HOW TO STRAIGHTEN CURLY OR WAVY HAIR

Super-straight, glossy hair never goes out of style. If you’re looking to make a change for a big event or party and you want the latest glass hair look, here’s how to get the pin straight look at home.

A word of warning - if your hair’s naturally curly or wavy and you’re planning on adopting straight hair long-term, straight hair is more prone to split ends, so you’ll need to take extra care of your locks. It’s best to get your hair trimmed every 4 - 6 weeks to prevent split ends, remove any damaged hair and keep your straight hair healthy and beautiful. Work in our Miraculous Recovery Repairing Tropical Oil to your routine to keep hair in tip-top condition when using heat to style.

How to prepare hair for straightening

The secret to sleek, shiny straight hair begins with a great prepping routine. Start with using our Flawlessly Straight Shampoo and Flawlessly Straight Conditioner, as these smoothing products will prepare your strands for straightening.

If your hair’s prone to frizz, use our Brazilian Sleek Shampoo and Brazilian Sleek Conditioner to hydrate your hair and provide a natural defence against frizz. Dry, frizzy hair never responds well to straightening - use a soft brush or wide-toothed comb to work the conditioner through your lengths, and rinse with lukewarm water.

Dry gently with a microfibre towel or an old cotton t-shirt - rubbing briskly will only enhance your natural curls.

8 easy steps to perfectly-straight hair

• Spritz freshly-washed, damp hair with our 3 Day Straight Straightening Spray, which protects against heat damage and lets you enjoy straight styles for up to
  three days
• Gently use a boar bristle brush to detangle your hair and smooth the heat protectant along your strands. Nylon or plastic-bristle brushes can create static, and boar bristle helps to smooth and polish
• Blow-dry your hair until it’s about 80% dry, using a diffuser
• Air-dry your hair until it’s bone dry - you should only straighten dry hair. Wet and damp hair is more fragile, and exposing it to extreme temperatures can cause it to scorch
• Separate your hair into sections
• Now it’s time to straighten. Take sections of your hair and hold taut whilst gliding the straightener along your lengths from root to tip
• Repeat until all sections are poker straight - and watch your straightener’s temperature. Coarse, curly hair can tolerate extreme heat better than fine hair - if you have thin hair, keep your straighteners at around 300 - 350°C
• When you’re done, smooth hair serum through your mid-lengths and ends to seal in moisture and prevent frizz, and finish the look with hairspray where needed

How to blow-dry hair straight

A fresh, super-straight blow dry isn’t just available at your salon - here’s how to get the look at home.

• Start with damp, freshly-washed hair which is around 80% dry. Spritz a heat protectant spray evenly through your hair before sectioning it into small parts, pinning 80% of your sectioned hair up with a clip
• Blow-dry each section one by one, removing them from the clip as you go. Blow-dry in a downwards motion using a round head bristle brush, constantly rolling the brush so the hair is tucked downwards. Go anti-clockwise for the left side of your head, and clockwise for the right
• Repeat this on all sections, removing each tied-back section from the clip one by one
• Apply your smoothing product of choice to minimise frizz and keep your hair sleek - if you think a serum might be too heavy for your hair, try our lightweight smoothing cream to fight frizz without weighing your hair down

How to straighten your hair without using heat

Feeling the straight hair look but with less heat? Try these easy and heatless hair techniques to straighten your hair without a straightener.

• Start with clean, damp hair and spritz on Frizz Ease Daily Miracle Leave-In Conditioner, which protects against heat damage and detangles hair
• Blow dry your hair using cold air after letting your hair dry naturally, until it’s around 75% dry. Divide your hair into sections and blow dry as you normally would, but using your haidryer’s lowest setting. Keep your hairdryer moving continuously from root to tip, and use a rounded brush to smooth any frizz
• Wrap your hair using 3-inch bobby pins and a satin ‘hair wrapping’ scarf or turban. To wrap your hair, separate the top part of your hair (1-2 inches either side of your parting) and comb it flat. Holding the hair taut, bring each section over to the other side of your head - effectively creating a ‘combover’ - and pin taut. Repeat for each section of your hair

Can I straighten my hair every day?

We wouldn’t recommend that you straighten your hair every day as it can cause breakage, heat damage, and dehydrate your strands. Ideally, you should only be straightening freshly-washed, heat-protected hair 2 to 3 times a week.

Can I permanently straighten my hair?

You can - there’s a technique hairdressers use called permanent hair straightening, which is a chemical treatment for curly or wavy hair. The treatment alters the texture of naturally curly hair and encourages it to lose its curl and lie flat. The results can last for several months, until new hair grows in to replace the hair that was treated. As the chemical solution works by releasing your hair’s natural curl, hair breakage can be a common side-effect.