I don’t have a solid hair straightening regimen. I’m posting what I did most recently in response to a comment on this post. I straighten my hair about 6 times a year max, and each time the products are completely different and the  drying technique varies slightly.

Prep

This time around, I deep conditioned overnight with Joico K-Pak Conditioner (Joico KPak Conditioners) with a little of their Reconstructor on my ends. I chose this product because when I first tried it I noticed it made my hair frizzy and I lost a lot of curl definition. I figured this would be a good thing when flat ironing.

I rinsed the DC out thoroughly. I didn’t do anything else- no shampoo, conditioner, etc… I just made sure every bit of the DC was rinsed clean.

Blow Dry

I sectioned my hair into about 14+ sections. I put each section in  a small bun and secured it with a clip. I didn’t use any products prior to blow drying. *gasp* I took down one bun at a time and split it in 3. I used a small round brush to straighten it as it dried. I have a BaByliss Pro blowdryer  (BaByliss Pro Blow Dryer Amazon) with a concentrator nozzle. The setting was low (I cannot control the temperature but it doesn’t get very hot on low setting).  The round brush is from Scunci (similar to this one- Scunci Hollow Ceramic Barrell Round Brush 67017-Y, but I certainly didn’t pay $35 for it). I took my time blowdrying. My roots were very straight using the round brush. I was watching a couple movies and I put down the blow dryer after every small section- plus I had to detangle. It took me about 2 hours to complete my whole head.

Flat Iron

My flat ironing technique stays the same every time I do it. The products change. At this point I added CHI Shine Infusion spray (CHI Shine Infusion on Amazon) as a heat protectant. It’s supposed to be an oil sheen type product, but the main ingredient is a silicone and the instructions say it is a heat protectant too. I sprayed a lot on each section and brushed it through with my Denman.

I flat ironed on 8 (out of 10) with my Maxiglide (Maxiglide Sonicglide Hair Straightener). I used small, but not tiny sections. I did one pass and it took me less than an hour to do my whole head.  Below is my hair after the Maxiglide and before trimming.

I trimmed my hair, medium sections at a time. After trimming, I added some argan oil. I then flat ironed again- large sections- with my BaByliss Pro Ceramic iron (I can’t find the exact one I have- BaByliss Pro Flat Irons)  on about a 10 out of 25 heat setting. I always use both the Maxiglide and the BaByliss to flat iron. The Maxiglide gets my hair straight but it reverts quickly and is sorta poofy if I don’t follow up with a regular flat iron. It’s not as much heat as it may seem. I probably do about 10-15 sections with the Babyliss and bump my ends at that time too.

Maintenance

I wear my hair in a high bun at night and cover it with a silk scarf. When I take down the bun, I have big waves in my hair and my bangs are curled under. I don’t use any additional heat at all. I wear braidouts, twist outs, and other ‘out’ styles as my hair starts to revert. Day 3 hair is below.