Having thick hair can be a blessing and a curse. If it is kept healthy and you know how to straighten your thick hair, it will look beautiful.
Of course, your hair may not need intervention and may well dry nicely all by itself. The problem is, thick hair can often have a mind of its own.
On occasion I have been known to look like a bit of a crazy lady when my hair has been left to its own devices. Put simply, my hair cannot be trusted.
After many years of trial and error, the following are my go to steps for taming my thick locks and making them smooth and straight.
TIP: Make sure you are using the right hair straighteners for your hair type. If you have thick hair it is a good idea to go for irons with wide plates like ghd V Gold MAX Styler or Cloud 9 Wide Plate.
You might be interested in my article: The Best Hair Straighteners for Thick Hair
1. Washing your hair with the right kind of shampoo and conditioner is vital for good hair straightening results. Go for a gentle shampoo and smoothing conditioner, I like to use ones specifically for thick and dry hair.
2. Treat yourself to the odd deep conditioning cleanse, I like to use an Argan oil based one.
3. Towel dry your hair to get rid of the excess water, but don’t rub it – this will only send your hair curlier and out of control. I like to pat mine and dry in a downwards direction.
4. Put in a little bit (but not too much) straightening cream on to your damp hair before blow drying it. I like to use TIGI Bed Head Straighten Out. It doesn’t make my hair feel greasy at the roots like some other products do.
5. Using a hair dryer, rough dry your hair (which is without using a brush) until it is about 75% dry. I then use a brush to smoothly dry the rest of my hair. This makes the straightening part a bit easier.
TIP: Make sure your hair is completely dry before straightening it. A hot iron will quite simply boil your hair causing it to break – not good.
6. Section your hair off so that only the bottom layers are showing. The thinner the sections you are trying to straighten, the more effective the straightening will be. You can either use hair clips like they use in the hair salons, or like me, just use hair bands.
7. Once your straighteners have heated up (which doesn’t take long these days!) with a brush, start straightening short sections of your hair in a slow gentle downward motion. If you are straightening small sections of hair you should only need to go over it once or twice. Repeat for each section of your hair until completely straight.
8. Use a serum to help fight the frizz from returning too soon.
TIP: If it is your first time straightening, remember, practise makes perfect!
To help keep your hair in the best possible condition read my guide on How to Protect your Hair from Heat Damage.
Do you have any hair straightening tips for thick hair? I would love to hear them.