Flat ironing/hair trouble

[Shana-chan]

So I have thick hair and when I heat my Revlon flat iron up for 15 mins it's ready to use. It "supposedly" gets up to 400f and it has a dial that goes from 1-30 and the higher the number the hotter it's supposed to get. I use it at 30 as nothing else really works. Anyway, I spend like 10-20 mins flat ironing my hair. After that's done it still doesn't look flat like how woman's hair should be. It's flat but is still thick. I used a chi silk infusion once to help flat iron my hair but it made it worse so I've not been using any kind of stuff to keep the hair from burning and honestly, no smoke ever happen anyway. So when I finally go outside, my hair gets all puffy again as if I never even flat ironed it. This bloody sucks and I want to know is it my cheap ass flat iron that only costed me $20-$30 bucks or is it something I'm doing wrong? Is it true that you need a $100 or more flat iron to get professional results or at LEAST straight flat hair that stays that way till you shower? I know it can't be my hair since I once went to a salon and she made my hair SOO flat and beautiful that it lasted through going outside and into the next day till I finally washed it. Quick question, when that hair stylist was done, my hair was a much lighter shade of it's natural color, she didn't use highlights I don't think since it returned to it's natural color after the shower I think. (Either that or later with time retuned to it's natural color) so what DID she use/do? Also, I say natural color but maybe THAT was my natural color and for some reason my hair picks up crud degrading the color. -_-

Lastly, are there any shampoos & conditioners I can use to help get it to being naturally straight and would I have to use those forever or just for a certain amount of time? It sucks my sis and mom have naturally straight hair but I didn't inherit it from my mom like my sis did. lol Really, I know nothing about taking care of my hair and thought I was supposed to wash it every day...(If I go 3 days without washing it I get flacks and I've used a head & shoulders shampoo & conditioner that supposedly gets rid of it but still have it..)

[Cindy]

I use mystic oil, oil based products protect your hair and make the iron slide, Oh and turn it to mid heat, high heat drys the hair and makes it unmanageable.

My hair is naturally curly

[apriljo]

I used to use a cheap $30 flat iron and it took me 30-40 minutes to make it flat. I used the hottest setting because anything lower didn't do anything. When I was done it looked ok, but as the day went on it started to become less flat.

Since coming out to my mom she has given me one of her old professional flat irons (she is a retired hair stylist). I left it at the setting she had it at (340, not sure if that's F or C) and I get my hair flat in 10-15 minutes using the same technique. It stays all day and into the next day when it inevitably gets wet in the shower.

The light shines on flat hair differently than curly/wavy hair. Likely why it looks lighter to you.

I used to have to shampoo every day. My hair just got gross and oily that quickly. Since a couple months in to HRT it doesn't get that way and I shampoo twice a week now. My hair is softer and healthier now. Not sure how much of that is the HRT and how much is the less frequent washing.

[echo_artist]

      From a Cosmetologist stand point, I'm gonna say that it may be the density of your hair.
There's nothing WRONG with your hair (Unless its possessing you)
My hair is VERY thin and its full, so I know once my hair falls out, ITS NOTICEABLE.
As for products, You may need a straighter/hot press balm. It preps the hair to flatten down.
You can also you keratin products. (DON'T DO THE PROCESS IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO FUMES The wash is great by its self.)
I would recommend : Straight Sexy Hair, Brazillian Tech (budget friendly), Tresemme OR Just looking for straightening gels,pomades,
oils. The dot the job.
If you have a pic of your hair, I could probably tell you anything else you may need to keep your hair healthy.
And yes, hair can alter colour slightly depending what the process is. You WILL know if she lightened your hair. Lol.
Best of luck and I would LOVE to help you at anytime. :3

[Ltl89]

I flat iron my hair every other day, and can understand what you mean.  When I do it, the hair is somewhat pin straight, but will start to pick up a little volume after a few minutes.  I prefer that because I want straight hair but with a little volume.  In any case, my sister also straightens her hair and she prefers the pin straight.  The difference between me and her is that she uses an expensive Chi flat iron that goes to insane heat levels while I use a remington that goes up to 300.  I'm not sure if it's the heat or the brand, but the Chi that she uses works very well for her.  Maybe look into getting an expensive one?

By the way, do you use any products before styling?  For example, I use a heat protecting spray as well as a argan oil product before I flat iron and a little biosilk afterwards.  Doing this protects my hair and also allows my hair to stay straight and unfrizzy.  When I don't use that stuff, my hair kind of comes out a frizzy mess, so maybe a product will help you too.

Also, please be careful to proect your hair.  Hair Straighteners will do some damage.  Besides using a heat spray, I use a deep conditioner at least 3 times a week (I probably go overboard) to keep it moisturized and use a sulfate free shampoo.  When I don't deep condition, I'll use John Frieda's frizzease. And the deep considitioner I use is by redken which I believe is called intense renewal (it's in a purple jar).  Both of them work really well. 

[echo_artist]

Well the density of your hair may prevent it from staying flat, plus moisture is a factor, if you sweat or there's alot of moisture in the environment that can cause it to poof.
Don't straighten it too often, your hair need atleast  hours before being re heated at such a high temperature. Or it'll break after constantly straightening it.

[Alainaluvsu]

Without knowing your hair type and your techniques, I can't really offer much advice. All I can say is if it's super curly, you may want to get a keratin treatment first. This will make flat ironing much easier (and make your hair healthier as well). However, you may just be taking too much of a section at a time, which would basically not do anything to the hair. I can't really tell you how much to take per section, it's just a "feel" that you have to get adjusted to.

Flat irons simply break the hydrogen bonds in the hair so they can be reshaped. The more expensive flat irons generally have better plates which are safer on your hair and more durable. A word of advice though, if your flat iron takes 15 minutes to heat up, it's a piece of crap. Good ones heat up in literally seconds.

[RachelH]

Definitely this.

. A word of advice though, if your flat iron takes 15 minutes to heat up, it's a piece of crap. Good ones heat up in literally seconds.

I use to use a cheap straightener and my hair use to frizz up fairly quickly afterwards.  A friend straightened my hair with her straighteners (GHD) and I was converted!

Also if you want to add extra volume and maintain a glossy straight finish, use a vented brush while drying your hair; wrapping your hair round the brush in strands and repeatedly pulling the brush carefully out, while drying with a nozzle on the hair dryer. Then partition your hair and straighten in small strands.  Finish with some smoothing oil/serum and brush again and your hair should be very smooth and straight.  This has worked with both my hair (very fine) and a friend I showed it to (very thick).  Oh and use some heat protecting spray at the beginning or your hair quickly becomes damaged from repeatedly heating it.

[BunnyBee]

I have a nice Chi flat iron, so idk if it's your iron or not, but I would recommend mine to anybody.   About products, I always use the chi iron guard spray when I do mine.  Maybe try that ( it helps protect your hair but also help with the straightening) and if it doesn't work consider getting a better iron?

I once had a cheap one too and it didn't work worth anything.

[Shana-chan]

I'm going shopping tomorrow so if you have the time to reply to this before I get to town so I can buy anything I might need then please help, thanks. As to my actual post/reply,

Sorry I haven't had the chance to reply here, had a lot going on. Thank you everyone for your posts and I hope to get some more in regards to this post. As to stuff said here, I'll break it down into sections as to the answers you might be wanting to know such as, do I use a spray/cream, my techniques and then some. I'll even post a vid which I used to help me get this far but really, I need your help. Btw, I don't know some of the stuff ya'll have said such as product names/techniques/treatments mentioned and such. Like I said, I have practically no knowledge when it comes to this. (and most female stuff sadly..) I shall type a name such as my techniques and bold then and increase their text size so you can quickly go too and read the section you wish to read however, I'll be giving a response/answer to quotes so it'll be below those quotes. Oh and, where can I buy these expensive flat irons like the chi one and more that cost like $100 or more dollars? I mainly shop at Wal-Mart (Where I got my crappy Revlon flat iron from lol which I only saw $20-$30 flat irons such as that one..) and have no way to order online atm..

Do I use protecting products when flat ironing my hair?

an expensive Chi flat iron that goes to insane heat levels while I use a remington that goes up to 300.  I'm not sure if it's the heat or the brand, but the Chi that she uses works very well for her.  Maybe look into getting an expensive one?

By the way, do you use any products before styling?  For example, I use a heat protecting spray as well as a argan oil product before I flat iron and a little biosilk afterwards.  Doing this protects my hair and also allows my hair to stay straight and unfrizzy.  When I don't use that stuff, my hair kind of comes out a frizzy mess, so maybe a product will help you too.

Also, please be careful to protect your hair.  Hair Straighteners will do some damage.  Besides using a heat spray, I use a deep conditioner at least 3 times a week (I probably go overboard) to keep it moisturized and use a sulfate free shampoo.  When I don't deep condition, I'll use John Frieda's frizzease. And the deep considitioner I use is by redken which I believe is called intense renewal (it's in a purple jar).  Both of them work really well.

How expensive is a chi flat iron & how high does it go to? I currently have a crappy Revlon flat iron that was $20-$30 and the plate is thin, not wide. Well I'm seriously considering trying it but, what I don't get is how come a hair stylist who should know what they're talking about tells me I need an expensive one yet "other people" will sometimes tell me that's not true and is just a way for them to make money, a $20-$30 one will get it flat...

No. Not a one and my hair is fine, doesn't break. Not entirely sure what that means but, I have long hair, looks like it's not half broken/cut off and I only lose about 10-20 hairs a day in the shower. (usually just 10) From what I understand, that's normal to lose that amount of hair? Like I said in the first post, My flat iron doesn't steam or smoke, including when flat ironing my hair. Plus, the one time I used a chi silk infusion cream/gel, it actually made my hair frizz and come unstraitened as if I was outside. -_- Now if I get a better flat iron, believe you me, I WILL be protecting my hair. Btw, you'll notice some bold words and such in your quote, that's because I don't know what those are and have never heard of them. lol (Like I said, next to 0 knowledge here on this stuff..)

Is the density of my hair/mosiure/sweat the reason why my hair won't flat iron?

Well the density of your hair may prevent it from staying flat, plus moisture is a factor, if you sweat or there's alot of moisture in the environment that can cause it to poof.
Don't straighten it too often, your hair need atleast  hours before being re heated at such a high temperature. Or it'll break after constantly straightening it.

It's not. As I said in the OP post, I went to a hair salon and she made my hair so flat that it stayed that way into the next day. If SHE can do it, then I should be able to do it too. Otherwise, flat irons are a big joke and don't work but we all know they do.. (Least the really good ones)

How many hrs you talking?

How I do my hair and what is my technique?

Without knowing your hair type and your techniques, I can't really offer much advice. All I can say is if it's super curly, you may want to get a keratin treatment first. This will make flat ironing much easier (and make your hair healthier as well). However, you may just be taking too much of a section at a time, which would basically not do anything to the hair. I can't really tell you how much to take per section, it's just a "feel" that you have to get adjusted to.

Flat irons simply break the hydrogen bonds in the hair so they can be reshaped. The more expensive flat irons generally have better plates which are safer on your hair and more durable. A word of advice though, if your flat iron takes 15 minutes to heat up, it's a piece of crap. Good ones heat up in literally seconds.

How am I supposed to know what hair my type is? Wait, there's a hair type? As for my techniques, as long as I have time & am not in a hurry I will pull back half of my hair for all of my head/hair. I will then proceed to flat iron the left side in 3 sections, going over each section 2 times, sometimes more if it needs it. I then do the right side the same way, followed by my back hair which, only the lower bottom of it gets done this way. Afterwards, I take down my pulled back hair (Oh, it was pulled back using some clips that a hair stylist at a hair salon gave me for free) and proceed to do a repeat but this time only flat ironing the hair that was taken down. Afterwards, I do the front of my hair/head the same way, pull it up, flat iron 3 sections (one at a time like before) and then let it down and finish flat ironing the hair in the front that was just let down the same as the rest. At this point, my hair is still poofy but is not a tangled mess. So I THEN proceed to flat ironing my whole head again, however this time flat ironing all my hair on each side instead of doing it half at a time. I do it the same way, take in my hand a section of hair going from front to back doing 3 sections, one at a time just like before, once the left side is down, then is the right side, followed by the back and then the front again. At this point, it should be done and I'm through but sometimes, given the whether/humidity outside I may have to do it once more for certain areas of my hair/head which are random. Example, this morning I had to flat iron my front on the left section more because the hair was going to the right and not wanting to be straight. Even then, I only managed to somewhat get it straight but it was flat enough. lol Oh and lastly on my technique, I forgot to sya but, once I finish each side of my hair/head I immediately get my flat brush and comb it downward which helps. I've tried combing it WHILE I flat iron but, I simply can't do it, tried but can't. Like how the girl in the below vid does it, couldn't do it even with her tip..

Now, que walk outside/wind/humidity/just wait a few mins to an hr max whether inside or outside and it'll become poofy again, just not a tangled mess but still it'll look somewhat tangled. Oh and if I put my hair up with a hair bow and or wear a hair net (Which my job requires me to do so) then it'll really look bad. All this while also waiting 15 mins for my flat iron to heat up at the max setting and it takes me anywhere from 10-20 mins to get it that good.

Sounds? Surely you're exaggerating? I mean even the girl in the below vid says hers (A chi flat iron) takes about 7 or so mins to heat up.. Then again, when I went to the hair salon unless she had it going while I heated my hair up ir left it on the whole time, I think hers was used on me within secs..

I have a nice Chi flat iron, so idk if it's your iron or not, but I would recommend mine to anybody.   About products, I always use the chi iron guard spray when I do mine.  Maybe try that ( it helps protect your hair but also help with the straightening) and if it doesn't work consider getting a better iron?

I once had a cheap one too and it didn't work worth anything.

Where can you buy a chi flat iron and the guard spray? Do you know of a vid that shows how to use the flat spray?
I don't think the spray alone will do anything tbh..

EDIT: I believe I was going to post a vid for where I learned the little that I know now or soemthign but can't find it. Sorry. If I come across it soonish then I'll post it here though.

[BunnyBee]

If you have an Ulta locally you can prob find a Chi iron there.  The spray product I use is in the Walmarts out here and is cheaper there than anywhere else

Here is my flat iron, with link to buy:

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod3850103


And this is the product I use, also with link, but honestly buy it at Walmart:

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4730015


I would recommend youtube for techniques.  If I can find the one I learned from I will embed it in this post later .  It takes a while to get the skills, so be patient with yourself.  It used to take me literal hours to do mine, now it's 20-30 mins.

I can't find the video I watched, but this is basically how I do it anyway, except I lightly spray each section with product and brush it in right before I iron it:

[echo_artist]

< Has never used Chi.
I'm learning right now. ^^

[Alainaluvsu]

How I do my hair and what is my technique?
How am I supposed to know what hair my type is? Wait, there's a hair type? As for my techniques, as long as I have time & am not in a hurry I will pull back half of my hair for all of my head/hair. I will then proceed to flat iron the left side in 3 sections, going over each section 2 times, sometimes more if it needs it. I then do the right side the same way, followed by my back hair which, only the lower bottom of it gets done this way. Afterwards, I take down my pulled back hair (Oh, it was pulled back using some clips that a hair stylist at a hair salon gave me for free) and proceed to do a repeat but this time only flat ironing the hair that was taken down. Afterwards, I do the front of my hair/head the same way, pull it up, flat iron 3 sections (one at a time like before) and then let it down and finish flat ironing the hair in the front that was just let down the same as the rest. At this point, my hair is still poofy but is not a tangled mess. So I THEN proceed to flat ironing my whole head again, however this time flat ironing all my hair on each side instead of doing it half at a time. I do it the same way, take in my hand a section of hair going from front to back doing 3 sections, one at a time just like before, once the left side is down, then is the right side, followed by the back and then the front again. At this point, it should be done and I'm through but sometimes, given the whether/humidity outside I may have to do it once more for certain areas of my hair/head which are random. Example, this morning I had to flat iron my front on the left section more because the hair was going to the right and not wanting to be straight. Even then, I only managed to somewhat get it straight but it was flat enough. lol Oh and lastly on my technique, I forgot to sya but, once I finish each side of my hair/head I immediately get my flat brush and comb it downward which helps. I've tried combing it WHILE I flat iron but, I simply can't do it, tried but can't. Like how the girl in the below vid does it, couldn't do it even with her tip..

Now, que walk outside/wind/humidity/just wait a few mins to an hr max whether inside or outside and it'll become poofy again, just not a tangled mess but still it'll look somewhat tangled. Oh and if I put my hair up with a hair bow and or wear a hair net (Which my job requires me to do so) then it'll really look bad. All this while also waiting 15 mins for my flat iron to heat up at the max setting and it takes me anywhere from 10-20 mins to get it that good.

Sounds? Surely you're exaggerating? I mean even the girl in the below vid says hers (A chi flat iron) takes about 7 or so mins to heat up.. Then again, when I went to the hair salon unless she had it going while I heated my hair up ir left it on the whole time, I think hers was used on me within secs..
Where can you buy a chi flat iron and the guard spray? Do you know of a vid that shows how to use the flat spray?
I don't think the spray alone will do anything tbh..

What type of hair:

Texture: Coarse, medium, fine.
Wave pattern: Straight, wavy, curly, kinky.
Density: Low, medium, dense.
Condition: Porous, Non porous. (You can pinch a strand of hair and move your pinched fingers down it. It should be smooth like glass if it's non porous. If you go back up the strand you will notice it's rougher)

These factors 100% determine what techniques or even what processes you need to go through for hair care. The way flat irons work is by breaking  the hydrogen bonds in the hair causing hair to go limp, which reform to however the hair is standing when it cools off (because the hydrogen bonds reform when they cool off).

The amount of heat that is required to break the hydrogen bonds in the hair varies depending on the type of your hair you have. Non porous, coarse hair is going to require more heat to affect the cortex layer of the hair (where the "strength" of the hair is). However, overly porous hair will be very difficult to flat iron under any circumstances as it is more prone to heat damage and some of the bonds in the hair are completely missing and are unable to be reformed.

If your hair is going puffy in the humidity, then you probably need a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. The reason hair goes all frizzy in humidity is because the water in the air seeps past the cuticle layer and causes the strands to swell unevenly. The effect is even more pronounced if your hair is porous. A moisturizing treatment would saturate your hair in moisture so that the humidity doesn't swell the hair unevenly. For example, I shampoo and condition my hair very consistently with salon quality product. In my avatar, I'm standing literally 1 block from the Mississippi River in New Orleans in the middle of April. My hair is not going nuts. It used to frizz a bit in these conditions, but the quality of product REALLY does help.

And no, I'm not exaggerating about flat irons. I've used lots of flat irons (I went to cosmetology school and had about 400 hours of practice on the floor). Crappy ones take forever to heat up. The last flat iron I had literally you pushed the button, counted to 5, and the light went from blinking to solid (indicating full heat). The one I had in school took a good 5 minutes or so to get to 400 degrees (a pretty good setting for most hair).

The spray will not help with your issue. It is heat guard only and will only protect your hair from the damaging effects of overheating your hair. The video shows a girl with fairly wavy hair (leaning to already straight). Her hair appears to be in pretty good condition considering she has probably used lightener to get the highlights and judging by the amount of highlight in her hair, she probably gets them regularly.

There's a bunch of ways to help but it all depends on your hair type. Keratin treatments do wonders, but they're expensive. Healthy hair makes things a zillion times easier.

[Shana-chan]

What type of hair:

Texture: Coarse, medium, fine.
Wave pattern: Straight, wavy, curly, kinky.
Density: Low, medium, dense.
Condition: Porous, Non porous. (You can pinch a strand of hair and move your pinched fingers down it. It should be smooth like glass if it's non porous. If you go back up the strand you will notice it's rougher)

These factors 100% determine what techniques or even what processes you need to go through for hair care. The way flat irons work is by breaking  the hydrogen bonds in the hair causing hair to go limp, which reform to however the hair is standing when it cools off (because the hydrogen bonds reform when they cool off).

The amount of heat that is required to break the hydrogen bonds in the hair varies depending on the type of your hair you have. Non porous, coarse hair is going to require more heat to affect the cortex layer of the hair (where the "strength" of the hair is). However, overly porous hair will be very difficult to flat iron under any circumstances as it is more prone to heat damage and some of the bonds in the hair are completely missing and are unable to be reformed.

If your hair is going puffy in the humidity, then you probably need a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. The reason hair goes all frizzy in humidity is because the water in the air seeps past the cuticle layer and causes the strands to swell unevenly. The effect is even more pronounced if your hair is porous. A moisturizing treatment would saturate your hair in moisture so that the humidity doesn't swell the hair unevenly. For example, I shampoo and condition my hair very consistently with salon quality product. In my avatar, I'm standing literally 1 block from the Mississippi River in New Orleans in the middle of April. My hair is not going nuts. It used to frizz a bit in these conditions, but the quality of product REALLY does help.

And no, I'm not exaggerating about flat irons. I've used lots of flat irons (I went to cosmetology school and had about 400 hours of practice on the floor). Crappy ones take forever to heat up. The last flat iron I had literally you pushed the button, counted to 5, and the light went from blinking to solid (indicating full heat). The one I had in school took a good 5 minutes or so to get to 400 degrees (a pretty good setting for most hair).

The spray will not help with your issue. It is heat guard only and will only protect your hair from the damaging effects of overheating your hair. The video shows a girl with fairly wavy hair (leaning to already straight). Her hair appears to be in pretty good condition considering she has probably used lightener to get the highlights and judging by the amount of highlight in her hair, she probably gets them regularly.

There's a bunch of ways to help but it all depends on your hair type. Keratin treatments do wonders, but they're expensive. Healthy hair makes things a zillion times easier.

I'd say curly & kinky but it might just be kinky. (Basically bad bedhead)
non porous from how you described it I guess.
If by density you mean thickness then, DENSE! >.>
As for texture, not sure what you mean?

Anyway, that's as good as I can tell you. As to what I bolded in your quote, can you tell me the name of the iron, the price and a pic would be nice?

Yea, I watched that vid and I'm like, uh, her hair is no where NEAR as bad as mine is and already looks like she'd flat ironed it. lol

I don't know what a Keratin treatment is or any other type of treatment. (I only know some by name such as a perm but know NOTHING about them) but anyway, if the treatment is expensive then I can't afford it.

[Shana-chan]

If you have an Ulta locally you can prob find a Chi iron there.  The spray product I use is in the Walmarts out here and is cheaper there than anywhere else

Here is my flat iron, with link to buy:

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod3850103


And this is the product I use, also with link, but honestly buy it at Walmart:

http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4730015


I would recommend youtube for techniques.  If I can find the one I learned from I will embed it in this post later .  It takes a while to get the skills, so be patient with yourself.  It used to take me literal hours to do mine, now it's 20-30 mins.

I can't find the video I watched, but this is basically how I do it anyway, except I lightly spray each section with product and brush it in right before I iron it:

I'm seeing some VERY BAD comments about that fat iron tbh. I also see it won't go up to even 400f and it's not adjustable heat temp. The one I saw at Wal-Mart is called Chi Air and it's the same price as that one and looks near identical too except, it goes to 410f and is adjustable on the heat level. I debated whether to get it or not but chose nit to and went with some shampooxconditioner I'd been meaning to try in hopes that MAYBE this would work vs. paying for a $100 iron. It's better and I've only used it like 3 times now but still needs more.

[Alainaluvsu]

I'd say curly & kinky but it might just be kinky. (Basically bad bedhead)
non porous from how you described it I guess.
If by density you mean thickness then, DENSE! >.>
As for texture, not sure what you mean?

Anyway, that's as good as I can tell you. As to what I bolded in your quote, can you tell me the name of the iron, the price and a pic would be nice?

Yea, I watched that vid and I'm like, uh, her hair is no where NEAR as bad as mine is and already looks like she'd flat ironed it. lol

I don't know what a Keratin treatment is or any other type of treatment. (I only know some by name such as a perm but know NOTHING about them) but anyway, if the treatment is expensive then I can't afford it.

Texture is how thick each individual strand is. If your hair is kinky, you're probably going to need to condition your hair and get it COMPLETELY dry before flat ironing. If the density (how many individual strands there are) is thick, then you're going to need to take smaller sections than normal. Generally with normal density I was taking about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch sections. The more coarse of texture of your hair, the higher you're gonna want to put the flat iron too. If you can get a hold of an iron that goes to 450 and can be QUICK and CAREFUL, that would probably be optimal. But don't start at that setting. Start at a low setting and work up from there.

Sorry I can't help you with what flat iron I used to have, I lost it in the move. Believe it or not, I haven't used a flat iron in quite a while. My hair naturally falls like this. I'm really lucky. I don't remember what brand it was. I will say this, if you're looking for the best type of flat iron, look for a nano-titanium one. These distribute heat evenly to the plates and gives more shine to the hair (due to more negative ions being distributed to the plates).

[flytrap]

I am wondering if you wait for the ready light to come back on before working on another section of hair? I thought flat irons were always ready use once they heated up til I noticed my girlfriend pausing between passes for the plates to warm back up. I felt kinda stupid bot realizing that.

You may find you get better results with a narrower iron. I went through a couple til I settled on a 1" wide iron.

Hot brushes are the bomb. They leave a little body and are much easier and quicker.

Flat iron or hot brush, coconut oil (the stuf you keep in the kitchen to cook with) is amazing for hair!

[big kim]

I use water, its cheap & easy! I braid my hair when riding my bike & straighten it with water when I undo it

[Jenntrans]

Look Curly hair is sexy. Hell Hair is sexy. Do not damage your hair. There are wigs if you want straight hair and any beauty shop will match the color of you hair and make a specialized wig and it may not be cheap.

I kind of like washing and conditioning my hair everyday and using Frizz Ease and gel and shanking it out instead of spending and half hour trying to straighten it. To be honest that don't even work.

Look at it like this... Curly hair don't tangle sot that mean less breakage. Yes there will be some tangles and yes some breakage but not as noticeable as straight hair.

Look from a MTF point of view curls and waves are sexy as hell to most men. If you are into guys. Yes "Dutch Bobs" are so sexy. I get it but that is there are wig shops.

But most guys that I have dated like a little wave or curl because that if feminine. Bangs too either curly or straight but be careful if your hair is curly because it is way to easy to cut them too short.

I hope this helps a little but don't damage your hair.