How to Use a Curling Iron to Straighten Your Hair

Can you straighten your hair with a curling iron?

When you visit your hairstylist, you must’ve witnessed them using flat irons to curl straight hair, right?

For sure, even you must’ve used curling irons at home to prep yourself.

photo of a straight hair beside a curling iron but Can You Straighten Your Hair With a Curling Iron?

Hold on to these thoughts as you go through this article and find out the real answer to your question!

So…Can You Straighten Hair With A Curling Iron?

To answer that in simple and plain terms, YES, you can use a curling iron to make soft, loose curls/beachy waves out of your straight hair.

Now, the big question: How to straighten your hair with a curling iron?

Well, my friends, you only need a little finesse and lateral thinking, and (drumrolls..) voila! You’ve got yourself a hair straightener in the form of a curling iron.

straightening hair using curling iron

It very much comes in handy, especially when you don’t have professional straighteners lying around in the house.

Why deal with frizzy and unruly hair when you can simply put your curling irons to work and achieve the same results?

Say goodbye to inefficient and time-consuming hair curlers and embrace these versatile curling irons.

Here’s what Toni Sevdalis, a famous YouTuber, has to say: “A curling iron gives the look of straight hair with more volume and that’s something I can never achieve with a regular straightener.”

How To Straighten Hair With Curling Iron? DETAILED GUIDE

Now you must be wondering how you exactly use a curling iron to straighten your hairstyle. Fret not! To answer that, I’m going to take you through every step in detail.

Step 1: Hair Preparation.

Before we start with the straightening process, you must prepare your hair for what’s to come. So wash your hair properly with an amazing shampoo. Remember to condition it too.

woman smiling while applying conditioner to her hair

The process will only be effective in the absence of hair repair products and clean and detangled healthy hair.

Also, avoid weighing down your hair. In order to do that, focus on conditioning only the ends of your hair.

Step 2: Heat Protectants.

Continuous exposure to heat is extremely damaging for your hair fibers. Thus, to shield each strand of hair from the hot styling equipment, apply an amply amount of heat protectant.

Heat protectant spray efficiently reduces heat damage. It does that by absorbing the incoming and also by forming a protective layer between the hot tool and your hair. 

lady spraying dry shampoo to her hair

Step 3: Curling Iron Preparation.

To straighten hair with a curling iron, you’ll be requiring a large barrel curling iron set. In comparison to small barrel irons, larger barrels consume less time and do a better job at straightening your hair.

When you’re ready with the iron, switch it on, and let it be until it reaches the temperature you desire.

Step 4: Ensuring That Your Hair Is Dry Completely.

Blow drying hair is indeed an extra step and does add more prep time. But straightening your wet hair in order to save time can cause real damage to your hair.

woman blow drying her hair

On top of that, straightening damp hair isn’t even effective. So make sure that your hair completely dries out before you begin the straightening process.

Step 5: Straightening Process.

Before you begin straightening your hair, make sure to divide your hair into small sections. 

Begin by placing your hair, right from the roots, between the clamp and the barrel of the curling iron. Move the iron continuously through the hair shaft in a smooth manner.

In case you pause midway, it’ll leave a dent on the shaft. So you need to run the curling iron in one continuous motion.

Step 6: Finishing Touches.

Cooling your hair is yet another crucial step that you must pay heed to. In order to achieve volume and body, let your fingers run through your hair lightly.

To finish it off, use a non-aggressive hairstyle to hold the hair in position.

Tips For Straightening Hair With Flat Iron

In this section, I’ve listed a few tips that will amply assist you in straightening your hair with a flat iron.

Make Use of High-Quality Ceramic Curling Irons.

Ceramic barrel curling irons are among the best hot styling tools for straightening extremely curly hair.

The ceramic iron cause less damage to your hair and efficiently distribute the heat from the iron evenly across the hair shaft. So you get better and more effective results with a ceramic barrel.

woman holding a curling iron

Select A Versatile Curling Iron.

There exists one simple way to know if a curling iron is good or not.

What to look for in flat iron? Check whether or not it offers multiple heat settings.

Hair fibers are delicate, and high temperatures will simply damage them. So you need to use the hair irons at minimum temperatures.

At the same time, it should be able to fulfill its purpose depending on whether you’re employing it as a straightener or a curler.

Dividing Your Hair Into Small Sections Is Extremely Crucial.

Avoid huddling up large segments of hair and straightening them at once. This won’t be at the recommended low heat settings. 

Also, I would advise against increasing the temperature to make it work since that will be damaging for your hair. The most effective way is to work your way through one section at once.

READ MORE: Curling Iron Vs Flat Iron: What’s The Best?

FAQs

What’s the ideal temperature for hair straightening?

Lady using a titanium flat iron on her straight hair

The ideal temperature for hair straightening is about 392 degrees Fahrenheit for coarse and thick hair. In contrast, it’s around 356 degrees Fahrenheit if you’ve got thin hair.
But I would recommend using the minimum heat settings.
Also, you must heed certain factors before you go on setting the temperature for your curling iron. That includes the plate size, hair section, and hair type.

Can you still make use of hot styling tools if you have damaged hair?

Hair Straightening Brush Using on Damaged Hair

I’d very strongly advise you not to expose your damaged hair to hot styling tools. That’s because doing so will destroy your hair. And I’m legit serious about that.
Rather than using a hot curling iron, you can opt for natural methods to straighten your hair, such as hair masks.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that it is, indeed, possible for you to straighten your hair with a curling iron. At the same time, select a versatile curling iron with a variety of heat settings for the straightening purpose.

You can even check out my analysis on “How To Make Curly Hair Straight Naturally Forever?”

Also, large barrel curling irons made of ceramic with a clamp or plates are much more efficient. With that, I’ve answered your answers and thus, close this article on “Can You Straighten Your Hair With A Curling Iron?”

References

  • Picardi, Phillip. 2014. “How to Straighten Hair: 11 Flat Iron Tips for Perfectly Straight Hair.” Teen Vogue. Teen Vogue. July 11, 2014. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/top-ten-flat-iron-mistakes.
  • Watson, Kathyrn. 2018. “How to Straighten Your Hair without Heat.” Healthline. Healthline Media. May 22, 2018. https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-get-straight-hair.
lady curling her hair using a curling iron

Have you tried straightening your hair using a curling iron? Let us know in the comments below!