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This Is How I Straighten My Natural Hair Without Damaging My Curls
aimee simeon
My relationship with my hair has always been complicated. I first got my hair relaxed when I was 9-years-old and decided to go natural during my junior year of college. Throughout school, I spent an insane number of hours before a mirror, with a YouTube video playing on my laptop, as I tried to learn how to style my curls. Not to mention the fact that all of the cash I earned from my part-time sales gig was spent stockpiling Kinky Curly gel and trying new Shea Moisture products from Target.
But that changed when I entered "the real world." Work, relationships, and my personal life prevented me from dedicating time to my hair as I did before. Flat twisting my entire head after 10-hour work days felt like a second job and — frankly — I couldn't be bothered. Slowly but surely, straight hair came creeping back into my life like a bad ex, and I began straightening my hair with hot tools once a month. That turned into once a week and now wearing my natural hair straight has become a regular, more convenient part of my lifestyle — but it's a risky game to play.
I love wearing my hair straight because of how simple it makes my life, but I also love having the option to rock curls whenever I want. However, heat and natural curls aren't always a match made in heaven. Excessive heat is damaging to curly hair and improper use of it can cause dryness, frizz, breakage and — worst case scenario — permanent damage to your curl pattern.
But through plenty of trial and error I've found a routine that allows me to wear my hair straight without frying my curls to death, so I can switch from blowout one day to twist out the next. If you're like me, and enjoy being "naturally straight," but haven't found a reliable set of products and tools to add to your rotation, I broke down every single product I use to keep my curls alive, ahead.
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Pre-Poo
My work begins way before I hop in the shower to shampoo. My scalp tends to be itchy AF so "pre-pooing" is an essential part of my routine. Before I shampoo, I coat my scalp in this black castor and rosemary oil cocktail and leave it on for an hour while I clean my house or start dinner (or scroll through Instagram, let's be honest). It hydrates my thirsty scalp prior to shampooing, and the rosemary oil in it soothes irritation and prevents my skin from feeling itchy.
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Shampoo
I never realized the importance of a good shampoo until I became a beauty editor. Every single industry pro I've ever interviewed preaches about how crucial an effective shampoo is to healthy hair and, turns out, they're absolutely right. Because curly hair is naturally drier than other textures, I always shampoo with hydrating formulas. I like this one from Biosilk, which is super gentle and sulfate-free, so it doesn't make hair drier than it already is. I usually give my scalp one thorough shampoo once and my curls are never left feeling like wire, but this is different.
I always follow up with Biosilk's hydrating conditioner, which I pass through my hair using a wide-tooth comb. This formula gives my curls a nice slip (which makes detangling less of a pain). It also doesn't coat my hair or make it feel heavy when it's time to style.
I forget to deep condition more times than I'd like to admit, but when I do, I'm usually covering my hair with this mask from Alterna. It's made to moisturize, protect, and restore damaged hair but I just describe it as magic in a jar. I comb this through my strands and leave it on for 15 minutes while I shower. When I rinse, my hair is soft and smooth, and my curls are super defined, which is great on days when I don't heat style and want my curls to be poppin'.
Here is where the real work comes in: Protecting my curls from the 400 degree flat iron that's about to hit them. My strategy calls on cocktailing the crap out of heat-protecting products before I straighten to get the best results and keep my hair safe.
Before I do anything, I spray some of this treatment on my wet hair and detangle using a wide-tooth comb. The packaging promises to minimize frizz and it definitely delivers on that. My blowout never looks like it's raising the roof whenever I use this, and it leaves my curls shiny and ready for my next step.
My boyfriend's mom introduced me to this Cuban miracle worker and I will never ever style my hair without it. It's a lightweight cream formula that protects, repairs, and prepares your strands to look fresh out of a Pantene commercial. I section my hair into four parts and apply this lotion generously to each section. Don't worry about overdoing it — it won't make your hair greasy or heavy.
I know what you're thinking....another heat protectant?! But bear with me because this step is important. Before heat touches my hair I finish off my protective cocktail by coating my strands in this cream from Drybar. It protects hair from up to 450 degrees and smells amazing. Since I put on two products prior to this, I only apply a quarter-sized amount of this through my entire head.
When it's time to dry my prepped curls, this dryer is my go-to for a few reasons. For starters, my carpal tunnel means that heavy blowdry tools often leave me in pain. This one is compact and lightweight and I don't have to take breaks every five minutes to flex my wrist. It also has controllable heat so you can adjust the temperature based on your needs.
I start on the coolest heat setting and use a paddle brush to get my hair dry. Once my curls are no longer damp, I switch to the highest heat setting to smooth my hair from root to tip.
Harry Josh
Harry Josh Pro Tools Pro Dryer 2000,
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When your hair is natural, there's no such thing as a "blowout" with a blowdryer only. To get your hair sleek and your roots straight for days at a time, an effective flat iron must be involved. This one from NuMe never fails me. It's built with tourmaline ceramic plates which allow your hair to pass through it smoothly without creating friction. It also has an infrared heat strip down the middle of the plates to gently distribute heat throughout the hair.
I use this iron on the 400-degree setting and pass it through small sections of my hair. It gets my strands super sleek and shiny on one pass, so I hardly ever have to go over the same section twice. The 1-inch plates are also super easy to turn and twist, so on days when I want curls or waves, I use this to style my hair, too.
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Megastar Hair Straightener,
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Finish
When the styling is all said and done, I finish off my hair with this multitasking oil, which keeps my cuticles shiny and frizz-free for days. If I've gone too long without a trim, I usually rub this on the ends of my hair a few times a week to keep them from looking messy. This oil doesn't weigh my hair down so and my strands are still bouncy and full of movement.
One of the most important parts of keeping my hair healthy, despite my weekly straightening routine, is keeping my edges sleek throughout the week. The longer my edges stay polished, the less heat I use to touch up my hair as days go by.
To keep my hairline neat and undisturbed, I use this edge control pomade after my blowout. A little goes a long way with this product, so you don't need to scoop out large amounts to slick down your hair. I place less than a pea-sized amount of this along my entire hairline and use a dense edge brush to lay my hairs down flat.
But, if I do need to touch up my roots at any point in the week, I keep a mini flat iron handy. I love this Babyliss one, which is titanium-plated and heats up to 420 degrees. This tiny iron is perfect for days where I want to just smooth out certain parts of my roots, without completely re-styling my hair. It's perfect for traveling or on days when you're in a hurry and don't want to pull your entire kit out.
Now that you know my routine I'd love to learn yours. Leave a comment below with the products and tools you can't live without.
BaByliss Pro
Mini Prima Styling Iron 3/4'',
$49.95
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