How I straightened my kinkyhair: Week1 hair diary and the tips I came up with to protect my hair

Hey Lovelys.....I hope that all is well. I wanted to share my straightening regimen with you all before I forget what I did. Now I have never straightened my hair with a flat iron since going natural because I was scared. Scared that my hair won't revert back to my wonderful kinky curly hair. I love my kinks and wouldn't change them for the world. But I, like many other kinky curlies out there, like to try new things every now and then. I began to hate using the word "natural" to describe my hair because of how the community has become towards those of us who choose to: a)wear weave, wigs, extensions, dye our hair, flat iron, blow dry, not use all natural products. All of these things people judge you for because they think there is only one way to do something.

So like I said before, I love my kinky curly hair. But just like trying new things. Anything that I can do myself safely, I'll try it!!!

Here is what I did to get started:

First I did sooooooooo much research on straightening my hair it's not even funny. I went from blog, vlog, videos, magazines, word of mouth....I mean you name it I did it. So if you're unsure about anything I suggest research. If after all that research you still feel unsure I say go to a professional. Although I do my own hair, if I didn't think I could do it myself, I would definitely have just gone to a beautician. But like I said previously I researched a lot and knew it's be a piece of cake.

Next When you decide to straighten your hair, you shouldn't just do a search on how to do it, but also on what type of ingredients is needed to properly treat your hair. What might be useful to someone else hair, may not be useful to yours and may do more harm than good. Such as a product with too much alchohol or not enough thremal protection. You want to make sure you have a balance of the following: Silicones (Amodimethicone, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Trimethicone), Protein (Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Polysiloxane Copolymer, Hydolyzed Keratin). 

There are just so many other ingredients way to many for me to name in one post. But you all get the gist of what to look for.....products that not only protect your hair from heat but keep your hair moisturized for the duration of your hair being straight. Notice I didn't say water. Well anything with water will revert your hair back to frizz up. Which will be like a complete waste of time because it takes so much work and time to get it straight. Who wants to waste all that time right? 

Then I decided what type of straightening method I wanted to use: Hot comb was a no-to the-no, flat iron, blow dryer, a straightening system....the list goes on. But I decided to use a blow dryer and flat iron, in which I later changed anyway. I suggest going with what your hair can tolerate and this depends on past experiences as well as hair thickness. Like some people can use a lot of heat while others can't. I chose to use only 350˚ to maybe 375. I also cut off my wonderful new flat iron after it being on for half hour. IDK if this helps but I did it anyway.

Since the basics are out the way I'm going to share what products and tools I used on my hair:

Pre-poo: TRESemme Flawless Curls Conditioner 
Shampoo: Shea Moisture Raw Shea butter Moisture Retention Shampoo
Conditioner: Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisturizing Conditioner
Deep Conditioner: Beautiful Textures Rapid Repair Deep conditioner
Leave-In: Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl & Style Milk 
Heat Protectant spray for blow drying: TRESemme Keratin Smooth Heat Protection
Heat Protectant for flat ironing: ORS Olive Oil Thermal Protect & Shine and I also used it with grapeseed oil.
Tools:
Duck bill clips, clamps, rattail comb, blow dryer, flat iron: I used Gold Hot 1" Professional Ceramic Straightening Iron, water spray bottle

I start with my normal hair wash routine but made sure I used a lot of Hydrolyzed protein because I read some where that it is good for your hair to have when using heat. You can never have to much heat protection. So I looked for it in everything from my shampoo to my conditioner.

• Prepoo for 45 mins, if you have a steamer than it shouldn't take as long but I can't afford that so I just use a plastic bag and call it a day. Or go sit in the bathroom and run the shower. :)
• Rinse out prepoo and shampoo your scalp. Also my hair stays in twists the whole time I'm washing. I do this because it's so much more easier for me to do.
• Apply a conditioner. The one I chose has Hydrolyzed Protein in it but you can use which ever one you feel comfortable using. Again I am growing twist by twist to wash and condition my hair.

• I have never tried this DC before but I needed something to do the right job. It contained a lot of ingredients that are good when using heat so I said why not. I usually do a DIY but this isn't the time to do that. Or I use Shea Moisture but that wasn't in my budget. I DC'd for about 1 hour with a plastic bag. Then rinsed and resectioned my hair into bigger twists.
•  I plopped my hair for about 15 mins before applying a leave in. So my hair was about half dry. My hair is high porosity so it dries in an half hour almost completely. Thank the lord for that right!! Then I sectioned off my hair to began blowdrying. I only blowdried half my hair because it was so late. I used my heat protectant and the tension method to blowdry.  I also tried to completely dry my hair this time because I knew I'd be straightening my hair and didn't want to have to much heat.
• The next day I woke and because my hair basically dried over night I started the flat ironing process using the chasing method. When doing this make sure to use a good comb because I burnt up my comb lol. Like I said earlier I stayed between 350-375, I was too chicken to go higher than than that. First I'd grab a small section, place the rest of the hair in clips. Then apply grapeseed oil. Then my heat protectant serum. I chose this heat protectant for flat ironing because it doesn't contain water, it protects against frizz, provides shine, and lastly the first ingredient is Cyclomethicone which is a heat protecting silicone. Now for anything other than straightening I usually don't use silicones. But this protects your hair from damage. This whole process took about 2 hours.

It's been a week since all that hard work and I must say I miss my kinky hair. Most people in my class miss it too. Also I don't remember what to do with straight hair so it's like every day I am wearing a bun. Maybe by next week I'll see how I feel.
On the plus side tonight is a Scandal night!!!! Yippy!!
Thank you all for reading
Pynkstarr