Knowing How to Straighten Hair takes 3 essential tools, patience, experiments with products that work best for your hair and this guide!

With so many products out there promising to deliver pin-straight hair it can be difficult to know which way to take. When I first started I was looking for a way on how to straighten my hair without damaging it.

I will tell you, its a delicate balance between the tools you have and the products you use!

HOW TO pick the right straightener

When it comes to picking a hair straightener there is so much hype on which one you must have. But there are a few things you want to look at before purchasing.

Plate Size

When picking out a straightener you want to keep these things in mind: There are different plate sizes and it can be easy to just grab the biggest one thinking it will work wonders.

2″ plates is best for achieving long sleek hair styles

1 1/2″ is a great option for those that have thick, curly hair

1″ plates will give you the option to create versatile looks. If you want to curl or give you hair waves this will be your best friend and can cut out your curling iron.

Mini plates are super cute and I love to have one when traveling because they are perfect for bangs, or the small hairs on the back of your neck.

Ceramic or Titanium?

I had a hard time picking a hair straightener for this very reason, Ceramic or Titanium.

Ceramic

Ceramic hair straighteners work wonders for those that have fine hair. If you have thin and fine hair keep in mind you can damage your hair easily if you don’t have the right hair straightener. You’ll want to avoid straighteners that have one heat setting.

Instead look for a straightener with multiple heat settings; this will allow you to control the heat. I recommend this for every hair straightener purchase, and luckily nowadays all mostly come with this seating.

With the Ion technology behind it, you can straighten you hair safely and still get straight hair with big shine!

Titanium

Titanium is perfect for those that are looking to tame frizz or have thick and textured hair. The key point behind titanium is it heats up quickly and keeps the heat consistent.

Because these plate heat up quickly and maintain a high temperature, straightening thick hair becomes easier. Titanium delivers high heat and is able to maintain the high heat while straightening your hair.

This is what is needed to help tame frizz and straighten thick hair.

With the High heat you generally can straighten your hair with 1 to 2 strokes.

If you have curly hair, I’m sure you have heard the word tourmaline. Tourmaline straighteners are also great options for those with curly, frizzy hair. They’re highly effective even at a lower temperature helping to prevent an insane amount of damage.

Now On To How To Straighten Hair Perfectly

Step 1: Throughly Wash and Dry Your hair

Make sure your hair is washed and completely dried before running a flat iron through your hair.

Im sure we’ve all heard the importance of Sulfate free shampoos. When you use a shampoo the is loaded with sulfates you’re being really harsh on your hair and your actually drying it out.

The last thing you want to do before you straighten your hair is strip the moisture from it.

To cut down on blowdrying time, use a towel hair wrap to help get most of the water from your hair. After letting your hair sit in the towel you can move to blowdrying.

Trust me, you can cause significant damage even if your hair is damp. you also risk burning the shit out of your scalp when you get close to your roots, its happened to me plenty of times!

To also help on excessive heat I like to blow-dry using a brush and blowdryer. I love to use either my Drybar Doubleshot or Dyson Airwrap to dry my hair because they both have a brush attachment on the dryer its self.

Blowdrying your hair with a brush before straightening is KEY to achieving perfectly straight hair! This not only straightens your hair, it helps detangle and smooth out your hair before running your flat iron through your hair.

Step 2: Section your Hair

When to comes to getting perfectly soft straight hair, its best to section your hair into small sections.

Have you put too much hair in your straighter and when you run the straightener though it, it still looks frizzy?

That can be the result of two things: your sections are too big, or your not using a brush to guide your hair.

We will get into the brush guiding in a moment.

I find it easiest to section my hair starting from the bottom and working my way up to the top of my head.

Pro Tip: If you want your bangs to have more volume, apply a roller to your bangs while you straighten your hair. Here are my Favorite Rollers for Major Volume!

When sectioning your hair, make sure to use a clip to help avoid having to tug on your hair when you’re ready for a new section. This will also speed up the process.

Step 3: Use a Boar Bristle Brush While Straightening your hair

If you have not tried this trick I BEG you to give it a try, you will not be able to live without it. Using a boar bristle brush is going to give you the smoothest, straightest hair.

I remember I read in a magazine log ago that Courtney Cox used a tooth brush to straighten her hair, and that is what gave her super shiny straight hair! Im sure this was only in certain sections, but I started to use a boar bristled brush and the results are amazing.

To get started get your brush and a small section of your hair. Place the brush right next to your scalp.

Now slide the brush down just enough for your flat iron to fit in the space.

Push down on the brush while using your flat iron all the way to the tips of your hair. Try not to rush through the strip of your hair, but also be cautious about not letting it sit for too long.

Repeat this step the entire process until you’ve completed your entire head.

That’s it! It will take a little more time to get use to but once you get it down you won’t be able to stop touching your hair!

Can you Permanently Straighten Your Hair? 

If you’re wondering how you can permanently straighten your hair, I beg you to stay away from it (especially if you’re blessed with curly hair)! 

Permanently straightening sounds nice and feels like it may be the solution to eliminate many bad hair days, but you’re just damaging your hair.

Using chemical treatments like hair relaxing is a form of permanent chemical straightening.

These treatments are not a washout and go about your day type of thing. You will have to wait until your hair grows out, and we all know that it can take time! 

How Do You Straighten Your Hair, So It Stays Straight? 

After straightening our hair, the last thing we want to see is some frizz peaking through. You want to keep a few things in mind when it comes to keeping your hair straight. 

The Weather

it’s best to work with the Weather, not against it! Humidity is not best friends with straight hair, and there is very little you can do to prevent frizz. 

The heat setting on your hair Straightener

If you play around with your hair straighter and mess with the heat settings, you will see a difference when it comes to how straight your hair stays throughout the day. The lower the heat setting, the higher chance you will experience frizz. The higher the heat setting, the less likely you will experience frizz. 

Of course, there are cons to craking the heat setting all the way up on your hair straightener. Using a high heat setting is where you want to have a good quality hair straightener and using a heat protectant. 

Your sections are too big

If you’re aiming to pin-straight hair, you need to follow a technique.

You should avoid grabbing random pieces of hair and work row by row making sure to work in small sections.

Your flat iron won’t be able to straighten a large chunk of hair effectively, and you’ll be applying a lot more heat to your hair because you keep running the straightener over those pieces of hair. 

One last Thing

When you’re finished straightening your hair, this is the perfect time to add your favorite serum.

Apply your serum from midway to the tips of your hair avoiding your scalp.

To get the most out of your freshly straighten hair make sure to wrap your hair at night, dry shampoo is going to be your best friend, and lastly not to leave your hair in hair ties for an extended period of time.

This has been my secret to achieving perfectly straight hair even though I have naturally curly hair!