How to Straighten Thick Hair Effectively

pretty girl giving tips for straightening thick hair

In case a classic pin-straight hairdo or the likes is the look you want, let me share with you these 4 tips for straightening thick hair.

Do you have heavy, thick, and voluminous hair and wish to know how to straighten hair step by step?

You might also be interested in How to Make Curly Hair Straighter Naturally

I’ve got you; I’ve curated these tips especially for you.

Follow these tips to save prepping time right from showering to final touches without any hair damage.

How to Straighten Thick Hair

As someone with thick hair, I know exactly what it’s like to spend hours trying to achieve perfect straightness. Honestly, half the time I used to just settle for “well, that’s straight enough.” I mean, it looked pretty good to me, right?

Then I went to a salon to have my hair straightened for a wedding. Wow, let me tell you, I didn’t even know my hair could lay that flat! I paid close attention to the stylist and asked her questions so I could recreate the look at home.

Read on to reap to learn exactly what she told me and how I incorporated it into my own haircare routine.

Use Mild Shampoo And Conditioner For Your Curls

Psst! Do you want to know how to make thick hair straight?

woman washing her curly hair

Prepare your hair and control frizzy hair by using a really good shampoo and conditioner specifically made for hair straightening purposes.

Seriously, go ahead and splurge a bit here to get something fantastic. It’s totally worth it.

These products not only eliminate any and all types of product buildups and residues, they lay the groundwork for every step that follows.

Strengthen Hair Strands By Using Leave-in Conditioners

woman smiling while applying conditioner to her hair

Leave-in conditioners guard your hair from heat damage, prevent split ends and breakages, and assist in sealing moisture. 

Make sure that when you’re done taking a shower, you use leave-in conditioners liberally. Again, choose something designed to relax curly hair.

READ MORE: How to Clean Flat Iron

Use A Flat Iron Spray To Spritz Your Wet Curls

These hair styling tools function similarly to a leave-in conditioner. Flat iron sprays shield your hair type from heat damages. At the same time, it controls frizz and maximizes smoothness.

You can even employ a straightening keratin formula to amp up the effects of the flat iron spray on wet hair.

Efficient Drying

woman blow drying her hair

To protect your thick hair from harmful friction and heat exposure, make sure to completely air dry your hair using a blow dryer.

Lessen friction and disperse heat by making use of a diffuser in case you’re in a hurry. Your hair doesn’t need to be a victim of your impatience.

Strengthen the strands while detangling as you gently comb your hair. You must not use a flat iron on wet or damp hair.

Doing so will be harmful to the delicate strands of your hair and damage them. Trust me, ladies! It’s not even effective in straightening your natural hair.

Expert Opinion from professional stylist Niccola Bowen: “Brush for dry and comb for wet! Combing dry hair can cause split ends and static.”

Sectioning

I swear by the old gods; flat ironing your natural hair becomes much more effective if you section your hair. But, yes! Do that only when your hair dries out completely.

Start by flat ironing the underside hair into sections. Sectioning offers an easy way to straighten thick hair.

Straightening Process

Begin by taking hold of the roots. Take the straightener and work your way outwards from the hair at the bottom.

Make sure that you’re only straightening small sections of your hair at once. Take the flat iron and swipe it twice across each section.

pretty woman straightening her brown, long hair

Repeat the process until the strands of your hair are shiny and smooth. In case you wish to control the frizz and straighten your natural hair quickly, attach long plates to the flat iron.

At this point, I’ll bless you with an expert tip: As you section your hair and straighten them, stop around the mid-shaft. Avoid straightening your hair ends in small sections.

That’s because the ends of your natural hair strands are thinner, extremely breakage-prone, and delicate. Straighten your ends together once you’re done with all the sections of hair.

READ MORE: How to Make Curly Hair Grow Down Instead of Out

Finishing Touches

Go to your mirror and check yourself out. That will assist you in finding out spots that you might’ve missed out on.

In case you did leave out certain hair in sections, run them through the straightener once again, following all the procedures properly.

Finally, make sure to use a smoothing cream that will prevent frizz and hydrate your hair.

If you’d like a few curls here’s How To Do Flat Iron Curls

Here is an excellent video tutorial:

4 Tips You Should Know For Straightening Thick Hair

Now that you know the process I use, let’s talk a few more tips.

#1 Heating Comes Only After Detangling.

detangling frizzy hair

Never apply heat to your hair if you haven’t detangled your hair first. So prior to the straightening process, detangling is a crucial step.

Working your way from the roots, grab your favorite detangler and gently detangle the strands. Make sure to use a wide-tooth comb too. That will help detangle your hair even more efficiently.

#2 Using A Heat Protectant Is NOT Debatable.

blonde lady adding conditioner to her hair

Since you’re using hot tools, you must not forego heat protectants. You’ll be able to keep the heat damage to a minimum through the application of heat protectants.

For instance, the heat protectant by L’Oréal Paris is an efficient choice. It helps prevent static and frizz. The leave-in serum helps smoothen out the hair strands and shields them from heat.

#3 Form Small Sections.

lady facing the mirror while using a hair straightener

Based on how small or big you choose to section your hair, the straightening result will vary.

That is, you may be thinking that you’ll save time by straightening large sections at once. But that’s a wrong notion.

Let me tell you how! By doing so, you’re rather increasing the styling time by following an inefficient method.

So I’d recommend you to work with small sections as it’s more efficient. You can even straighten the strands at lower temperature settings this way.

#4 Hairspray Is Crucial To Set Your Style.

woman spraying heat protectant spray to her hair

Generally, I wouldn’t have given the heavy emphasis on using hairsprays for finishing touches. But hairsprays are vital to seal the styling and hold the newly straightened out strands in position. Also, that will prevent frizz and tangling.

At the same time, make sure to use a non-aggressive hairspray.

Here’s another great video:

FAQs about Straightening Thick Hair

Is it safe to straighten thick hair every day?

lady facing the mirror while using a hair straightener

Technically, yes! You can straighten thick hair every day. But you will have to do a lot more than just apply a heat protectant.
At the same time, in the long run, I would strongly advise against straightening your thick hair daily. Ultimately, that will lead to damaged hair fibers.

What are the various types of hair straighteners?

The various types of hair straighteners include tourmaline and ceramic straighteners and titanium irons, among others.
If you’ve got damaged hair, I’d suggest you use tourmaline straighteners. 
Versatility is abundant when it comes to good hair straighteners made of ceramic. These offer efficient and affordable choices.
Lastly, if you have extremely curly hair, titanium irons are ideal.

Conclusion

With that, I close this guide on the 4 tips for straightening thick hair.

Knowing how to do flat iron curls and how to make curly hair straighter naturally will also help you out abundantly.

In case you wish to put up your hair, I’d personally advise you to give it some time after the straightening process. Don’t let ugly kinks spoil the vibe of your sleek hair and gorgeous look.

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.
model with long, thick hair

If you have more tips for straightening thick hair, we’d love to hear them below!