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Taming your frizzy hair doesn’t have to be a severe struggle! Learn how to straighten frizzy hair with the right tools and products.
Straightening Frizzy Hair: A Summary
Straightening your hair shouldn’t feel like a grapple, but it does take time and effort. A healthy straightening routine should look like the following:
- Using a smoothing shampoo and conditioner
- Gently drying and detangling your hair
- Applying a heat protectant and then blow drying
- Sectioning off your hair and then straightening
- Finishing with a smoothing serum or spray
Now, let’s delve deeper into these steps in greater detail below.
How to Straighten Frizzy Hair in 5 Easy Steps
The following steps may appear simple, but the type of products, tools, and methods you use significantly impact the outcome. With that said, let’s discuss how to set your hair up for success.
1. Use a Frizz-Control Shampoo and Conditioner
If you don’t already use a shampoo and conditioner specific to your hair type, it’s time to invest in one. Doing so will ease straightening your hair and keep excessive frizz at a distance long term.
Shampoos and conditioners formulated for frizzy hair contain language on the bottle, such as “smoothing” and “frizz-control.” Just be sure the shampoo you choose is sulfate-free.
Sulfates strip the oil from the hair to prevent a greasy appearance, but excess oil is rarely a struggle for people with frizzy hair. On the contrary, waves and curls prevent natural oils from freely traveling through the hair shaft.
Therefore, shampoos with sulfates make frizzy hair drier. The water you wash your hair in is just as critical as your shampoo and conditioner.
As relaxing as it is, avoid washing your hair with hot water. Hot water strips hair of its natural oils and moisture, causing dryness and frizz. Instead, wash your hair in lukewarm water.
It’s warm enough to penetrate and cleanse your scalp’s pores without causing damage. Rinse the conditioner with cold water. Cold water closes the hair’s cuticles to lock in moisture and maximize smoothness.
2. Gently Dry and Detangle Your Hair
Now that your hair is clean, it’s time to detangle! Before doing so, you’ll want to remove as much excess water from your hair as possible. While wet hair is easier to detangle, it’s also more fragile and prone to breakage.
Do not dry your hair by vigorously patting or rubbing it with a towel. Instead, grab something soft, like a microfiber towel or an old cotton t-shirt.
Wrap it around your hair and gently squeeze the excess water out. Once your hair is damp rather than soaking wet, apply a leave-in conditioner or detangler formulated for frizzy hair. Doing so will provide your hair with extra heat protectant when it comes time to straighten.
But for now, it’s meant for detangling! Grab a brush or comb with natural bristles, such as boar hair. Bristles crafted from boar hair are less likely to damage or break hair because they’re the same texture.
On the contrary, nylon or plastic brushes disturb your hair’s natural state and cause static. Also, ensure you’re using a wide-tooth brush or comb. They cause less friction and breakage.
Read Next: How to Plop Your Hair With a Towel
3. Apply a Heat Protectant and Blow Dry Your Hair
Now that you’ve detangled your hair, it’s time to apply a heat protectant. Heat protectants are non-negotiable as they create a barrier between your hair and the heat to lock in moisture and prevent long-term damage. Heat protectants come in creams, serums, oils, and sprays.
The kind you use isn’t nearly as important as if you have one! Apply the protectant throughout your hair, beginning at the ends and working your way up.
Let the protectant settle for a few minutes, and then reach for your blow dryer and a round brush. Before beginning, ensure your hair dryer has a diffuser on it. Diffusers decrease the chances of heat damage because they distribute the heat over a large area rather than to a concentrated spot.
When done correctly, the drying process will smoothen your hair and ease straightening. Simply, place the round brush beneath a section of hair. Slowly run it down toward your ends, and follow it with the hair dryer as you do.
Do this for each section until your hair is dry and mostly smooth– emphasis on dry. Straightening damp hair causes considerable damage as water drastically increases the temperature of a flat iron, regardless of what temperature it’s set to.
4. Section Off Your Hair and Straighten
Plug in your flat iron and set it to the lowest temperature capable of getting the job done. Because you’ve already smoothed out your hair with the blow dryer, a high temperature shouldn’t be necessary.
As a general rule of thumb, check the temperature your heat protectant shields against, and set your flat iron no higher. If your straightener lacks temperature control, consider investing in a tool that does. It will drastically reduce heat damage and long-term frizz.
While you’re waiting for your flat iron to heat up, section your hair off with hair clips. If you have layers, clip each layer into two to three sections. Straightening your hair in sections will eliminate the likelihood of applying heat to the same pieces multiple times.
Once your flat iron reaches temperature, you can begin straightening your hair. If you require the assistance of a brush, opt for boar bristles.
As mentioned above, nylon bristles create static that will frizz up your hair before you even finish. Place the straightener at the top of your head and gently pull it down. Be careful not to leave the flat iron on your ends for too long.
As previously mentioned, people with frizzy hair typically have waves or curls that lack oil, making the ends notably fragile and susceptible to damage. You may even lower the temperature and straighten your end pieces at once.
Read Next: How to Straighten Hair Without Heat
5. Finish With a Smoothing Product
Take a breath—the hard part is over! All that’s left to do is apply a finishing product, such as a hydrating hair serum and hair spray. But before doing so, your hair needs to cool down.
Don’t touch your hair at all until it’s cooled. Prematurely running your fingers or a brush through hot hair prompts frizz and loss of shape. Even worse, applying a smoothing product to heat will merely evaporate off your hot hair. So, sit back and relax for a few minutes!
Once it’s cooled, add a hydrating serum. Heat-styling hair dries out the cuticle, which can contribute to frizz. Therefore, restoring moisture with a smoothing product will not only protect your hair from additional damage but keep it straight for longer.
You may also wish to reinforce the shape with hair spray. To do so, spray a boar-bristle brush with lightweight hairspray and then brush it through your strands to prevent frizzy flyaways.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Lett’s take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions regarding how to straighten frizzy hair.
Which type of straightener is best for frizzy hair?
Tourmaline-infused ionic flat irons are best for people with frizzy hair. They release negative ions that flatten the hair cuticle and prevent frizz. The smooth tourmaline covering also ensures an even distribution of heat across both plates to reduce hot spots and damage.
How can I keep my hair straight all day without frizz?
Implementing a routine specific to your hair type is the most effective way to keep your hair straight with minimal frizz. Washing, conditioning, and detangling your hair with products and tools that reduce frizz before flat ironing will prep your hair for success. If you straighten your hair hours before going out, preserve the style in a silk cap to minimize friction and frizz.
Does straightening hair damage it?
Occasionally straightening your hair doesn’t cause damage as long as you take the proper precautions. However, frequently applying heat to your hair damages the cuticle and alters your hair’s protein structure, making reparations a long and challenging process. For this reason, many experts are adamant about applying a heat protectant and wearing hair naturally as often as possible.
Why is my hair so frizzy after I straighten it?
Heat depletes the moisture in your hair. In an attempt to absorb moisture from the air, the hair cuticles raise and appear frizzy. To avoid frizz, implement a regular hair routine complete with leave-in and deep conditioner, as well as smoothing hair oils.
Can you permanently straighten your hair?
Salons offer permanent hair straightening treatments. Keratin straightening is the most popular and lasts up to five months. A hairdresser will apply a chemical treatment that alters the protein structure within your hair, but this can cause excessive damage.
So, How Do You Straighten Frizzy Hair?
Learning how to straighten frizzy hair is as simple as adopting meticulous practices that maintain the health of your specific hair type. Simply, investing in the appropriate products and tools will prove a game changer in the long run.
Not only will the proper routine, products, and tools keep your frizzy hair straight for longer, but they will also replenish the health of your once luscious locks. Happy styling!