In the video I am about to share Mo demonstrates how she flat irons* her clients transitioning hair. Many transitioners who decide to do it long term struggle with maintaining two textures keeping both there relaxed and natural hair healthy. On occasion they might decide to do a little heat styling which can be frowned upon because your hair is in such a fragile state.
As usual though we always say do whats best for you but use healthy practices to thwart some of the not so great ones. With that said it is important that you master the handling of both textures before you decide to flat iron* your hair and we have a few tips you might want to consider before pulling out those heat tools:
1. Protein – Protein is a must when managing your transitioning hair because the point where your natural hair meets your transitioning hair is the weakest portion of each strand. Deep condition your hair with protein often using heat especially before heat styling. Protein just gives your hair that extra strength it needs to withstand the heat of a flat iron* or blow dryer*.
2. Keep your ends trimmed – It would be better for your transition to keep trimming the relaxed hair often anyway but when you keep your relaxed ends healthy it only benefits your natural hair at the ends of the day. This probably isn’t necessary before you flat iron but it does make things a hec of alot easier.
3. Detangle before flat ironing – This is kind of an obvious point but when transitioning you don’t want to take detangling for granted. Detangle your hair in small sections before attempting any heat styling so that your heat tools do not snag your hair causing mid shaft breakage.
4. Try a heat less style to stretch your hair first– If you can, skip the blow dryer* and then a flat iron* your hair. We would suggest doing a roller set first and then flat ironing, rollers are much less damaging to your hair over all and they help to straighten your hair. Just remember to still use a heat protectant* on your hair, because an over head dryer though safe it is still heat
5. Do not use heat often – It might be tempting to match your relaxed texture every now and then and sometimes having straight hair can give you a break from working with two different textures. We understand the convenience but using heat often during your transition can weaken the weakest portions of your hair causing breakage.
Mo does an awesome job at explaining her process giving tips along the way. Watch the video below:
Good tips!