ironing though. If you don't want to have extreme long hair, with regular trims, you can do it. Try to skip a day or two if possible, and wrap your hair around your head (search for hair wrapping on youtube) to preserve the straightness for the next day.

ETA: I don't have the exact one you have, but i have the teflon-coated flat iron of remington and it gets quite hot, even on the lowest setting. Make sure you use the lowest setting and straighten dry hair only.

[alwayssmiling]

I'll just add to what others have said. If you are going to flatiron use a heat protectant and make sure that is DRY after you have sprayed. I have made this mistake! Once sprayed on go over it for a minute with a coolish hair dryer.

Also, if you really must Flatiron, you should consider letting it air dry first. Its one less stressful thing for your hair to go through.

I have recently discovered I can get my hair fairly straight by wrapping as dreamsinpink mentioned, and I have invested in a straightening brush (looks like a barbeque tongue lol). On a medium setting I can get pretty great results with the hairdryer (still going to damage if I do it too often I guess). HTH

[Athena's Owl]

I know this is relatively verboten around here, but sometimes I just feel like I just want to straighten my hair. It looks better if I do and I choose to do it and it makes me happy.


If straight hair is worth the damage you do to your hair to get it, then straighten your hair. It's your hair, after all.

[bumblebums]

Nothing verboten about it, it's just not compatible with extreme lengths (and for some people, like me, it made growing past shoulder length impossible). You can do what you want, although perhaps be prepared to lose some of your 34".

[lapushka]

Maybe once or twice a year, on festive occasions for instance, it won't be so bad. But if you straighten multiple times a week and keep it up, I don't think you can realistically expect very long hair.

I also wouldn't use a straightener on wet hair! Ever!

I used to crimp my hair as a teen, a lot, 2 times a week, and it got to APL-BSL length. It didn't look so great beyond that length. Lots of fairytailing, thinned out ends that weren't natural at that length. Well: fried, basically.

[Bonkers57]

Okay, I think I have a plan. I use my iron on the lowest heat, not to straighten (it's straight enough thankyouverymuch), but to give it some fullness. I have pics in my albums where I've used a curling iron or blow dryer vs doing nothing at all with it. At the length it is now, I have to do something with it to make it presentable. I've accepted that I'll have to take some damage until my hair's long enough to updo. Then I can stop using heat, gradually dusting off the damaged part until it's gone.

[spidermom]

Some hair types stand up to straightening better than others. Occasional straightening absolutely trashed my hair, but the damage didn't show up until my length was between BSL and waist length. Before that, I thought I was getting away with it.