How To Straighten Afro Hair

 

Versatility is a beautiful characteristic of afro hair.  It has the ability to change from very tight coils to loose curls to dead straight tresses. Straightening your afro and curly hair should be handled with caution as incorrect techniques can lead to breakage and irreversible heat damage.  If you would like to know how to safely straighten afro and curly hair types then keep on reading as we're going to give you the best tips for straightening your afro hair. 

Wash and Condition

To achieve the best results when it comes to straightening afro hair, you firstly need to start with freshly washed or day-old hair, It's important that your hair is in a good condition so make sure you have also used an excellent conditioner and strengthening treatment.  

Section Up Your Afro Hair

Once hair is washed, dry it gently with a microfiber towel, spray it with a heat-protectant product, or an old t-shirt to remove excess water from your strands.  Then whilst hair is still damp section it into four even parts and detangle starting from the ends of working your way up to the roots.  Use a light leave-in conditioner and heat protectant to help seal the moisture into your hair and then twist to avoid hair from tangling. 

Blow-Dry Your Afro Hair With Cold Air

Once detangled use a cool setting to blowdry and stretch your hair. Set your dryer on medium or cool heat to start the process and do not be tempted to go to the highest setting as overheating the hair strand during the straightening process can cause damage. Make sure you are using high-quality attachments as poor comb and brush attachments can shred and break hair. Gently run through each section with medium tension, starting at the bottom and finishing with your ends. 

Once your hair is clean, moisturised, detangled and stretched, you’re ready to start straightening.  The tools you will need are a rat-tail comb,  a fantastic heat protector and a good ( ceramic) flat iron. 

Section the hair into four even parts and then clip eas of the parts away. Start working from the back sections first and then make your way to the front of your hair. For the best results you will have to work in small sections this reduces the amount of time the straightener will need to pass through your hair. 

The Chase Method 

For hair that is highly textured, using the chase method will help you to achieve the smooth results you want.  This is called the chase method because you literally chase a rattail comb through your hair with a hair straightener at the same time. The comb helps to lift every strand of hair and stretch it as you are passing the straighteners over the hair. This helps to limit the amount of heat you apply to the hair 

Avoiding Straightening Your Afro Hair Too Often 

Once you have straightened your hair you want to ensure that you take care of it so the style lasts for as long as you want it to. This will help you avoid the temptation of reapplying heat to your hair as to much heat on the hair can cause significant heat damage to your hair.