If you have natural, coarse hair, or a head of super-tight, kinky curls, you know that all of those straighteners that promise to turn your hair into a curtain of silk with just one magical swipe are complete bullshit. Sure, maybe on someone with wavy-to-curly hair, but on your tight, zigzagged curls" Nope, not a chance, unless you want hardcore breakage and damage. But that doesn?t mean you can?t still straighten your hair at home without frying it?it just means you need to find the proper flat-iron and learn the right techniques, first. And to help you out, we went to the pros to tell us their secrets.
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?You can?t just go straight to heat tools if you have super-curly or kinky hair,? says hairstylist Jasmine Santiago. ?Natural hair is already dry hair, so applying direct heat from a flat-iron to dried-out hair will strip it of its moisture and ruin your curl pattern.? Instead, you need to focus on infusing your curls with so much moisture that they won?t fall apart under intense heat, she says. ?It?s so important that you wash with a rich, sulfate-free cleansing conditioner, like DevaCurl No-Poo Cleanser or Hair Rules Cleansing Cream, right before you plan to straighten your hair, and then massage a really thick, moisturizing conditioner, like Tresemme Flawless Curls Conditioner, from root to tip, before spraying a leave-in conditioner, like Kérastase Discipline Keratine Thermique, throughout your curls...