Should You Use a Flat Iron on Wet or Dry Hair

Featured Image of Wet Hair or Dry Hair When to Use a Flat Iron

You can straighten both your damp and dry hair.

But it always seems confusing when to actually use a flat iron to achieve amazing styling results without exposing their tresses to damage and burns.

Should you use a flat iron on wet or dry hair?

I’ve compiled both advantages and disadvantages of straightening wet/dry hair for you to choose the right method for your manes.

Using Flat Iron on Wet Hair

Hair [1] experts always suggested not straightening your wet hair because the hot, blazing plates of a flat iron have the potential to burn your tresses and damage them beyond repair.

The hot straightening plates fry your hair strands and break them from the middle so that they are not only damaged but also look irregular and unpleasant.

However, with the advancement of modern technology, many manufactures introduced “wet to dry” flat irons in the market to make it extremely safe and secure for you to straighten your wet manes as well. 

Wet to dry flat irons, come with a steam extraction technology and several steam vents that evaporate excess water from your hair and straighten and dry it simultaneously to save time.

Pros

  • This type of specialized flat irons is designed to cut down your hair styling time, especially when you are in a hurry.
  • They eliminate the hair drying stage after a shower and provide you the opportunity to style your damp hair flawlessly.
  • Another thing you must know about straightening wet tresses is that only “wet to dry” flat irons are appropriate to style them.
  • If you even try to use a regular flat iron, your damp manes will suffer from unrepairable damages instantly.
  • But, even though you are skipping the hair drying stage doesn’t mean that you won’t need to protect your precious tresses before styling them.
  • In fact, as tresses are at their most vulnerable stage when wet, you must protect them completely before even thinking of straightening them.
  • We would suggest you use a microfiber hair towel (such as this DuraComfort Essentials Microfiber Hair Towel) after your shower to remove most of the excess water so that you would need fewer passes to style your manes precisely.
  • Also, don’t forget to spritz on some heat protectant spray like the HSI PROFESSIONAL Argan Oil Heat Protector to avoid damage even better.

So, are there any drawbacks to straightening wet hair?

Well, there is.

If you continue styling your wet tresses regularly, hair’s shine and luster will fade over time and make it dull and brittle, and unpleasant to look at.

Therefore, we would suggest you straighten your damp tresses only when it is extremely necessary rather than making it a regular habit.

Straightening Dry Hair with a Flat Iron

On the other hand, it is always advised to straighten your dry hair.

The reason hair experts, recommend styling completely dry tresses is that it is not only easy to straighten these manes but it also helps to minimize hair damage by several notches.

As with wet tresses, you need to also protect your dry tresses before straightening them for the perfect results.

Apply a suitable heat protectant before blow-drying them with your favorite hair dryer (we prefer this Remington D3190 Damage Protection Hair Dryer) so that there are no wet manes left to suffer from heat damage.

Once your mane is completely dry, you can straighten it with a regular flat iron, like this HSI Professional Glider Flat Iron, to achieve phenomenal results.

Are There Any Disadvantages of Straightening Dry Hair With a Flat Iron?

Any heat styling has its fair share of drawbacks and flat ironing is no less. Even after you protect your manes with an excellent quality heat protectant, they will still suffer from some heat damages.

It might not be evident instantly, but over time, your hair would become dry, brittle, and lackluster and would also lose its luster.

However, if you take proper care of your precious manes regularly, there are high possibilities that you can avert the damages of hair straightening and enjoy extremely manageable yet well-styled manes all day, every day.

Wrapping Up

Now that you know everything about whether to use a flat iron on wet hair or dry hair, I am confident that you will be able to pick a preferable hair straightening solution for your precious manes.

As both of them have their share of disadvantages, we wouldn’t make a suggestion here; you must choose the one most suitable according to your styling needs and preferences.

Sources

  1. https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/picture-of-the-hair

Reviewed By