I’ve gotten a few questions regarding straightening my hair, so here are the answers…

Q. Do you put Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in your hair before the heat protectant or after?

A. I use EVOO before the heat protectant. On freshly washed hair, I apply EVOO (and sometimes a leave in conditioner), then blowdry. 

Q. How much EVOO do you use?

A. I section my hair into 4 quadrants before I blowdry it and I use a little more than a quarter sized amount of EVOO in each quadrant. I pay extra attention to my ends

Q. Do you blowdry then flat iron?

A. Yes, I blowdry my hair first on medium heat, to dry it, not straighten it, then I flat iron. 

Q. When do you apply the heat protectant and EVOO?

A. First, I apply the EVOO to wet hair, then blowdry. I do not apply the heat protectant to blow dry my hair because blow drying on medium isn’t enough heat to cause heat damage to my hair. 

Second, I apply the heat protectant to each small parted section just before I flat iron it. I make sure to smooth it very well over the length of my hair. 

Q. How do you not have heat damage?

A. It probably depends a lot on hair texture and resilience. I know some people can get heat damage just from blow drying their hair. The most important thing is to know your hair and know what it can take. Obviously, everyone can’t do the same things, or even the same way. 

To flat iron, I never use temperatures greater than 350 degrees. I do 2-3 passes per section. I’ve read others say that they set the temperature to 450 degrees and do one pass. I’m pretty sure my hair (and probably yours too) would burn at 450 degrees. I’d rather use a lower temperature setting and pass the flat iron over each section an additional time or two, until I achieve the straightness I desire. 

While I’m flat ironing, I make sure that I don’t see steam or anything coming from the flat iron as I’m passing it through my hair. That would be my indication that the temperature is too high. I cringe when I see videos of hairstylists flat ironing and there’s a ton of steam as they flat iron. 

Just because you think your hair is coarse or extra curly, it doesn’t mean you need more heat to straighten your hair. Your strands could actually be fine and require less heat. 

Tip: It’s better to start at a low temperature and adjust it up accordingly, than to start at a high temperature and unnecessarily burn your hair. 

In addition, always test out the temperature on a small section before continuing to do your entire head. 

Hope this helps! 

XOXO,

Rece

The Autumn/Winter is the perfect time to straighten your hair. Not only is the temperature lower so you probably won’t be sweating, but the humidity is generally lower. Less chance of frizz!

If you’re like me, then you’re nervous about heat damage from straightening your curls. That’s probably one of the biggest fears of a curly girl. For that reason, I almost always straighten it myself (except for one time). I’d be better off knowing that IF my hair got heat damage, I was the one who caused it.

I’ve experimented with a few different ways of straightening my hair. Lately, I’ve been using only a heat protectant before straightening my hair, mainly for the purpose of keeping it light and silky. I noticed that as soon as I straightened my hair, it would expand almost immediately, and it wouldn’t get as straight as it has in the past. I kept wondering why.

Last weekend I decided to use EVOO as well as a heat protectant before straightening my hair (which is what I’ve always done in the past, I don’t know why I switched it up) and the results were great! My hair got straight and didn’t expand just from being left out.

So the answer to your burning question… what heat protectant do I use? …Fantasia IC Heat Protectant Straightening Serum. Love this stuff! I’ve always gotten the best results from it. I even used it when my hair was relaxed

I tried the Chi Heat Protectant, but I always feel like it stays in my hair. I have to wash it a million times for my hair to feel clean and without any residue.

If you do plan to straighten your hair this Winter, remember to practice safe heat use!

XOXO,
Rece