Straighten Hair Quickly
Straightening your hair using a flat iron takes time, sometimes more than an hour if your hair is extremely thick and curly. Not everyone has that time to spare on hair every day, though. With some practice, you'll be able to straighten your hair in very little time.
Steps
- Make sure your hair is clean. Clean hair straightens better and doesn't get a burning smell so easily. Unless you have really oily hair, you don't need to wash it again if you have already done so the previous day. If it's been longer than one day, wash it again. If you don't have time you may use a dry shampoo.
- Always use heat protection. It may take a moment, but it is so much better for your hair. Spritz some hair straightening serum and brush it through your hair to protect it from the hair heat of the straightener.
- Turn your flat iron on as high as you think your hair can take. Do not exceed the temperature you are comfortable with. As a guide, try a low heat setting for fair, thin hair, a high heat setting for thick, curly hair, and a medium heat setting for something in between. If your hair damages easily, don't risk ruining it, and wait the extra minute or so for it to heat up. One good hairstyle is not worth months of repairing damaged, broken hair.
- Put up most of your hair. In most people's hair, you can normally find natural layers that want to stay together. Put up all but the bottom layer in a clip or a hair tie.
- Straighten the bottom layer. Do this layer, and possibly the next, quickly, and only go over them once. No one will see these unless you are putting up your hair, or it will cause a puff to the top layers because of a pony mark or something. Once you are done with the bottom, let down another layer, and straighten it. Repeat until all of your hair is straight. This actually does save time because you will be straightening smaller sections at a higher heat, thus requiring less time on each section.
- Alternatively, straighten your bangs and tie the rest up in a ponytail. Straighten your ponytail until it's completely straight. Then, untie the ponytail and straighten the flaws (ponytail mark/bump).
- When finished, brush all of your hair together, and, if you would like, spray with hairspray.
- Finished.
Tips
- The thicker your hair the less you should do at a single time. If you have very thick hair do small strands at a time and it will in fact go quicker as it will require fewer passes of the straightener.
- When you get to the ends of your hair, flip the flat iron in, that way your hair looks really smooth, and it eliminates the look of split ends.
- When done straightening blow dry with cool setting. This keeps your hair straight!
- Ceramic flat irons do far less damage than the metallic ones. Try to buy one of those.
- Don't heat up your hair when it is wet - the water will turn into steam and will burn you.
- Brush the section of hair you are about to straighten right before you start straightening. This will get out the knots and prevent little crinkles.
- Remember: Straightening your hair when it's still soaking wet will just boil it. Be careful.
- Look up the weather that day to see if it isn't going to be rainy or humid. That way, your efforts won't be wasted, and you won't smell like burnt hair all day.
- Make sure that you wash your out hair really well so that you won't have any chemicals. When you straighten your hair, it will be quicker and it won't smell burnt.
- If you have curly hair use straighteners on a high setting then you'll get a better result and last longer.
- Don't worry too much about the bottom half. Unless somebody lifts up the top half of your hair, or you have layers with curly hair underneath, you are fine.
- Try doing it as quickly and CAREFULLY as you can.
- Make sure you go over the back of the hair or else it will be curly in the back.
- If you want to have straighter hair faster, go to a salon and ask them what type of iron they use to straighten hair. Normally the type of iron they use will be expensive, but will get the job done faster and have a better end result than a generic, twenty dollar flat iron.
- Straightening serum helps straighten your hair but you have to put in your hair for about 15 minutes then washing out. Then you have to wait for your hair to dry so the water from your hair does not boil therefore scorching your hair causing it to steam and burn your hand.
- If you have time, wash your hair really quickly for any products that may have been left from the night before. Putting more product will make it greasy.
- Dry your hair with a hair dryer with the nozzle pointing down until it's at least damp.
Warnings
- Don't use too much product to keep your hair straight throughout the day- it will only make it greasy and it will appear too flat at the top of your head.
- Never, ever leave straighteners plugged in if you are not using them. Straighteners are known to burn entire houses down.
- Don't straighten your hair every single day. It can and will dry your hair out.
- Don't straighten your hair for too long or you could cause some serious damage.
- Always use heat protection on your hair. If you don't, you will regret it.
- If the heat is high, be careful to not touch your hair after straightening it.
- Be careful you don't burn yourself if you are straightening your hair in a rush.
- Depending on the thickness of your hair, the time it takes may vary.
- Keep your fingers away from the hot part of the flat iron.
Things You'll Need
- Straightener
- Hair serum
- Hair Dryer (optional)
- Hair protector (optional)
- Hairbrush
