It’s fun to experiment with your hair. But all that heat treatment isn’t without consequences. The major one being frizz.
Should frizz mean you stop styling your hair? No. Check out how to straighten frizzy hair to get that perfectly smooth and sleek look.
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If you’re using a flat iron to straighten your tresses, chances are there might be certain side effects.
Your strands can show signs of damage if you keep using these heat tools every day. Or it might just end up floofy.
Curly hair, especially the type 4c hair textures is more likely to get frizzy after straightening. So this is why you need to know exactly how to straighten frizzy hair to smoothen the kinks out. Literally!
Using the right products meant for curly hair types helps. Another thing you need to be careful about is picking the perfect hair straightener.
How to straighten frizzy hair 2022
If you want to know how to straighten frizzy hair and get those smooth, shiny locks, follow these simple steps!
Step 1: Wash with shampoo and conditioner
This one is a no-brainer. The first step to straightening your hair and keeping frizz at bay is to use the right shampoo and conditioner when you’re washing your tresses.
If you have curly hair textures (type-3 or type-4 hair), always use a shampoo formulated for your hair types.
There are several products in the market that also help with controlling frizz. When choosing shampoos look at the more nourishing, sulphate-free ones. And never skip conditioning.
Pro Tip: Always use lukewarm water when shampooing. Hot water can open the hair cuticles, contributing to frizz. Colder temperatures seal hair cuticles and give you smoother, softer tresses.
John Frieda Frizz Ease Flawlessly Straight Shampoo
This John Frieda shampoo contains nourishing milk keratin protein, sweet almond oil, and jojoba oil.
It keeps your hair soft and silky without weighing it down. It’s also great for color-treated hair.
Related: Try these nourishing biotin shampoos and conditioners that leave your hair soft and silky straight
Step 2: Detangle hair with a wide toothed comb
The next step is to detangle your hair as it makes styling it much easier. We suggest toweling off the excess water from your hair before getting to the detangling bit.
To detangle your hair, run a wide-toothed comb through it.
A wooden comb with natural bristles (boar bristles for example) is the best product to use to contain frizz. Plastic, nylon, and other such materials generate a lot of static electricity.
If you have 4b or 4c hair textures, using your fingers to comb through your hair is a lot better than any comb. Some experts also recommend using a leave-in conditioner or oil to make detangling easier.
Try going for natural conditioners like virgin coconut oil or shea butter. It helps make combing natural, Afro hair easier.
Pro Tip: Towel drying your hair is always better than air-drying, as the latter can increase frizziness. But make sure you’re using a microfiber towel to wrap your wet hair. Cotton towels contain long fibers that snag and pull at your tresses. This can increase tangles and also lead to breakage.
Sofmild Wooden Flat Paddle Brush
Try using this Sofmild brush to detangle your mane before straightening. Its body is made 100 percent with bamboo and the bristles are coated with rubber heads. So it helps keep static and frizz at bay.
Related: Check out these amazing hair brushes for men and try new hairstyles every day!
Step 3: Prep your tresses for the heat by using heat protectant
This is one step a lot of people forget. While using flat irons once in a while is not that bad, it doesn’t hurt to protect your hair.
A good heat protection spray can limit the damage the flat irons do on your tresses. Yes, even the best hair straighteners can have some effect.
Choose a high-heat protectant (a product that can protect your tresses from over 450-degree F).
These leave a thin coating on the hair strands that shield them from heat damage, help smoothen the exposed hair cuticles, and add shine.
OGX Protecting + Silk Blowout Quick Drying Thermal Spray
Before you get to blow drying or straightening your tresses, spritz on some of the OGX thermal sprays.
It’s got hydrolyzed silk and quinoa that not just nourish your hair, but also protect it. The spray helps protect damage up to 450-degree F of heat.
Step 4: Blow dry your hair using a diffuser setting
There are some things that are a complete no-no. Straightening your hair when wet is one of them. It can really damage your hair. So make sure you blow dry it before reaching for the flat iron.
With the help of a few alligator hair clips, section off your strands so that blow-drying becomes easier and quicker.
And using a diffuser nozzle on your hair dryer prevents the heat from attacking just one area of your hair.
Turn the heat to low or medium while blow-drying. Or better yet, use the cold setting if you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere.
Pro Tip: Keep the nozzle of your hairdryer pointed down. Doing so can turn the hair cuticles in that direction and make them lie flat. Result? Lesser frizz, and lesser work for you!
Step 5: Find the right hair straightener
Ah, hair straighteners. We’d all be stuck with the same old hair textures if it weren’t for these styling tools.
But it’s essential to pick the right ones. Or else the damage to your tresses would be unbearable.
Modern straighteners come with ceramic plates. These do not heat up quickly and also make sure there are no ‘hot pockets’ (patches on the plates where temperatures go very high). So they ensure your tresses don’t face any damage.
Another thing to look for in a hair straightener is negative ion technology. Many products today use this tech to coat your strands with negative ions.
These ions help prevent static buildup and ensure your tresses lie flat after straightening.
Pro Tip: Keep the temperature of your flat iron between 300 and 350°F. Studies show that 420°F is the temperature at which keratin in your hair breaks down. So avoid going that high.
Follow these easy steps to straighten frizzy hair easily:
- Section the hair before running the flat iron through it
- Use a natural bristle round brush to pull your hair taut while running the straightener through it
- A comb can cause split ends and even lead to static buildup, so a brush is preferred.
- Pulling sections of your hair taut helps straighten it better. So you won’t have to use the flat iron multiple times on your tresses.
The Chase Method: If you want perfectly straight hair, or want to minimize the heat applied on your tresses, try the chase method. Here, you have to use a rattail comb along with your straightener. The comb helps lift every single strand of hair to ensure it all gets evenly straightened. So you don’t have to run a flat iron through your mane multiple times.
Step 6: Finish off with setting spray or serum
Following the steps above can help you avoid frizz.
But if you want to prevent humidity from getting better on your tresses and causing it to become frizzy later on, always use a finishing spray or hair straightening serum.
There are several products in the market that help increase the longevity of your newly straightened hair. If you want to add shine, moisture, and prevent frizz, we suggest using a good serum.
A frizz-control hairspray is a good idea if you’re doing an elaborate hairstyle that you want to keep in place. Or if you need your tresses to be straight for a longer time.
Tigi Bed Head Straighten Out 98% Humidity-Defying Straightening Cream
The Tigi Bed Head Straighten Out helps add moisture to your tresses, prevent frizz, and add shine. If you live in a high-humidity area or have curly tresses, this one is a great pick for you!
L’Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray Strong Hold
Want to keep your sleek, straight hair looking that way for long? Just spray on some of the L’Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray. Its extra strong hold keeps your hairstyles in place for hours. Frizz? Who’s that?
FAQs on how to straighten frizzy hair
How to reduce frizz after straightening natural hair?
Use a blow dryer on a cold setting and a flat paddle brush to smoothen out your tresses
Apply a smoothening hair mask every time you shower. This adds keratin to the hair and controls frizz
Sleeping with a silk bonnet on, or using satin pillowcases can also keep hair frizz-free
This might seem counterproductive, but using large velcro hair rollers to keep hair in place helps straighten them out
Straightening creams, sprays, relaxers, etc. can help reduce frizz and leave your hair smooth.
Why is my hair poofy after I straighten it?
If you find that your hair remains poofy and frizzy after you straighten it, you might be making one or more of these hair straightening mistakes.
Turning the nozzle of the blow dryer upwards while drying your hair
Your hair is too greasy. If you’ve used too many products before straightening, or if you haven’t cleaned your hair thoroughly, this can lead to frizz.
Your hair straightener is getting too hot. Check if you have temperature control on your flat iron. Sometimes it gets too hot too quickly and damages your hair cuticles
You are straightening your hair for too long. Always divide your tresses into one-inch sections. Large sections take longer to straighten as you have to go over it with your flat iron multiple times.
How to straighten frizzy hair permanently?
If you want to straighten frizzy hair permanently, you’ll have to get a Brazilian treatment (also called keratin treatment) done at a salon.
For naturally curly frizzy hair, you might need to use relaxers to change the texture of your tresses.
These treatments involve coating the hair with keratin protein under high heat, so it chemically bonds to your mane and leaves it straight and smooth.
What causes frizzy hair?
There are several reasons why your hair is frizzy and poofy.
The main reason is the structural change in the hair strands. As the cuticle of the hair is staggered, the strand appears rough and coarse, leading to frizz.
This change in hair cuticles can be due to environmental damage were using harsh surfactants or excess heat, the cuticles do not lay flat.
Another reason is the level of curl, as curly hair is more prone to frizz.
If your environment has a lot of humidity, then the excess moisture in the air can make hair release its moisture, making them dry. This leads to frizz.
Does frizzy hair mean it’s damaged?
Frizzy hair can definitely indicate that your hair is damaged, but it doesn’t always mean that you have a problem. Frizziness may be the result of water loss or humidity levels being too high, and this can damage strands over time. You may also experience frizzy hair if you are using harsh shampoos or products that contain sulfates and other chemicals.
If you suspect that your hair is damaged, try to figure out the source of the damage before trying to treat it. This will allow you to choose an appropriate solution that won’t only address the current issue but prevent future problems from occurring.