Using Protection - Arming Hair for Heat Styling

I've been talking a lot about heat in the last few posts (find them here and here). But no discussion about heat-styling is ever complete without mentioning heat protectants. As with any category of products, there are a mountain of options out there to cater to your whim and fancy. For the sake of brevity, I will speak on my methods in this post and of course you can chime in in the comments section about how you do things in your neck of the woods. Let's go.

L-R: LottaBody setting lotion, Nioxin Thermal Bliss, Aphogee Keratin & Green Tea Reconstructurizer,
Elasta QP Design Silk & ORS Thermal Protect and SHine

The way I use heat protectants depends on whether I'm using direct heat versus indirect heat.

Staying on the Straight and Narrow - Maintaining Straight Hair

Let's continue on the straight hair topic. This is a follow up to my previous post about achieving straight hair.

During my very first stretch on my new hair journey, I diligently took care of my hair and new growth. I was enjoying the fact that I was on my way to long healthy hair. I stretched for 8/ 9 months, but during month 7, I got really curious about the length I was (or wasn't) achieving. I pulled out my flat-iron! I can't remember right now if I blow-dried as well, but I know I used the comb-chase method and a lot of heat protectant, a lot! When I straightened, the excessive heat protectant made my hair look thin and stringy but I was pleased with the length. 

8 months into my HHJ/ 7 months post

Exploring Your Options - Ways to Achieve Straight Hair

I mentioned in this post that I used quite a bit of heat during my vacay to keep my hair straight for the sake of manageability and ease. By 'quite a bit' I mean 3 times! That may or may not seem like a lot to some, but for me it is. This is so because I rarely use heat during the course of a regular month. As a matter of fact I usually go 3 or 4 months without it.

Needless to say, I was very cautious during the process of creating straight hair. That is, I did a protein, used heat protectants, and used low heat with few passes, but that's a whole 'notha post. The point of this one, is to discuss ways to get your hair straight and keep it that way (at least for a while) while using heat.

Vacay Behavior - Hair Edition

  Hey guys,

I'm here to share a few of the hair styles I wore during my winter break. I used quite a bit of heat in these styles (judgement-free zone lol).  I did a full flat iron only once after my relaxer, but I flat-ironed the roots of the roller-set twice subsequent to the full flat iron. It makes my hair more manageable and that's exactly what I needed during my 'time off'. 

I did flat-irons, braid-outs, roller sets and more.I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, but these are a few I captured. Take a peek.

En route to the Philippines (hair pulled up for the ride) 

Turn on the Heat... Again - Indirect Heat Styling

What is it? 

Indirect heat styling involves using tools to create a hairstyle without exposing the strands directly to heat, making it less vulnerable to heat damage. A very popular tool for this is the hooded dryer which is usually accompanied by a wrapping or roller setting. Roller setting is able to produce gorgeous curls, but take it a step further and straight hair is yours. Thus it is a valid alternative to blow drying and/ or flat-ironing. Up until recently, I had not bothered with roller-setting. I did it when I was younger but thought it was somewhat out-dated... boy was I wrong!! When I decided to give it another go, I was pleasantly surprised by the results, and needless to say, it has become a staple in my "enjoy that hair" periods. 

Cautions

Turn on the Heat - Direct Heat Styling

Although low manipulation and protecting styling are integral parts of any regimen, every now and then a girl wants to let her hair down, literally. And while she can do so using braid-outs, twist-outs and the like, she just wants something more. A straighter, silkier, sexier look. ENTER THE BLOW DRYER AND FLAT IRON.These heat styling tools will allow you to go from kinky, coily, curly or wavy to straight in minutes... well, maybe hours.

Cautions: