10 Tips for Salon Straight Hair at Home

By: May Rostom

Long trips to the salon can be quiet expensive when it comes to hair drying and straightening. Here are 10 tips to follow for straighter, sleeker hair right at home.

1. Pick the right flat iron: not all flat irons work well. Before buying any flat iron, make sure you do your homework. If you have curly, un-manageable hair you’d want to buy something with a high heating setting and a large ceramic plate. The higher the watt, the straighter your hair. If you have fine, brittle hair, look for something with a medium sized plate and average heat setting.

2. Turn up the heat: the higher the heat setting on your flat iron, the straighter your hair will get. Just remember, high temperatures can damage hair, especially fine and brittle hair. So, the finer the hair, the lower the heat.

3. Prep: is the most important step in hair straightening and must be done one day in advance. For best results, pour 1/3 cup of cold milk into a spray bottle and spray all over hair until very damp. Brush the milk into your scalp using a wide tooth comb or a brush and leave for 10 minutes. Wash hair thoroughly with shampoo and conditioner as you normally would and towel dry. Leave hair to air dry over night and straighten using the iron the following day.

4. Divide: hair should be divided into 6 sections for best results. 2 in the front, 2 middle, and 2 in the back.

5. Comb: each section before you straighten to prevent fly aways. Make sure your hair isn’t in knots.

6. Spray some anti-heat defense: to form a layer of protection around your hair and to avoid hair damage.

7. Straighten evenly: by controlling the pace in which you are straightening your hair, even heat distribution will prevent frizz and fly-aways. Start at the root and down the shaft at a steady pace; repeat process twice or thrice.

8. Style: using mousse or serum to finish off your look.

9. Cold air: using a blow dryer, blow cold air in your hair to set the styling products. Keep the blow dryer at a distance though.

10. Clean your tools: maintaining and cleaning your tools will allow for optimum performance.