Natural Hair "How To"

tips for straightening natural black hair

I can give you tips for straightening natural black hair from permanent to temporary. Natural black hair is very fragile, first tip, be careful when you are straightening it. If you are looking for more manageable hair, you might be interested in straightening your hair.  Natural black hair has a texture and a pattern to it.  This generally means that your hair will be curly and coarse.  It can be hard to handle, especially on humid days, when it can become frizzy.  In order to keep the frizz out of your hair, you can use various methods to straighten your hair.  However, no matter what method you use, you need to be careful to keep your hair healthy.  The more chemicals and heat you apply to your hair the more damaged and difficult to manage it will be in the long run.  Here are some tips for straightening natural black hair.

First of all, you can straighten your hair with chemical.  You can either do a permanent relaxer or a permanent texturizer.   With the former option you are applying a lot of harsh chemicals to your hair to change its composition from naturally curly to straight.  If you opt for this you will see a dramatic change in your hair immediately.  The change will also be permanent.  You will have to grow your hair out in order to get it back to its natural condition.  Texturizer works about the same way, but without such dramatic results.  When you go through your growing out transition period it will be easier to mask the line between new and old grow.  However, the best tip for straightening your hair with chemicals is simply: don’t do it.  It is hard on your hair and not natural.

If you do want to have straight or less curly hair on a semi-regular basis, you can use heat to straighten your hair.  For instance, you can add just a dash of gel to your hair and straighten it with a flat iron or a heat comb.  Here, you should really be thinking about manageability rather than complete straightness.  After all, you were born with naturally beautiful hair, so why not let that beauty show?  If you are opting for heat, keep the temperature down low.  That way you won’t run the risk of burning your hair.  Also, make sure that if you are using heat that you apply oil to your hair every night before you go to bed and wrap your hair up in a scarf.  This will keep your hair healthier overall and make it more receptive to styling in the future.  These are just a few tips for straightening natural black hair.



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About the author

thirsty roots®

Our goal is to share the beauty of Afro-textured hair and to have a place where we can come together to get examples, advice, and information of black hair growth and hairstyles. Whether you have permed, pressed, or natural hair it's still black hair and it's beautiful.

4 Comments

  • So, I flat ironed my natural hair because I was looking for a change. Don’t do this unless you are really serious about straightening your hair because I damaged my natural hair and ended up starting all over trying to get the natural hair back to its original health and beauty. Beware of heat with natural hair. Heat is a destroyer of natural hair and I know for myself. Ultimately, I ended up cutting half of my lenth off (it had grown to my shoulders) to compensate for the damage and my ends in a few spots are as slick as oil and will not curl naturally (because of the flat iron, I am positive). I have slowly snipped those ends off a few a week and can see the results of the natural hair coming through already. If you are committed to being or going natural, leave the heat alone. It is the enemy of natural hair.

  • I too am at my 13th week of growing my perm off so that I can join the wave of natural hair. My hair began shedding 2 weeks ago very badly and I awoke to the realization Sunday that my hair has come out alot. I too had grown my hair past my shoulders- the longest its ever been- and apparently due to flat irons, I have no choice but to resort back to my bob and get it cut off. I am not in to braids, which in the past locked my hair quickly and caused it to easily mat and be dry once taken out. I an definately not in to the afro either. I don’t have naturally curley hair, I have fine hair and this has caused me to think twice about going natural. smh. What to do.

  • Natasha, I understand your pain. I am not an arfo fan nor does my hair like wash and go’s. Do you moisturize your hair while its braided? I have to remember to moisturize my hair when in braids since you dont have to do anything with it just get up and go. Its easy to forget. I spritz it with a water and coconut oil mix. And when taking out your hair I suggest oiling your fingers with your favorite oil this helps moisture your hair and keeps it soft. When taking out my braids I do it in sections detangle it and put it in a big twist or plait. I have learned thru youtube how to two strand flat twist my hair or just twist my hair and use flexi rods to give it some curls and body. Also if you are into weaves my sister transitions by doing sew-in and weave caps. Youtube channels that I like are mahoganyknots, simplyunique, and mahoganycurls. Hope this helps. Good luck!

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