Essential Products for Hair Straightening

Having naturally very curly hair (and unfortunately having resented it for most of my life), I've straightened my hair thousands of times. Doing so is really not great for your locks. It makes them dry and dead if you don't make the necessary preparations, which I learnt the hard way.

Over time, I've managed to restore my hair to a reasonable state. Here are some of the things I use to keep my hair nice while maintaining my apparent addiction to heat styling.

Shampoo and conditioner for damaged hair - Using a specific type of shampoo/conditioner that was tailored to my needs significantly improved my hair. The effects gradually stop having such a strong effect as your strands get used to it, but even then I still use it to maintain my hair and prevent any more damage. If your hair is still in need of some repair, switch up the brand for a bit or try out a hair mask. I use: Toni & Guy Cleanse Shampoo and Nourish Conditioner for Damaged Hair

Leave-in conditioner - This serves a similar purpose to using regular conditioner, but I find having something else to help and protect my hair while it's dry is really helpful. A lot of leave-in conditioners are also marketed to help avoid and mend split ends, which is really helpful as straightening makes them appear a lot faster and more frequently. You also only need a really small amount, so one bottle lasts you ages! I use: Bed Head by TIGI Ego Boost Split End Mender/Leave-In Conditioner

Heat defence spray - Heat defence is a MUST! It's the most important step in preventing gross, dry hair when straightening. I spritz some through my hair before blowdrying and then again before straightening. If you don't use anything else on this list, make sure to at least pick up some of this stuff! I use: Lee Stafford ArganOil Miracle Heat Defence Spray

Dry shampoo - This is probably the least essential item for hair straightening specifically, but I still rely on it pretty heavily. I the oiliness of my hair is a lot more noticeable and comes about faster when it's straightened. Instead of finding the time and effort to wash my hair more frequently, I use dry shampoo to make it last for just a day longer. It can also help with volume, as my straightened hair gets a lot flatter than my curly hair as well. I use: Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush

I hope that this post has been helpful to some of you! I'm unfortunately staring finals in the face over the next few weeks, so posting may become a little less frequent, but they'll more than likely come and go faster than I'm prepared for as it is. Till next time!

xx

Curly Hair

Yes! That is a picture of my hair! It's curly, it's messy, and it's mine. I was born with really curly hair. It runs in my family. It straightened out for a little while when I was around four or five, but otherwise, it's always been that way.

Your probably thinking "oh hey, that's cool", or maybe you just don't really care. I don't mind. But, believe it or not, I've received quite a lot of nasty offhand comments about my natural hair from as young as eight years old. Self-esteem is a fragile thing when you're young. All it takes is a few words to make you feel bad about something, and you don't yet know that it shouldn't matter. 

I started straightening my hair when I was thirteen. I'm now almost twenty, and I've only just stopped frying it every single time I wash it. Finally, after seven years, I realised that my curly hair is beautiful. After years of looking at advertisements and TV shows and glossy magazines filled with pretty girls with slick, straight strands, I was finally able to look in the mirror and think "hey, it doesn't matter if I don't look like that. I still look good."

I can't help but think of all the little girls (and boys, too!) out there with wonderful, curly hair that are wishing desperately for it to be straight, that get teased about it, that want to look like what society has deemed "beautiful". It makes me really sad. I know that in the grand scheme of things, being self-conscious about your hair is pretty low on the significance scale, but I want to one day live in a world where embracing and wearing your natural hair is accepted everywhere, for everyone. Imagine, if that can happen, what other amazing things we can move on to. 

If you have curly hair, try not to hate it. Take some time to look in the mirror and find a way to work it. If you still don't like it, then that's fine, too. It's your choice. I still like straightening my hair sometimes. I think it looks nice. But, just remember that no one else should have anything to do with it.

xx