Straightening Hair Professional flat ironing techniques

This section covers tips, products, and tools for straightening hair with a flat iron, not the permanent chemical process.

Find out what you need and how to prepare hair properly before you get at it with the flat iron.

Whether you're after a sleek, shiny veil of hair, or creating extreme and interesting texture, you've got to prepare the hair and use effective products and tools.

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You'll get the best results if your hair is medium to thick. If your hair is already fragile from chemical processing or just baby fine, this process is better avoided.

The plates of a flat iron, like any iron produce intense heat that can cause brittleness, dryness and breakage on even the healthiest hair if overused. You're best to make it an occasional pleasure.

Successfully straightening hair begins long before you plug in the flat iron. As with any hair styling endeavor, knowing your hair is key. If your hair tends to be frizzy, read our advice on combating the frizz!

Helpful Styling Products

A few products in particular add will enhance the results you get by adding shine and smoothing unruly strands.

Conditioning products help protect hair from the excessive heat of the flat iron.

Here's what we recommend, depending on the length of your hair...

BEFORE DRYING

• Leave-In Conditioner
• Anti-Humectant Pomade (great for warding off effects of humidity)

AFTER DRYING

FHI Hot Sauce for heat styling creates a smooth, slick surface for sliding a flat iron through the hair. It also provides a bit of protection from the perils of intense heat. This product should be used once the hair is dry and ready to be styled with the flat iron.

TOOLS

• Paddle Brush with boar bristles for curly, coarse hair
  
  
• Flat, wide cushion brush for medium textured hair
  
  
• Flat iron with wide plates (for longer hair)
  
  
• Mini or slim flat iron for shorter hair (Often called tongs)
  
  
• Hair dryer with direction nozzle
  
  
• Tail comb
  
  
• Large clips (Long hair)

PREPARE THE HAIR

The most important elements for success when straightening curly hair and eliminating frizz are HEAT and TENSION

Make sure the hair is completely dry before you begin.
Water + Heat = Steam
Think humidity... not ideal for smoothing out curls.

Apply your chosen pre-dry product(s) and dry your hair using just your fingers first. Always aim the airflow away from your scalp to prevent tangles and fuzziness caused by roughing up the cuticle.

Once the hair is just slightly damp, anchor the brush into the root of a section of hair, concentrating the air flow from the dryer onto the paddle of the brush and follow through to the ends, moving both the brush and the dryer simultaneously.

Sweep the brush through the hair at different angles, forwards, backwards, up and down, to dry all sides quickly. If you're dealing with tight curl, angle the brush to keep some tension on the hair. You aren't aiming to completely straighten it at this point, just loosening and drying.

What you'll end up with is not a pretty sight at all, but carry on, read our hair straightening techniques.

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