Straightening brushes should be an essential tool for all hair conscious women. The fact that you can use these brushes at home and get salon-quality results is what you make them popular. But you must get a brush that is suitable for your hair type for an amazing experience. In this guide, we have put together all the best types of brushes in the market for you:

According to the Literal Shapes of the Brushes

When it comes to shapes, there are two main types of straightening brushes that you can select from. They include:

Regular Brush Shaped

These straightening brushes can be confused with the typical brushes. They have the same shape as the regular brushes, and you straighten your hair just way you do with the typical brushes. The only difference is these brushes have temperature settings and heating facility that produces salon-level results. However, you cannot use these brushes like a flat iron. So, you will need to brush a portion several times to straighten your hair. But these handy brushes are pocket friendly and good for starters.

Flat Iron Shaped Brushes

As the name suggests, these straightening brushes resemble flat iron. Just like the flat iron, they are designed with two plates. To straighten your hair, you have to put a portion of it between the plates and press them as you move down slowly. Unlike the regular brush shaped straightening brush, this version is fast since you don’t need to brush a portion several times straighten your hair. They are a bit expensive, but the cost is worth it.

Depending on Hair Types and Lengths

The length of the hair is a crucial factor when buying straightening brushes.

Whether you have medium, short or long hair, you need you a brush that is designed for your hair type. There two main basic shapes you can select from- handy or big brushes. Handy brushes work for short and medium hair while the latter work long hair. There are two main options for two brushes that you can select from:

Circular or Round Straightening Brush

These brushes are circular with bristles all around the straightening brushes. They work well for people with long hair. Due to their circular shape, they have a larger surface area compared to flat brushes. This means they can cover larger hair portions, hence quick straightening for people with long hair. If you have short or medium hair, these are not the kind of brushes for you.

Flat Brush or Paddle Straightening Brush

These brushes are smaller in size and smaller in surface area compared to the round-shaped brushes. They are, therefore, perfect for short and medium hair lengths. They can also be used by people with long hair but will take a longer time to finish straightening their hair. But if you want to straighten smaller portions of your long hair, you can go ahead and buy these brushes.

According to The Bristles

The choice of the bristles can determine the experience and quality of hair straightening. There are three main types of straightening brushes based on the bristle types:

Boar bristles

Boar bristles are the most common of the three types of bristles in the market. They are very popular with hair experts because of their versatility in use. With these straightening brushes, you can run them on various hair textures and still produce salon level results at home. Boar bristles also help to increase blood flow in your due to its massage effect. That’s how they boost hair growth and overall health of hair.

Ball-tipped Bristles

One of the major reasons why ball-tipped bristles straightening brushes are popular is lack of tangling. Nothing can be frustrating while straightening at home than tangling and hitching of the hair. To avoid this problem, you need this brush. In addition to straightening hair, the brush has a massage effect, which improves blood flow in the scalp for healthy hair. However, these brushes may not work for people with thick hair.

Nylon Bristles

Nylon bristles are highly recommended for people with highly sensitive scalp and those with thick hair. Because of the soft natures of heated nylon, it will not hurt your sensitive skin. For

those with thick hair, the nylon bristles can penetrate easily into your hair and straighten it nicely. However, you might find these bristles a little stiffer than the other two.

According to Plate Materials

There are various materials with each them offering different hair straightening experience. So, you need to be cautious when buying to get what works for your hair:

Ceramic and Ionic Straightening brushes

Ceramic and ionic hair brushes are increasingly growing popular with hair conscious women. They are extremely safe, making them perfect for thin and fragile hair types. The most widely used ionic material is tourmaline. The ceramic hair straightener plates boost the heating of the brush, while the ionic plate releases the negative ions that make your hair silky and smooth. Therefore, ionic and ceramic brushes quicken the process of straightening and produce sleek, shiny straightened hair.

Titanium & Nano Titanium Straightening Brushes

Brushes with these materials not only heat up quickly but produce very high temperature enough to straighten very thick and kinky hair. So, if you have thin or fragile hair, these brushes can damage your hair. Don’t use these brushes on kids.

Due to the different hair types and sizes, straightening brush companies are designing tools that suit the market’s needs, including flat irons and straightening brushes. The basic thing before buying a straightening brush is to know your hair type. Is it soft or thick, coarse, long or short? These are the questions that will help you get an ideal hairbrush straightener for your hair.

But how you clean your hair straightening brush is the most important thing. For proper cleaning, you need to follow a process that guarantees your safety and that of the brush. In this guide, we have put together 7 steps that will enable you to clean your hairbrush straightener like a pro:

1. Remove Strands the Right Way

The first steps should be getting hair strands off the brush bristles. When the strands accumulate in the brush, they make it hard to straighten your hair since they absorb most of the heat. All the hair that breaks when straightening usually gets tangled between the bristles of your hairbrush straightener. Getting rid of these strands can be a bit tough, depending on the kind of hair it has been straightening. But you can make it easy by using the right tools.

Make sure that brush is unplugged and cooled. Then hold the brush in one hand firmly and pull up the strands carefully using a closed scissor or a rat tail comb. Make sure that you are avoiding breaking the bristles. Ensure that most of the strands have been removed before processing to the next stage.

2. Blow Dry the Brush

The second step is blow drying the straightening brush after you have removed most of the strands. Hair strands are not the only thing that sticks to the bristles. There are also dust, dirt, and build-up from hair styling products that may not be removed using the scissors and other tools. You can easily remove these things by blowing them away with your blow dryer. This step is very crucial, especially for a brush that has not been cleaned for a long time.

For you to blow dry your straightening brush properly, plug in your blow dryer and set it at medium speed. The mistake some people make is setting maximum speed. When the speed is too high, the blow dryer may generate a lot of heat, and this could damage the brush. With medium speed, you will give your straightening brush’s bristles a proper blow-dry that to remove build-up.

3. Use a Brush

Blow drying will not remove all debris and strands in the straightening brush. So, you need to find another more effective method to remove the small debris and dirt still attached to the plates and bristles. A brush that contains thin bristles is the best tool to handle this step. The thin bristles work perfectly in collecting most of the remaining hair strands and small debris in the brush. They are also harmless and will not cause scratching of the brush.

However, do not use a toothbrush for cleaning. Their bristles are usually hard, and they can cause scratches. If you have a pipe cleaner or dental floss, they have the perfect bristles for this cleaning. Ensure that you have all the spaces between bristles are cleaned thoroughly.

4. Clean With a Soft Cloth

The brush will remove most of the small strands and debris the blow dryer couldn’t. However, it will not remove most of the tough build-ups and residues of hair styling products on the brush. What you need to clean off such build-up and residue is a small, soft microfibre cloth. The cloth will remove most of the residue still stuck on the bristles and the plates.

Dampen the cloth in lukewarm water so that the small rise in temperature can melt dirt build-up and hair treatment residues. Then wipe the brush properly with the cloth. While wiping, you can keep dampening the soft microfibre cloth in warm water. This will help to maintain a temperature needed to melt build-ups and residues.

5. Use Wet Tissues with Cotton Buds

This step is necessary for the cleaning of the plates. What you need is a wet tissue and cotton bud to clean the plates. The cotton bud helps you to reach the plates through bristles, something that tools in previous steps couldn’t. The facial tissue enables you to scrub your plates without caused scratches.

Start with dampening the tissue in lukewarm water for a little while. The warm water helps to melt build-ups and residues still attached to the plates. Then wrap the wet tissue around a cotton bud and gently clean the spaces between the bristles. You should see the straightening brush plates start gaining their original form.

6. Use Cleaning Solutions

Cleaning solutions are simply chemicals that help to clean off the remaining build-ups and residues from hair styling products. Even with the use of brushes, wet clothes, and cotton buds, you cannot get rid of all the dirt on. However, you need to choose the cleaning solution carefully because some can damage your brush.

Mild cleaning solutions such as rubbing alcohol, liquid Castile soaps, and clarifying shampoos are recommended options. You only need to mix a drop or two drops of cleaning solution with lukewarm water. Then dip a cotton bud or small fibre cloth on the solution and wipe the brush. Do not use the cleaning solution frequently because it can damage the brush. Use it only when the brush has not been cleaned for a long time.

7. Let the Brush Dry

Now that you’re finished cleaning the straightening brush, you need to dry off the cleaning solution. You can use your blow dryer to dry it if you want to straighten hair with it immediately. But if not in a hurry, sun-dry it. If possible, don’t use the brush that day.

If your hair straightening brush has become ineffective because of the dirt, strands, and residues from hair styling products, use these steps to clean to restore it. By cleaning your brush regularly, you will find the process very simple, and you might avoid some steps, such as step 6, most of the time. Need more tips on using your straightening brush? See this article.

Both hair straightening brushes and flat iron apply heat to style your hair. Therefore, both can damage your hair if you forget to set the right temperature or get the settings wrong. In this guide, we are going to help you pick the right hair styling tool between the two products. Here are the main things you need to consider:

Hair Styling

When it comes to hairstyling, the flat iron becomes the ultimate winner. These tools are incredibly amazing in many ways. First, you have plenty of styling options you can create with a flat. Whether you want a wavy, curly or straight hairstyle, then a flat iron would be the perfect tool for you. In addition to that, the advanced technology by flat iron companies makes it possible to have long-lasting styling results and lesser damage to the hair.

But with the straightening brushes, you have limited hairstyling options to select from. As the name suggests, these hair straightener hot brushes are purposely designed for hair straightening. If you want to keep straight hair, then this would be the perfect tool for you. But if you would like to change to several styling, then a hairbrush straightener is definitely not the styling tool to buy. Therefore, for hairstyling, flat iron the best tool.

Hair Damage

Hair damage is one of the biggest problems with styling tools. That’s why it is highly recommended that you avoid styling your hair daily. Both the straightening brush and the flat iron will damage your hair, but the latter is the most destructive. It is one of the styling tools that will significantly lessen the volume of your hair after using it for a while.

Unlike the straightening brush, the flat iron applies heat directly to the hair. Therefore, when used excessively or carelessly, it may cause permanent damage to the hair. Excessive use of the flat iron may also cause scalp dryness, which in turn would make it impossible for new hair to grow. So, you can easily become bald.

Hair straightening brushes are less damaging to your hair. These brushes do not heat the hair directly but use a mechanical action through a rotation mechanism. They do not have hot spots, which the most damaging to the hair. In addition to that, you can also use it for damp hair without damaging it. However, you must also observe the safety measures and use the brush properly. Set the right temperature for your hair

Hair Type

When it comes to selecting the styling tools that work for all hair types, then flat iron hair straightener is the best option. Whether you have a very thick, thin, frizzy, coarse or kinky hair, the flat iron is suitable for all hair types. These tools use high temperature to style your hair and heats directly by clamping the strands tightly between two heated plates. Although irons can be used for straightening thin and frizzy hair, they can cause a lot of damages.

But if you have thin and frizzy hair, then a straightening brush would be the ideal styling tool for you. These tools will protect your hair from direct contact with the heated plates. They do not use very high temperature to straighten the hair as it is with the flat iron. However, the brushes cannot work on very thick and kinky hair types. That’s the main limitation that makes inferior to the flat iron.

Ease of Use

The other factor that you need to consider when choosing between flat iron and hairbrush straighteners is the ease of use features. If you want to style your hair fast, which the best tool to use? If you are straightening hair for the first time, which is the best tool for you?

When it comes to the ease of use features, the flat iron is the best tool. If you buy ceramic and tourmaline flat irons, these plates heats very fast. In just a short time, the iron will be hot enough to handle even the thickest hair.

On the other hand, the straightening brush may heat faster but do not produce very high temperatures like the flat iron. Therefore, they will take a longer time to straighten your hair. In addition to that, brushes cannot handle thick or coarse hair types. So, when it comes to ease of use, go for a flat iron.

Heating Time & Efficiency

When it comes to heating time and efficiency, the Dafni hair straightening brush is the winner, for example. See our review for all the reasons why we recommend the Dafni. A flat iron on the other hand, takes a longer time to reach the desired temperature. The plates of the tools are generally narrow, and this means a smaller surface area compared to brushes. You might need to wait for 10 minutes for plates to get heated unless you are using ceramic and ionic technology. This means it will take you longer to straighten your hair, especially when styling thick or long hair.

With the flat iron, you will need to wash the hair, dry, and wear a heat protectant before you can start with the styling. You also need to put your hair in small sections and straighten each of the sections individually. A straightening brush heats up quicker than a flat iron. So, you don’t have to wait for minutes for the brush to reach the desired temperature. With styling brushes, you can work on damp hair without. Therefore, it will take you less time to style your hair with these tools.

If you have been torn between the flat iron and the straightening brush, now you have an idea of what’s convenient for you. The most important thing to know is your hair type, and then you will be able to get the best styling tool for your hair. Whichever tool you choose, ensure that you are getting the best quality in the market. Looking for help on how to clean your straightening brush? Click here for the perfect how-to guide.

Hairbrush straighteners are very simple to use once you perfect the straightening skills. You will not only produce salon level results but also save the time you use to straighten your hair. In this guide, we are taking you through the best steps on how to use a hair straightening brush to produce sleek, smooth and shiny hair.

Prepare Your Hair

The first and most important thing is to prepare your hair. Before you start with straightening, ensure that your hair is thoroughly cleaned. So, take a shower and use the recommended products for your hair type. There are many shampoos for your hair type to select from.

Washing hair before straightening helps to remove residues of hair styling products you used earlier. You will also be able to remove dust, dirt and debris that you could have collected since the last shower. It has also been proven that washing your hair before styling helps to make your hair stay fashionable for longer.

Protection is a Must

Once you have washed your hair, you need to wear heat protection. As mentioned earlier, a hairbrush straightener uses heat, and this means you need to protect your hair from heat damages. That’s why you should get the recommended heat protectant before using the brush. The heat protector could be in the form of spray, oil or serum. These products give your hair thermal strength to withstand the heat produced by the straightening brush.

The application of the heat protector must be done properly to protect your hair. For proper application, apply the protectant in your hands, if it’s oil or serum, and then use your fingers to spread it through your hair. For the sprays, apply it directly to the hair and used fingers to spread it in the hair. Make sure the ends are well applied with heat protectant as they are the most fragile.

Thoroughly Dry Your Hair

With the heat protectant applied, the next step is drying your hair. You cannot straighten a soaking wet hair since the hairbrush straightener temperature might damage it. There are two effective ways that you can dry your hair. One of the quickest methods is using the blow dryer. Set the blow dryer at medium speed and blow the hair out to dry it. Remember to attach a comb to the dryer to avoid detangling the hair when blow-drying.

If you have time or don’t have a blow dryer, wrap the hair with a towel for about 10 minutes. Wrap the hair with a microfiber towel and not cotton as the latter can cause hair breakage.

Section Up Your Hair

To ensure proper, fast and effective hair straightening, section up the hair. The number of sections that you make will depend on the type of hair. If you have a slightly curly or wavy hair, then you can have just a few sections. But if you have the thicker hair types, you will need to a larger number of sections for effective straightening.

The best way to section up your hair is by dividing it into three main section- right, left and back. Then you can have each of the three sub-divided into several sections depending on your hair type. This is a tip that will enable faster straightening of the hair faster.

Set the Right Temperature

With the hair dry and sectioned up, the next thing is getting the hairbrush straightener ready. Setting the tool’s temperature is the most important thing in this step. Depending on the brand and model of the straightening brush types you are using and the hair type, you need to get temperature settings right.

If you are using these brushes for the first, the ‘plus’ and ‘minus’ buttons provide the temperature control. If you have fragile hair, you need to work with the most minimal temperature and expand as you monitor the straightening. But for thicker, tangled and kinky hairs, you need a higher brush temperature for proper straighten.

Start Brushing

To do proper straightening of your hair, you need to brush systematically. Be guided by the sections that you made earlier. Hold the pack in one hand and place the straightener brush at the roots of the hair. The trick is to have little hair packs at a time for effective straightening.

If you cannot see bristle tips through the hair pack, then you have a huge bunch of hair, and this will make the brushing ineffective. You should also brush through the hair at a medium speed to ensure proper heating of the hair. TIP: Starting from the back always work magic.

Set Your Style

Now that you have finished straightening all sections and the hair looks great, it’s time to set your hairstyle. But first, switch off the brush and give it a minute or two to cool down. Then set your favourite hairstyle or a style that compliments your outfit using the straightening brush. There are plenty of styles you can choose from.

After setting a new hairstyle, treat your hair with products that will ensure your style will stay for a longer time. Sometimes, there are heat protectant sprays that can also be used for hair treatment after styling.

Hold the Style Longer

Our last tip on how to use a hair straightening brush is holding your style for longer. Although hair straightening makes you look nice, it can also damage your hair if done daily. So, you need to find a way that you can maintain the style longer to keep healthy hair.

The best way is to avoid washing the hair every day but after several days. In case you notice that your hair is springing back without washing, just do a quick touch up at a lower temperature to maintain the style for longer.

These are the best tips on how to use a hair straightening brush. However, you need to use a quality brush for a better experience. Ceramic and ionic brushes with nylon bristles are the most recommend as they produce sleek, smooth and shiny hair. The nylon bristles do not hurt your scalp or break the hair.

Where to Buy the Best Hair Straightener?

As with so many products, when you buy a flat iron, your two options are to go into a store or to buy a straightener online. A store can be nice when you’re looking for advice and recommendations from a salesperson but do remember that they’re going to try and sell you the most expensive product they have. It might not actually be the best option for your needs. They also don’t give you much time to compare hair straighteners and will never give you advice on other stores if you ask where to buy hair straighteners. And they will never actually explain how to choose a hair straightener yourself.

When you shop online, you have all the same choices as in a store, plus the extra convenience of not having to leave your house. You also have much more time to check out flat iron prices and find the best straightener to buy without the pressure of making a purchase immediately.

If you’re looking online for where to buy a hair straightener, check both the manufacturer’s website as well as any beauty-type store sites. These tend to have straight to the point prices and give you the chance to compare flat iron prices while looking for the best flat iron to buy.

When you finally decide to buy a straightener, don’t just buy it immediately, even though it might be tempting. Websites tend to have sales, which can give you a significant discount off of top styler prices, allowing you to stretch your budget a little bit further.

Just a quick word of warning — when you’re looking for sites where to buy hair straightners and the straightener price looks too good, this deal may be misleading. Many sites sell knock-off hair straighteners that may seem similar to top brand-name models but are far inferior and are more likely to damage your hair.

What is the Best Flat Iron Hair Straightener?

Before we dive into our top pick for flat irons, we should probably talk about what is a good flat iron and how you can tell the good ones from the bad. The first step should always be to research the brand. Some brands, like CHI and GHD, are well known over the world, and you usually won’t go wrong with their products. They typically come top in ‘What’s the Best Flat Iron?’ lists and are recommended by both salons and DIY stylists.

But you didn’t come here for us not to tell you what are the best flat irons, you want recommendations. So without further ado, our top pick for what is the best flat iron to buy is the GHD V Gold Max Hair Styler.

What makes the GHD V Gold Max Styler special is the extra-wide plates combined with titanium and gold technology. The gold titanium plates are excellent at heating up and retaining that heat, while the gold allows the plates to glide effortlessly even through extremely thick or curly hair. Unlike ceramic plates that can take up to a minute to heat up, the GHD V Gold Max Styler is ready to rumble in less than 30 seconds.

Because of the wide plates, hair takes much quicker to straighten than before. Even people with fine hair can benefit from wide plates because the plates can hold double the hair of a thinner plate. The only drawback of wider plates is that it’s harder to make curls and you can only really make gentle waves. If you have shorter hair and want curls, you may need to invest in a curler.

How Much Does a Flat Iron Hair Straightener Cost?

When shopping, the most common question tends to be, ‘How much does a flat iron cost?’ And the answer is, of course, it depends. Prices can vary greatly between brands and even between models of the same brand.

A good hair straightener doesn’t have to be the most expensive straightener on the market. There are plenty of high-quality flat irons in the $100 – $300 range. Some of the highest rated hair straighteners actually fall within this range, so you don’t need to break the budget to get good quality hair straighteners that will still give you high-end hair straightener results.

But if money is no object and you want a tool that will last you for years and protect your hair while you style, there are $300 hair straighteners on the market just for you.

Most Expensive Hair Straightener

When deciding how to choose a flat iron, price, unfortunately, does play a role for most of us. While it’s tempting to stick to the average straightener, some people would rather view their tool as an investment that can help protect their hair.

The GHD Platinum+ is over $300, which is a hair-raising amount for most of us. However, the price does take into account the fact that this is a high-quality hair straightener that features some of the most innovative technology on the market.

It’s fitted with SMART technology that adapts the amount of power to the hair straightener as it goes over your hair. This means that it maintains a constant temperature regardless of how thick your hair is or how fast you’re styling. Having a constant temperature means you’re less likely to harm your hair with excessive heat.

The GHD Platinum+ protects your hair while you style it. Heat is usually very damaging to hair, so investing in a product that not only saves you time but also nourishes your hair will save you money in the long run.

Best Cheap Hair Straightener

While the more expensive hair straighteners do more for you in the long run, there are still plenty of good, cheap flat irons out there. If you do your research to find the best cheap hair straightener, you can easily find a good deal on a tool that will do the job until you can save up for something fancier. You’ll be surprised how many cheap straighteners have premium features.

You can keep an eye out for hair straighteners sales and get a good cheap hair straightener to use in the meanwhile. Two products stand out as the best inexpensive hair straighteners on the market currently: the GHD Original IV Styler and the Silver Bullet Keratin.

The GHD IV Styler (See Full Review Here) is under $200 and is still one of the best cheap straighteners on the market. It uses floating ceramic plates to protect your hair while you style and has an automatic sleep mode in case you’re the forgetful type. It does take a while to heat up though and is limited to 185°C, which may be too cool for thick hair. It is still one of the best affordable flat irons you can buy, particularly if you’ve got finer hair.

The Silver Bullet Keratin hair straightener offers the benefits of more expensive models since it’s designed to be used with keratin treatments. Keratin treatments help repair damaged hair and protect your hair during the styling process. This means that you can get one of the best inexpensive flat irons on the market and it comes with premium features such as gold-plated titanium plates.

Best Quality Hair Straightener

Salon professionals know which stylers are the best in their class, and many of them recommend GHD stylers. Spending that bit extra on a high-quality hair straightener means that you save money in the long run and you can be assured of the quality of your product.

When you buy a salon professional hair styler from GHD, you’re investing in a brand with a known track record for quality products designed to meet every individual’s particular styling needs. They have straighteners for all types of hair, so you’re certain to find something that meets your goals.

Conclusion

When shopping around for a hair straightener, you’ve got to keep in mind both your budget and your needs. Even if you’re on a budget, it’s not smart to buy no-name products in the hopes of saving money. The best affordable hair straighteners are made by reputable brands like GHD and Silver Bullet. They may cost more than some other flat irons, but you can be assured of a quality build and manufacturer’s warranty on all GHD products.

If budget is not a concern, then it’s worthwhile investing in a higher quality product. Not only do you get a longer warranty, but more expensive hair straighteners tend to have the latest technology and are more likely to protect your hair, saving you time and hassle in the long run. On a mission to improve your hair – see our hair library here

From knowing what you need to do before styling your hair to straightening it in a way that is both effective and safe, it can seem like there are several factors to remember if you’re relatively new to the process. It can even be challenging to choose the right flat iron. Fortunately, we have compiled all the most essential tips and common questions to help you get the most out of straightening your hair.

Ready to learn how to flat iron your hair like a pro? Read on, because now we’ll share some tips on hair straightening.

Straighten Your Hair Perfectly

Have you ever wondered how to straighten your hair perfectly? Ever wished you could style your hair to look like you just walked out of your favourite salon? Are you unfamiliar with how to use a straightener at all? You’re in luck; with a little practice and the right tools, you’ll be able to master how to get super straight hair with a flat iron. Not only will these tips allow you to look great, but by observing them, you’ll be able to keep your hair safe and healthy while styling.

The first thing you’ll need to do is to get the best professional hair straightener for your hair type. Although it may be tempting to go for a cheaper flat iron, it’s essential to remember that not all hair straighteners are created equal. By investing in a better-quality tool, you invest in what it can do for your appearance as well as the well-being of your hair.

One fundamental point to always keep in mind is that you should never have to compromise the health of your hair to get the results you want. If you feel that your hair is becoming dried out or damaged due to regular straightening, be sure to consult a trusted hair-care professional to see what the cause might be.

Straighten Hair Quickly

Knowing how to press hair with a flat iron means knowing how to do it quickly and correctly if you’re in a rush. For those of us with limited time to get ready in the morning, it can be a struggle to make your hair look fantastic and get out the door on time. It’s normal to feel that it’s you against the clock in the morning. One of the most common questions people ask is, “How can you straighten your hair quickly?” With the right preparation, you can style your hair quickly and efficiently, and make it to work on time.

One widespread misconception is that you must trade safety for speed when trying to straighten your hair in record time. While there are some shortcuts that you can take, you don’t necessarily have to compromise the well-being of your hair to get out of the house as quickly as possible when you’re in a hurry. Time is precious, but there are a few things you can do to win a few extra minutes during your morning routine while still avoiding heat damage from your straightener.

For instance, cleaner hair can be straightened much faster and easier than unwashed hair, so be sure to shampoo, condition, and brush regularly. When your hair is soft and smooth, the flat iron can do its job speedily so you can move onto other tasks. While this does involve a bit of preparation the night before, it will inevitably save you precious minutes the following morning.

If you have very thin hair, you may even consider putting it into a low ponytail and straightening through the length of it in one swoop. After that, you can undo the ponytail and finish off the sides and any other part that was missed. This saves you the trouble of dividing your hair into different sections, which is typical for people whose hair is moderately or very thick.

If you do have thicker hair, you may want to consider a straightener that heats up quickly and has wider plates, which can straighten more hair at a given time. You’ll also want to divide your hair into separate sections to ensure that you straighten all of it evenly without applying heat to certain parts more than once.

Also, always be sure to hold your hair taut while straightening to speed up the process, and that you straighten all your hair evenly, regardless of what your preferred strategy is for dividing it into sections. This seems like an extra step, but it allows you to work through your hair more efficiently since you’ll avoid going through any given strand of hair multiple times.

Permanently Straighten Hair at Home

If you don’t have time each day to straighten your hair using a flat iron, you may be wondering, “Can you permanently straighten your hair at home?” Absolutely! There are keratin hair treatments that you can apply using a special keratin hair straightener to offer a more long-term solution for your smooth hair.

The way this works is that the keratin solution will be absorbed into your hair and sealed using the flat-iron. The appearance of increased shine, fullness, and sleekness can last from a couple of weeks up to a few months, depending on your hair and the product you use. Keratin hair straightening can be a huge game-changer once you find a product that works well for you.

A quick tip: be sure to do your homework when it comes to opting for treatments like this, as they don’t require approval from any authority. It’s essential to be aware of what kind of products you’re using on your own. Many products on the market contain formaldehyde as the active ingredient for smooth hair, but there are also plenty of formaldehyde-free options available. We’ve covered some homemade hair straightener recipes before, while not permanent they do the job if you’re budget conscious or the shops are closed!

Is Straightening Your Hair Every Day Bad?

If you don’t know how to safely style your hair with a flat iron, straightening your hair every day can be harmful. However, the way that you prepare your hair and go through the process will make all the difference. On one hand, the heat from your straightener does have the potential to damage your hair if you’re not careful in the process. On the other hand, knowing how to perfectly flat iron your hair and treat it against heat damage can keep you looking great without causing any problems for your hair.

The first thing to keep in mind is that so many straighteners on the market today have heat settings that get way hotter than what many people need to make their hair look great. If you have relatively thin to moderately-thin hair, the temperature you use is especially important, as your minimum heat setting should be lower than that of somebody with thicker hair.

Next, ensure that your hair is mostly dry before you begin straightening. The temperature at which permanent damage can occur to your hair’s fibres will be lower when your hair is wet, and you don’t want to risk breaking down your hair when it can be avoided. Wet hair is also not ideal for styling conditions, so you’ll be doing yourself a favour in that department as well.

By being aware of the risks of exposing your hair to a flat iron that is too hot, you’ll avoid a lot of unnecessary damage and keep your locks soft and healthy. Test out different heat settings to find the lowest one that effectively works for you and remember always to straighten your hair only when it’s dry.

Keep Hair Straight after Straightening

Once you’ve straightened your hair the way you like it, the next task is to ensure that your time and effort don’t go to waste. How should you sleep with straightened hair? What steps do you need to take to ensure that it still looks great when you wake up? Let’s look at a couple of conventional methods for maintaining straight hair overnight.

Option 1: Using a headscarf — Luckily, you can achieve the results you want in a few simple steps. First off, you’ll need a head-wrapping scarf for your hair. We recommend one made of a material that minimises friction, such as satin or silk. This will lessen next-day frizz and ensure that you don’t have to tend to your hair much. These scarves are available in a wide range of styles but be sure that it fits all the way around your head no matter which one you choose.

Once you have a scarf, you can apply high keratin, low alcohol hair serum to protect your hair overnight and retain its straightness. These serums are designed to combat frizziness and humidity, so be sure to choose one that is well-suited for your hair type.

After applying the serum, brush your hair into 2–4 sections depending on its thickness. Using simple hairpins, you can secure the ends of your hair by wrapping the sections around your head and pinning them. Remember not to pin too tight, as this can cause knots to form.

Once your hair is pinned, you can finish the job by wrapping your scarf around your hair to keep everything where it belongs. This will keep your hair neatly wrapped up so that it can remain straight while you sleep.

Option 2: Foregoing the headscarf — If the method of wrapping your hair in a scarf feels a bit too restrictive for you, there are alternative measures that you can take to ensure that your hair stays straight even after a full night’s sleep. The material that your pillowcase is made of will determine the amount of friction between your hair and the pillow, so opt for material like satin or silk which minimises rubbing and pulling. On top of that, you should still pin your hair as described above, even if you decide not to use a scarf, as this will go a long way towards reducing frizzing. As always, be sure to completely dry and brush out your hair before pinning.

There are a few other small tweaks that you can make to your routine that will make a big difference in keeping your hair straight overnight. Keep the temperature in your room cool while avoiding humidity, especially during the warmer months. Supplementary products such as dry shampoo or volumising serum can also add a bit of smoothness to your hair by reducing oil and dryness.

Tools to Straighten Your Hair

Now that we’ve discussed some common questions on hair straightening, let’s go into the details of how to straighten hair. First, there are some tools you’ll need; keep in mind that different people prefer different straightening methods, so you may not need everything listed below. Consider which methods and tools would work best for you and your hair, and don’t be afraid to experiment to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

A high-quality straightener — a good-quality straightener with ceramic plates is recommended because it will allow you to heat your hair evenly for a smooth straightening job. It’s also crucial that the size of the plates correspond to your hair; narrower plates work best for shorter hair, and wider plates service longer hair better. Also, be sure to select a straightener with various heat settings, as you’ll want to find the lowest possible heat setting which can achieve the results you need. This ideal temperature setting will allow you to straighten your hair effectively while preventing unnecessary heat damage.

Hair clips — no matter what kind of hair you have, you’ll most likely want to separate it into sections while you use your straightener. Hair clips can keep everything in place while you work from one part of your hair to the next. Longer clips that can be undone with a single hand are the most convenient during hair straightening, as they are easy to use but can also keep more hair in place and prevent loose strands from going astray.

Wide-toothed comb — this will help you smooth out your hair thoroughly before straightening. Not only does this help spread the product through your hair so that it is evenly cared for, but smoother hair is much easier to separate into sections and will straighten a lot quicker. Even if you’ve just shampooed, conditioned, and dried your hair, give it a once-through with a wide-toothed comb to make sure all your bases are covered.

Heat-protectant spray – every time you straighten your hair, you expose it to potential heat damage. Fortunately, there are plenty of great sprays on the market which can simultaneously protect your hair from heat and provide extra nutrients to keep your hair sleek, healthy, and nourished.

Setting spray – whether you use a second spray to keep your hair in place or a heat-protectant spray which doubles as a setting spray, you’ll want to take measures to ensure that the time and effort spent on your hair can last as long as possible. Setting spray will allow your straightening or styling to last several hours longer than usual so that you can get the most out of your work.

Prepare Hair for Straightening

Preparation is everything when it comes to how to use a hair straightener. The way you get ready will not only allow you to get the most out of your time spent but also helps to ensure that you aren’t putting your hair at risk of heat damage from your straightener.

The first step is to ensure that your hair is maximally clean and nourished to allow for optimal hair-straightening conditions. This will let the effects of using a straightener last as long as possible and also ensure that your hair is stronger and less susceptible to heat damage. Using shampoo, moisturising conditioner, and drying your hair on a low-heat setting before straightening can make a world of difference.

From there, always be sure to apply heat protector spray to your dry hair before straightening. The nutrients contained in a good-quality spray is what allows your hair to stay strong despite everyday straightening, so never forget to do this significant step. It’s crucial for maintaining the long-term health of your hair.

Finally, go through your hair with a wide-tooth comb to take out any tangles or knots before straightening. These combs are specifically recommended since many brushes can cause frizz, which is not ideal before using a hair straightener. If you have thicker hair, you’ll then want to neatly pin it into a few separate sections to make the task of straightening more manageable. From there, you’ll be ready to start straightening your hair.

Rough Dry Your Hair

Rough drying is an important step which, if done correctly, will help your hair look fantastic and sleek once you’ve finished straightening it. The trick is to give your hair a light all-over dry by shaking the hair dryer back and forth around your head to achieve evenness. Once your hair is about 80% dry all around, you have the option to let it finish air-drying or finish blow drying it on a very low heat setting.

Keep in mind that although poor straightening techniques can lead to heat-damaged hair, damage can first start when you use misuse your blow dryer. Although using a high-temperature setting will dry your hair faster, it will also quickly dry it out and make it more vulnerable to straightener damage. This is especially true if the straightener is also used at a higher temperature.

Simply put, rough drying is the perfect technique to use out of the shower to prepare your hair for straightening because it minimises the possibility for permanent heat damage to your hair.

Only Straighten Dry Hair

This cannot be overstated, as it’s one of the most essential aspects of straightening your hair: only straighten your once it’s completely dry. The most common and most dangerous mistake is the misinformed assumption that because your straightener is hot, it can double as a hair dryer to save you time.

Consider this: there is a temperature at which heat will begin to damage your hair, but at a moderate or low heat setting, your hair will never get this hot if you straighten it properly. However, this temperature limit will be lower if your hair is wet, so hair can get damaged much quicker and easier than if it was dry.

If you still experience some damage even though you only straighten your hair when it is totally dry, it may be the result of product being built up in your hair. Whether it’s dry shampoo or a holding spray,

these products can cause damage when heated up by your straightener. That’s why it’s recommended to straighten your hair when it is newly-cleaned and free of any product or knots.

Use a Heat Protectant

A good heat protectant is the first line of defence against heat damage for your hair. These products are designed to nourish and protect your hair when exposed to high temperatures, and they even resist frizz-causing humidity. From both a styling and a health standpoint, you can’t afford to forego this vital measure when straightening your hair.

Use the Lowest Amount of Heat to Prevent Damage

The level of heat you use is one of the most important factors, mainly if you use your straightener on an almost daily basis. Everyone’s hair is different, so you’ll need to experiment with which temperature is ideal for you in terms of how long it takes to straighten your hair, how effective the results are, and how much it dries out your hair. In a perfect world, you’ll be able to determine the lowest temperature setting that works for you, and consistently use that setting when straightening your hair.

Many high-quality straighteners have high-temperature settings intended for special use such as keratin treatments rather than everyday straightening. However, several people use these high temperatures on a regular basis, focusing only on how it speeds up the process and forgetting about the consequences. Although a higher temperature setting will get the job done quicker, it will also dry out your hair and make it brittle and unhealthy in the long run. Opt for lower heat when straightening your hair and focus more on its long-term health when straightening it.

Straighten One Section at a Time

By neatly dividing your hair into sections and straightening them one at a time, you can avoid taking on too much hair at once and over-drying or under-drying certain parts. Evenness and consistency are the secret to perfectly styled hair and dividing it into sections before straightening it is what will allow you to achieve that.

Although this is an extra step in the process, it ends up saving you time. Rather than grabbing chunks of hair at random and hoping that you managed to straighten everything, sectioning will give you a systematic way to work through the job without going over the same areas multiple times.

Keep Hair Taut

Keeping your hair taut will allow you to straighten it in a short amount of time. Naturally, less exposure to a straightener means a reduced chance of heat damage, and that should always be the goal when straightening. This seemingly simple step will make the straightening process more efficient and save you valuable time.

Choose the Right Flat Iron

Choosing the best flat iron vastly depends on the length and thickness of your hair. When you are searching for the best hair straighteners available on the market, be aware of what factors will make a

difference for your hair. Ceramic plates are ideal because they heat up evenly and allow you to dry your hair consistently during use. Also, the size of the plates should correspond to the length of your hair; narrower plates work well for shorter hair, and wider plates are better-suited for longer hair.

Prevent Hair Damage from Straightening

Many beauty enthusiasts suffer from hair straightener damage. However, there are plenty of steps that you can take to minimise and prevent flat iron hair damage during your everyday styling. With just a few preventative measures, quick tips, and the right equipment, you’ll be looking great without putting your hair at risk.

Straighten after using shampoo and conditioner — clean hair is easier to straighten, which means you can get the job done faster. The goal should always be to minimise the amount of time that your hair is exposed to heat from your straightener, and this is one of the easiest ways to do it.

Comb through before you begin — knots and tangles can quickly make straightening a bit more complicated, as it is difficult for your straightener to pass through hair that isn’t smoothed or combed. By giving your hair a comb-through from top to bottom, you can create the ideal conditions for a safe and fast straightening job.

Only straighten dry hair — wet hair will sizzle and suffer from severe heat damage at a much lower temperature than dry hair. Rough dry your hair using a blow dryer at a moderate temperature before straightening, and only pick up the flat iron when you’re sure that your hair has dried completely.

Use a low-temperature setting — the lower your flat iron’s temperature is set, the less likely it will be that your hair is exposed to potential heat damage. Just because your straightener has a maximum temperature setting doesn’t mean you need to put it that high to get the results you want. Experiment a bit to find the minimum heat setting that allows you to straighten your hair the way you like without turning the dial up to the highest temperature. Your healthy hair will thank you in the long run.

Use sectioning — depending on how thick your hair is, sectioning can be used to help you organise your hair before straightening. This is a great way to ensure that you don’t miss any strands of hair or pass through the same strand multiple times with a hot flat iron. In the end, it is a time saver and a preventative measure against heat damage.

Pull your hair taut — the increased tension of taut hair will allow you to straighten it more quickly, which effectively results in less exposure to the straightener and the high temperature of its plates.

Buy a Quality Hair Straightener for Best Results

There are several good-quality straighteners on the market today, ranging from quite cheap to expensive. Your hair straightener is much more than a simple tool—it’s an investment in the long-term health of your hair. Opting for a high-quality hair straightener can mean the difference between healthy hair or dry, damaged hair.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to choose the highest rated hair straightener exclusively from the list of the most expensive straighteners; just aim for one with ceramic plates and a variety of heat

settings so that you have the flexibility to tend to your hair in a way that gives you the results you want in a way that is safe and sustainable for long-term use.

By keeping all these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to getting the most out of your hair straightener. If you are looking to learn how to use a wave iron, feel free to browse our many tutorials! Whether you are looking to learn how to flat iron your hair silky straight or you’re on the hunt for the best flat iron in 2019, we hope we were able to help!

What Is Heat damaged Hair?

If you’ve ever smelled burning hair from your hairdryer or come across a clump of hair in your flat iron, you’ve noticed the effects of hair damage. While there are other ways to damage your hair, such as chemical treatments, heat damage is much more common, probably because using heated tools is much more common.

If you’ve gone a bit overboard on the hot tools, you might find that your hair feels much coarser than usual and that it breaks much more quickly. It also looks dull and lifeless

The result can range from a slightly frizzier texture to complete breakage and hair loss, and the more times you use heating tools on your hair, the more likely it is your hair will suffer severe damage.

What Does Heat Do to Your Hair?

So why exactly does heat damage hair? To understand how heat damages your hair, you first need to understand the structure of the hair strand. Basically, a hair strand is made up of a protein called keratin — you’ll hear a lot about this later on in the article as well. Keratin is also the protein mainly found in nails.

The hair itself has an inner layer and then an inner and outer protective layer made of keratin. The inner layer is made up of overlapping scales of keratin and is the part of the hair that contains all the nutrients the hair needs to grow. The outmost layer is also made up of keratin, but this time it’s arranged in such a way to add strength and elasticity to the hair.

So, what happens when you add heat into the equation? Usually, nothing bad; the hair shaft may swell up a bit, and some of the outer keratin can get damaged but nothing that can’t be repaired. Hair is a bit more durable and can handle temperatures of up to 300 °C, but if this heat is applied for a long time, the keratin in the outer layer starts to get damaged and burn away. This leaves the inner core of the hair exposed, which can be damaged by further heat. So, the more heat you add over time, the more damage you do. You wind up damaging the most sensitive parts of your hair shaft. It can get to the point where the damage is irreparable.

That’s why initial heat damage makes your hair more brittle and less elastic, since the layer responsible for strength and elasticity. More severe heat damage affects the cuticle layer of the hair shaft, which contains the nutrients that a hair needs to recover and grow. If this is damaged, your hair will look lifeless, frizzy and probably fail to recover.

Does Heat-damaged Hair Grow?

Yes, heat damaged hair will continue to grow. The reason for this is because heat damages the part of the hair that isn’t reproducing and producing new hair cells. Hair grows from the follicles found in the scalp, so unless you’re frying your scalp at the same time you’re cooking your hair, you should be able to keep growing your hair.

In fact, one of the most common suggestions, if you’ve damaged your hair beyond repair, is to simply wait for it to grow out and be more responsible the next time around.

Can You Reverse Heat Damage?

Yes and no. It all depends on how severe the heat damage is. You’ll never be able to restore your hair shaft to its original state, but you can lessen the appearance of hair straightener damage. If you’ve done serious damage to your hair, the chances are that you won’t be able to do much until your hair grows out.

Is it Bad to Put Heat on Your Hair Every Day?

Unfortunately for all women who love their digital flat irons out there, yes. Luckily, there is much you can do to reduce the severity of the damage. You can use specialist heat protecting products and low-temperature hair straighteners that don’t damage your hair as much.

By taking a day or so off between styling sessions, you give your hair some time to recover and repair itself. If you heat your hair daily, your hair doesn’t have a chance to recover, meaning that it’s more susceptible to getting burned and damaged the next time you apply heat.

There are things you can do to mitigate the damage done to your hair, such as using sensible temperature settings and using heat protectant sprays before applying heat. As long as you keep a careful watch on your hair and give it some days off to rest, you likely will not see serious consequences from heat damage.

Signs of Heat Damaged Hair

Now that we’ve gotten your attention about how easy it is to damage your hair, you’re probably wondering, ‘Do I have heat damaged hair?’ There are a few good signs to know that you’re on your way to unrepairable damage and if you notice them in time, you can take steps to repair your hair and prevent extra harm.

Your Ends Are Worse Than Ever

Hair ends are usually the most damaged part of your hair since they’ve been around the longest and have endured all sorts of abuse. They’re more prone to being brittle and falling off, and if they’ve been heat damaged, you’ll find the ends of your hair look lifeless and flat.

A neat trick to tell the difference between heat damaged ends and ends that are just tired is to do a small friction test. You can easily spot damaged hair because it’s got little white nodules over it. If you run the hair through two fingers and the tip breaks off, chances are you’ve got heat damage.

Using your ends as a warning sign is a good way to check for heat damage before it becomes apparent on the rest of your hair. By doing the friction test, you can see that your hair is being stressed and that you should start looking at repair strategies.

Your Texture Is Weird

Heat damage affects the structure of the external keratin coat of your hair shaft. This change is often reflected in a change in texture. If you normally have smooth, soft hair, heat damage can come across as a sudden coarsening of your hair. If your hair has experienced an excessive amount of damage, like leaving your hair in the flat iron for too long, it will actually feel burned, brittle and just not nice. It will also start to split a lot sooner, and you’ll notice a dramatic increase in the number of split hairs you have.

Hair Doesn’t Bounce Back

Obviously, hair texture is a bit of a tricky one if you have curly hair, and you may not notice the difference in texture so quickly. Instead, check if your curl is looser than usual or if your hair feels less elastic. Since the outer keratin layer is responsible for keeping your hair in its shape, any damage will translate to looser curls and waves. These loose curls don’t have to be all over your head; they can manifest in one or two patches where the heat damage is most severe.

Tips to Prevent Heat Damaged Hair

Obviously, prevention is better than cure in the case of your hair. Once damaged, you can never fully repair heat damage, so your best step is protecting your hair from damage.

Now, you can consider completely banning blow dryers and flat irons out of your life, our team has even come up with some creative natural hair straightening methods, although they can take a bit more time and energy. Instead, focus on how you can minimise the damage and protect your hair during styling.

The first step is to always use a heat protectant spray before styling your hair. This creates an extra moisture barrier that protects your hair shaft for a while. Incorporate protein treatments into your hair care regime; they can help add extra protein to your hair, helping it recover from existing damage.

Second, try to avoid daily heat. It’s okay to style your hair every second day as this gives your hair the time it needs to repair itself. If you find that you’ve got thin hair that responds very badly to heat, this rest period needs to be longer. If you’ve got thicker hair, it may take more heat applications to harm your hair (lucky you).

All hair types will handle temperatures differently. Thinner hair doesn’t need much heat to style, and thicker hair is more resistant to heat damage. If you’re looking for hair straighteners that don’t damage hair, look for a hair straightener with temperature control. By controlling the temperature you use and using the lowest possible setting that works for your hair, you can reduce the amount of heat damage you subject your hair to.

What if the Damage Is Already Done?

If you’re looking at your damaged hair from flat iron abuse, you’re probably thinking, ‘Great, but how do you fix heat damaged hair?’

If your hair is severely damaged, your best option is to cut it off or at least get a trim to remove the worst parts. If you’re not at that stage, there are several products on the market that can restore some of your hair’s life. It won’t be a miracle cure, but it’s at least something.

Also, do your best to protect your hair if it’s already damaged by keeping it covered and out of the sun and avoiding harsh chemicals such as hair dyes and chlorinated pools.

Best Hair Straighteners for Damaged Hair

Now that you’re well aware of the risks of heat on your hair, let’s talk about the best flat iron for damaged hair. Even if your hair is suffering from hair straightener damage, it’s almost impossible to avoid styling your hair, so ideally you need to choose the least damaging flat iron that won’t make the existing hair damage worse.

Firstly, try and use hair repair products that can help damaged hair. When looking for hair repair products, look for ones that come with moisturisers as well as active repair compounds, such as shea butter and argan oil. These coat the hair, protecting and moisturising at the same time. You can also use replenishing masks once a week to further moisturise your hair and add a bit of volume and body according to Bustle.

So, if you’ve realised that your existing flat iron doesn’t help your current hair crisis, it’s time to invest in the best straightener for damaged hair: the GHD Platinum. The main reason for this as our top pick is its SMART technology, which is frankly fantastic at preventing flat iron hair damage.

This predictive technology scans your hair during use, taking into account your thickness and your styling speed. The SMART tech manages the power so that your hair is at the optimum temperature of 185 °C at all times. Why 185 °C? That’s the temperature at which your hair benefits from heat without getting damaged or burned. Remember that keratin is an incredibly resilient protein and can easily handle 200 °C.

So not only does the GHD Platinum+ have a host of other useful features, such as universal voltage, auto-off and platinum plates, it takes the guesswork out of deciding what temperature would best suit your hair. GHD even claim that your hair will be 70% stronger and have 20% more shine than if you used another styler.

The main drawback of the GHD is its price, which is at the top end of the scale. If you’re looking for straighteners that don t damage hair on a budget, consider the Babyliss hair straightener. It’s got a temperature control so you can set it to a lower heat to protect your hair while you style. It’s got titanium plates which generate negative ions to protect your hair and condition it during use.

Ideally, when looking for the best straightener for damaged hair, you want one that gives you as much control as possible to prevent further hair straightener damage. The GHD Platinum+ offers gentle heat with complete control and peace of mind.

Keratin Hair Straighteners

If you’re wondering, ‘How can I reverse damaged hair?’, one of the more recent options to help treat heat damaged hair is a keratin treatment where you expose your hair to keratin and use heat to seal it into the hair shaft. While mainly used for straightening hair, keratin treatments actually offer some benefits as well.

You’ve learned by now that the reason your hair looks and feel so bad when it’s damaged is that the protective keratin layer is essentially burned off. What keratin treatments do is they try to expose your hair to extra keratin in the hopes that some of that keratin will bind to the hair, making it healthier and stronger. Silver Bullet has designed a flat iron with temperature control that is specifically aimed at making keratin treatments more effective. Because the plates heat up so quickly, they can work immediately and distribute heat evenly over the entire hair shaft, giving you a smoother, healthier look, especially in conjunction with a keratin treatment. Read our silver bullet keratin hair straightener review here.

Conclusion

Unfortunately for us, heat is something that is always going to cause some damage to our hair. Lower heat is always better, and there are several steps you can take to reduce the impact that your styling has on the quality of your hair.

Always make sure that you use a heat protectant before styling. It’s a small thing that makes a huge difference, and your hair will love you for it. When styling, use the lowest hair straightener temperature that you can get away with. Give your hair a break from time to time. All these steps will protect your hair and preserve its health and shine. If it’s too late and you’ve already suffered from flat iron hair damage, the same steps apply to minimise further risk. You should also then try to use repairing shampoos, masks and other products to nourish your hair back to life. An interesting option is using a keratin hair straightener in addition to a keratin treatment to replenish the hair’s keratin levels. No matter what you do, make sure always to take care of your hair. It’s one of the most visible parts of you, and a small amount of care can go a long way.

Dealing With Grey Hair

One of the more common and obvious signs that we are entering our mature age is the fact that for many of us, our crowning glory becomes looking a little less lustrous and a little more seasoned. Salt and pepper hair can arrive very prematurely if your parents passed down the dodgy grey gene. In researching for this series, I am starting to blame my Mum and Dad for everything!

Sometime, maybe in your late twenties, you will be brushing your hair and notice a silvery strand poking out. Say hello to your future. I still recall finding my first grey hair. In fact, I found it along with a dozen others.  Horrified, I pulled each one out by the shaft, one at a time. While this is surely one way to get rid of grey hair, your can’t keep this up for a lifetime!

FACT – despite the rumour, if you pull out a grey hair, six more do not come to its funeral.

FACT – If I pulled out all of my grey hair, I would resemble Sinead O’Connor.

Here are more facts on why our hair goes grey

Each hair follicle contains a finite number of pigment cells, which produce a chemical called melanin. It is this melanin that determines your hair colour. As you get older, these pigment cells start to pass away peacefully in their sleep. Which is the only reason I think of why you can wake up with new grey hairs overnight.

“That can’t be right? That wasn’t there yesterday…”

“Nutritional and hormonal factors can affect hair colour as well as stress but, by and large, the predisposition to go grey earlier or later in life is genetic.” Well, gee thanks Cosmo..

There are some things you can do to assist in the slowing down of going grey gracefully IF you prefer to remain faithful to your chosen colour. They include doing yoga (seriously! Is that the answer to EVERYTHING?) stop smoking, eat foods containing copper such as yams and turnips and stop hooking onto refined sugar and white flour. So what are your options for a natural defense? Lets recap.

How To Stop Grey Hair

• Give up the cigarettes
• Reduce your stress levels
• Eat copper-rich foods
• Eat more eggs, fish – foods high in amino acids
• Cut out the sugar and white flour
• Add a multi-vitamin into your daily routine
• Try Yoga

Or you can do what I do, and turn to ye olde faithful 4.15 Iced Chestnut and let the box do the talking. That’s right ladies, a simple hair dye is often the easiest path to enlightenment.

But you do not have to fake it. Many folks are embracing their lack of pigment cells and are working with it, producing amazing results!

But if you want to fight the white, cut down on your stress and up your intake of Vitamin B-12. You can always spend a lot of time and appointments visiting the specialists who can check out the function of your pituitary or thyroid glands. Or you can get all Donna Hay-esque and whip up a hearty yam and turnip stew. Or turn to the chemist and get yourself a box of happy. Which is the cheat’s way. Which is MY way.

A Cure for Grey Hair?

Thanks to a team of European scientists, grey hair may soon become a thing of the past… but would you truly want to permanently reverse the aging process that sprouts out of the top of your head?

Imagine all the beautiful white-haired older people you know – now imagine their beautiful older person faces with their young person hair (try not to think of Rupert Murdoch’s bad hair dye job from a couple of years ago as you do this.) According to a new research report published online in The FASEB Journal people who are going grey “develop massive oxidative stress via accumulation of hydrogen peroxide in the hair follicle, which causes our hair to bleach itself from the inside out.”

Most importantly, says the report, this massive accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be remedied with a “proprietary treatment developed by the researchers described as a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase).”

Whatever that is. The short story is that messy hair dyes may be a thing of the past. (The new research shows the same treatment would work for the skin pigmentation condition, vitiligo.)

Although your first instinct might be yes, when can I get it – would you really want to stop the natural ageing process?

Take a look at these images and use our homepage to tell us what you think…

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Via Advanced Style

Going grey. Stop worrying about it, as you are only making it worse!

The best part about this look is that the amount of work that goes into achieving it is reflective of the style itself: it’s easy-going, it takes little effort, and isn’t complicated or stressful. Once you’ve experimented with it a little bit, you’ll love having this quick and simple style at your disposal any time you need it. It only takes a few minutes to complete, and there’s no pressure for the look to be perfect since it’s intended to look natural and fun.

Beachy waves don’t require any special tools or out-of-the-ordinary styling equipment. All you need is a flat iron straightener, clips or ties to hold your hair back while you work, and some heat protecting spray. If you’re used to simply straightening your hair with a flat iron, you probably already have all these things; there’s no need to invest in any fancy or expensive extras. If you don’t yet own a straightener, check out our recommendations here.

The only thing that remains is to grab your wavy hair styling tools and read ahead to learn how to crimp your hair with a straightener to get gorgeous beach waves.

Prepare Your Hair for Straightening

Preparation is everything, and if you’re used to straightening your hair more traditionally, then you already know that the well-being of your locks, as well as the result of your styling, rely heavily upon how you prepare for it. Keep these tips in mind as you get ready to learn how to make your hair wavy with straighteners:

Always be sure that your hair is completely dry — this tip cannot be stressed enough, as it’s one of the most critical aspects of using a flat iron for any styling. Even slightly damp hair can heavily contribute to avoidable heat damage. The most dangerous mistake that you can make is allowing a searing hot flat iron to contact wet hair.

There is a minimum temperature at which heat will begin to damage your hair. However, at a moderate or low heat setting and with proper straightening techniques, your hair will never get this hot. If your hair is wet, this temperature limit will be lower; therefore, damp hair can get damaged much quicker and easier than it would if it was dry.

Comb through your tresses — this will get rid of any loose hairs or knots that could get caught in your flat iron and make styling more difficult.

Smooth your hair out on a low heat setting — as mentioned above, you never want it to be exposed to more heat than is necessary, as it can dry it out and lead to damage. However, when waving hair with a flat iron, it can be useful to smooth out any kinks beforehand on a low heat setting; this sets the stage for you to get your beach waves just the way you want them.

Apply a thermal protection serum — unless you’re a total pro at quickly waving your hair, you’ll be exposing it to high temperatures for an extended period. That’s no problem, as long as you apply a protective serum to your hair to fortify it against the high temperatures. This will keep it strong and healthy, especially if you use a flat iron often.

Get Beach Waves with A Hair Straightener

Learning how to make wavy hair with a flat iron may take a bit of practice, but you can learn to achieve fabulous results in no time. If you’ve only used your flat iron for basic straightening or curling up until now, learning how to make beach waves will open you up to the possibilities of just how much you can do with a straightener. You may even want to learn how to style bangs with a flat iron!

Make this look work for you by following our tips and styling guide below.

1. Make sure you’re fully prepared — once you’ve allowed your hair to dry completely, combed it out one last time, and applied your thermal protecting spray, you are ready to begin. If you have any doubts, follow the tips above to ensure that you’ve covered all your bases before starting. Remember, all these steps will help to make your hair look great and keep it healthy throughout the styling process. Never sacrifice the health of your hair to look great.
2. Start sectioning — dividing your hair into small sections makes it easier to organise your styling and ensures that you only service each strand of hair once. This makes things go a lot quicker, provides the best results, and prevents you from accidentally exposing your hair to a hot flat iron multiple times. When separating and pinning down different sections of hair, be sure small pieces do not get loose and go through the straightener if they already have. Depending on what kind of hair you have, the number of sections that you decide to make may vary. Some people usually opt for 2–4, but feel free to experiment to find out what makes the most sense for the thickness and length of your hair.
3. Begin styling — go section by section, gripping your hair firmly, yet gently between the clamps of the straightener and rotating your wrist in either direction. Hold this position while sliding from the top of the strand all the way down from the root to the end. It doesn’t matter which way you twist your wrist, and you can even alternate the direction of this movement as you work different strands of hair. Remember: this look is meant to be fun and carefree, so there’s no need to aim for absolute symmetry or perfection. A quick tip: if you’re not 100% confident attempting this with a hot flat iron on your first try, practice the movement a few times before turning on the heat. That way, you don’t have to worry about needing to redo any sections of hair or applying heat to your hair several times.
4. Work evenly from one section to the next as you go — since you’ve already sectioned your hair, it should be easy to keep track of which strands of hair have been styled and which ones haven’t. Repeat step three across each section until you have twisted your way to a gorgeous head full of beach waves. Keep in mind that the sectioning method works as a way for you to systematically work from one part of your hair to the next. Although it is an extra step in the process, it saves you a lot of time in the end and delivers the most even, consistent styling results.
5. Apply the finishing touches — once you’ve worked your way through all sections of hair, apply your holding product of choice to keep your styling efforts in place all day. Don’t use anything that will make your hair feel stiff, as you want your look to fall naturally. Run your hands through your hair and tousle it a bit to give it that relaxed, fun-loving look. Remember, beach waves are meant to look natural, and they don’t need to be perfect or symmetrical. Have fun with it! Finally, take a look in the mirror and appreciate your newly-styled, flat iron waves. You are bound to get compliments and queries about how you styled your hair! This is a versatile look that you can use again and again for a variety of occasions; you’ll be addicted to it once you’ve mastered how to make it work for you, and the more you practice, the less time it will take you to complete!

Beach Waves with Flat Iron for Short Hair

You can achieve beach waves for short hair with a curling iron as well. There are definitely a few things to keep in mind which are specific to short hair when going for this look. For instance, you can get away with sectioning your hair a lot faster, and even just clipping up the top of your hair may be enough. You should also only curl about 3/4 of the way down your strands rather than all the way.
If you have short hair, you’ll want to use a flat iron that has narrower plates as opposed to wider ones. This makes it easier to get closer to the root. For example, the Babyliss Pro OPTIMA3000 Straightener is an excellent choice for short hair. It has a variety of settings and titanium plates that are well-sized for short hair, and it is designed for both straightening and curling. The adjustable 150°C-230°C temperature setting also enables a wide range of styling options. See our in-depth review for more info on the Babyliss.

Other than the size of the flat iron, the process of getting beach waves for short hair is essentially the same; definitely try these techniques if you want to create flat iron waves for a lob. This style can be

pulled off in a way that is especially cute and energetic if you have short hair, so don’t hesitate to try it out if you’re looking for a new way to spruce up your hairstyle.

Beach Waves with Flat Iron for Long Hair

This style looks fantastic on long hair. If you have long or thick hair, you should get a straightener with wide plates, and curved plate edges so that it’s easier and quicker to get beach waves. Whether you want to get big curls with a flat iron or beach waves with a curling iron, a hair straightener will only be able to get the results that you want if it’s well-suited for your hair.

A narrower straightener would not work well on long hair for a couple of reasons. First, it would take much longer to curl all your hair; more hair equals more time and effort. It would be inefficient, which goes against the quick and easy nature of this hairstyle. Second, it would create tighter curls which are more suited for short hair.

The ghd gold max styler is a fantastic tool for getting this kind of style. If you’re looking for a high-quality, multi-purpose flat iron from one of the top brands, ghd is one of the most highly-recommended names on the market today. It may even be the best flat iron for waves.

If you already have a good idea of how to get beach waves with a curling iron, then it will be a snap for you to learn how to get flat iron waves for long hair. With the right styling tool and a bit of practice, you’ll be rocking this look in no time.

Conclusion

Beach waves are such a versatile style, and the best part is that you can get them for any hair type. They add so much personality and life to your look, and they’re an appropriate style for both casual and formal occasions. Once you become experienced with styling your hair this way, you’ll have a hard time resisting the temptation to go for it all the time.

No matter your hair type or style, always remember that there are ways to tweak these looks to make them work just for you. Using a multi-purpose, high-quality flat iron is a significant factor that will determine what styling flexibility you’ll have. It will also get the job done faster and with better results than a cheaper model would be capable of achieving. Above all, be sure to care for your hair well and to avoid heat damage if you’re a frequent flat iron user.