FROM KINKY COILY TO STRAIGHT..LIGHT FLAT IRONING MY NATURAL HAIR

Greetings, Everyone!!! I pray all is well with you and your wonderful household. 

Ahhh, the versatility of natural hair...Ok, so I decided to do a light blow out and flat iron on my tresses. Now, I've only used heat in my 4th month post BC and a little on my bang in 2012 as a demonstration on how to use heat properly on natural hair. For my complete post on the 'Do's and Don't s on Using Heat', click here . So, it's been quite awhile since the ole gal has had fire to the flame. 

I truly wanted to experiment with straight hair this week because as a page operator, I receive questions in regards to caring for natural hair while flat ironed or straightened. And, honestly, I love to speak by experience. So, this week, I want to document how I cared for my tresses while flat ironed: through workout, protecting at night, moisturizing, detangling, you know, the good stuff that helps keep our hair healthy. Now, I will say, I don't think excessive use of heat is a great go, simply because the more heat applied over and over gradually breaks down the protein bond in the hair and overtime, could potentially prevent the hair from reverting back to its normal curly, kinky or coily texture. Excessive heat use can also aid in dryness. So, with everything, I definitely encourage moderation. 

MY REGIMEN AND PRODUCTS USED ON DAY 1:

• Cleanse: terressentials pure earth wash

• Deep Condition: Natty Cupuacu & Rhassoul Deep Conditioner

• Scalp And Hair Protectant: Natty ACV Hair & Scalp Mist

• Leave In: Natty Moist

• Seal: Natty Butter

• Twist: Once my hair was 70-80% dry, I placed in twists to prep for blow drying and flat ironing the next day.  I had 16 total twists. 

THE METHOD: DAY 2

On Hair that was completely dry, working one twist at a time, I untwist, dampen just a little using my Natty ACV Hair & Scalp Mist then applied my Natty Butter to lock in the moisture. This helped with retaining more moisture into my hair to avoid dryness. Using a paddle brush, I detangled and Blow dried on medium heat, low setting. Taking smaller sections, I applied a little Natty Butter as my heat protectant then I proceeded to flat iron on temp setting of 325. Hair will burn at a temp of 450 degrees and above, so please be mindful. And because I did not want to risk burning or damaging my hair, I kept the heat setting low for a light flat iron. This allowed my hair to maintain the fullness that I achieved. I repeated until my entire head was done. Took about 3.5 - 4 hours for the entire process (this included resting for 3 minutes..hey, I'm not used to taking this much time on my hair unless I'm mini twisting my hair, which takes a loooonnnngggg time). I also trimmed about 2.5 inches off of my hair to rid my hair of dead ends. I didn't shape my hair or anything, for some reason, my hair grows out in a shaped mode all on its own. 

THE RESULTS: I DO LOVE IT!!