Fine-Haired Naturals: How do you weigh it down?

[davisbr88]

Rocky91: I'm afraid to go over 380, but I may try it and see. My ends do need to be trimmed so I hope that will help too.
glamazon386:I always DC overnight, but I am interested in trying a spray. I've been wanting to get the Nioxin Thermal Bliss, so I will try that and see how it works.

I plan to straighten for Christmas and for my birthday so I will try the argan oil for this month and the method of serum on wet hair, spray on dry hair in January and compare.

 

[Nonie]

davisbr88, what products do you use when you're actually flatironing? I think that may be your problem.

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie: I usually use a leave-in and then apply whatever heat protectant I have on hand. Last time I used John Frieda. Other ones have been Sabino, Heat Glide, The End, and the argan oil.

 

[davisbr88]

Actually, now that I think about it, I may go ahead and get a keratin treatment, Napp (not BKT, though!) Since I plan to straighten on December 21 and less than a month later, why not keratin and have it last that long? It lasts months at a time, right?

 

[davisbr88]

But then again, I don't want to use a blowdryer... :-/

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie: I usually use a leave-in and then apply whatever heat protectant I have on hand. Last time I used John Frieda. Other ones have been Sabino, Heat Glide, The End, and the argan oil.

davisbr88, that's your problem. A leave-in prevents protectant from adhering properly to your hair so your hair can't get the "seal" it needs. Everyone I know who gets a press that lasts a long time uses only protectant. They get their moisture from DCing. My press lasts until I decide to wash my hair and that's with only two passes. One pass with a spray protectant; second with a serum protectant to seal. And no reversion until I shampoo.

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie: So maybe I should increase my passes, too? I usually only do 1.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie: So maybe I should increase my passes, too? I usually only do 1.

No. Just stop using anything else but the protectant.

I do two passes because I don't blow dry my hair. I believe in wet-to-dry passes first (and so I do my first pass on hair that is wet with heat protectant) then the second pass I do on hair that is sealed with a serum.

Have you ever read westNDNbeauty's pressing procedure? Maybe you should follow that to a T. She doesn't do "scary moves like wet-to-dry" but her results are great: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=431336

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie: I don't blow dry either. I did it twice to see if there was a difference but there wasn't, really. I didn't follow her method because I didn't want to blowdry. But I also don't want to do WTD... lol. So I'll just try without a leave-in next time.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie: I don't blow dry either. I did it twice to see if there was a difference but there wasn't, really. I didn't follow her method because I didn't want to blowdry. But I also don't want to do WTD... lol. So I'll just try without a leave-in next time.

Well, you could try my way then. First pass with a spray serum. Airdry fully first in braids or Curlformers, so that when you spray the hair, you can be sure you fully coat it. You'll know that the section is fully coated because it will get wet. If you don't want to pass the iron immediately after spraying, you can let it airdry some more and then pass the flat iron on very narrow sections. If you coated your hair well, you shouldn't smell any burning smell.

Then once you've done your entire head with one pass, part a narrow section and smooth protectant from base to ends meticulously, then pass the iron through. Your hair should be smooth and sealed.

 

[SUPER SWEET]

Curling wax? Is that the same as the wax used when pressing? My mom was privy to the old school red Dax... lol. I never thought I'd reconsider using that stuff ever again!

davisbr88
Yea ,but now it's not as greasy if you use a dab.

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie: I will try without leave-in in December and try it your way in January (if I don't chicken out... lol) If my only problem is the leave-in issue, then I hope I won't have to try a different method in January!

SUPER SWEET: Oh... I see! And does it smell good? I don't remember what Dax smells like. The whole pressing experience gives me bad memories so if it does, I wouldn't even remember the good part.

 

[SUPER SWEET]

Nonie: I will try without leave-in in December and try it your way in January (if I don't chicken out... lol) If my only problem is the leave-in issue, then I hope I won't have to try a different method in January!

SUPER SWEET: Oh... I see! And does it smell good? I don't remember what Dax smells like. The whole pressing experience gives me bad memories so if it does, I wouldn't even remember the good part.

The Lottabody Tresstransitions has an average smell nothing like ooh aww but it's not stank. There are other brands too that have curling wax but I can't vouch for them.

 

[davisbr88]

I feel super stupid. I think I figured out why my last straightening session went bad.
I DC'ed with Moisture Maniac, which has a lot of humectants. I left some of it in my hair when I braided. Then I went to use my iron, which happens to be the Babyliss STEAM iron. Needless to say.... humectants + steam
I don't know why I didn't think of this before.
Next time I am using a different DC, and won't be leaving any in. I may turn off the steam, too, but I'm not sure yet.

 

[Nonie]

I feel super stupid. I think I figured out why my last straightening session went bad.
I DC'ed with Moisture Maniac, which has a lot of humectants. I left some of it in my hair when I braided. Then I went to use my iron, which happens to be the Babyliss STEAM iron. Needless to say.... humectants + steam
I don't know why I didn't think of this before.
Next time I am using a different DC, and won't be leaving any in. I may turn off the steam, too, but I'm not sure yet.

I could've sworn I got this press in 2004 using a steam flatiron...I just don't remember the brand. Again, I only used a serum here (back then I didn't even know there were such things as protectants so it was just John Frieda's regular serum):

So I don't think the steam iron is the problem. I do think the humectants are though, because even if you hadn't used steam, once your hair was exposed to air moisture, the humectants would invite it in and it'd be a poof party.

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie: I don't think the steam alone was an issue but the steam plus the humectants seems counterproductive. I know that when I used humectants under my steamer, my hair got so fluffy (and moisturized, of course), it was ridiculous. Way more fluff than just humectants alone in a normal humid environment.

 

[Nonie]

@Nonie: I don't think the steam alone was an issue but the steam plus the humectants seems counterproductive. I know that when I used humectants under my steamer, my hair got so fluffy (and moisturized, of course), it was ridiculous. Way more fluff than just humectants alone in a normal humid environment.

I agree with this^^. I was just stating that the steam iron wasn't a problem because in your last post you were wondering whether you'll use it at all, and so was just reassuring you that w/o humectants and if you use a serum, the steam iron will give good and lasting results as it did for me in the past. But yes, I do agree that steam plus humectants was a bad combo.

 

[davisbr88]

Nonie: Oh, I see. No, I was only mentioning whether or not I would use it due to preference. Kind of thinking/typing out loud? Lol

 

[NappyNelle]

I feel super stupid. I think I figured out why my last straightening session went bad.
I DC'ed with Moisture Maniac, which has a lot of humectants. I left some of it in my hair when I braided. Then I went to use my iron, which happens to be the Babyliss STEAM iron. Needless to say.... humectants + steam
I don't know why I didn't think of this before.
Next time I am using a different DC, and won't be leaving any in. I may turn off the steam, too, but I'm not sure yet.

Ahhhh.... that makes sense!!!

And maybe you need to use Crisco. lol

 

[glamazon386]

No. Just stop using anything else but the protectant.

I do two passes because I don't blow dry my hair. I believe in wet-to-dry passes first (and so I do my first pass on hair that is wet with heat protectant) then the second pass I do on hair that is sealed with a serum.

Have you ever read westNDNbeauty's pressing procedure? Maybe you should follow that to a T. She doesn't do "scary moves like wet-to-dry" but her results are great: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=431336

ITA. My hair always comes out straighter and feels lighter when I don't use any additional products. Same thing when I get it done at the shop.

 

[naturalmanenyc]

I tired a couple of different ways to show my length (4a, fine hair). So far BKT and an overnight deep conditioning work the best.

Even when using BKT, I do not wear my hair straight longer than 10 days and tend to wear my hair curly for the majority of the 3 months my BKT lasts.

Here are the videos I made for both BKT and Straightening after an overnight DC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZorInGU3qE
Washing out BKT -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpO-vWt3a0k&feature=youtu.be

overnight DC - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2WdwRVHfmE&feature=youtu.be

You could also try Crisco, applied after a good deep conditioning and blowout. I'd only recommend that you use a dab of Crisco though if you want your hair to have some movement and to not look thin/oily.

 

[davisbr88]

Oh, I forgot to come back and update!
I did a combo of what Nonie said and what was in the video I found.
I only used water to set my Curlformers and applied a generous amount of Argan Oil heat protectant all over my head before ironing. I was able to turn the heat dramatically down with the oil. My hair stayed weighed down all throughout the day and night, and even through some evening mist. I applied the oil every night and put my hair in one or two buns and ended up with beautiful body waves and more importantly it didn't blow up and it stayed straight until I decided to wash it. I was very pleased.
I don't have any pics, unfortunately. It was done a couple of days before Christmas, so I wasn't even focused on my hair other than capturing the end of the year length.
Thanks for all of the help, ladies!
I'm about to post the video soon of the flat iron.