If you are a wavy or a curly-haired girl, getting straight hair remains an elusive dream. Permanent straightening is an option, but continued exposure to chemicals affects hair quality. One of the quickest and safest options is a hair straightener to tame your waves quickly. There are several brands in the market providing you with different features. Of course, each one is better than the other. But which one is the best for you? It is a question that comes to your mind. So here are some tips that can help you choose your next hair straightener.
What is Hair Straightener?
A hair straightener is a device that heat-treats your hair and makes them straight. These are available in many shapes, sizes and have several features. These can not only give you straightened hair looks. But it can help texturise, volumise and make hair frizz-free. These are simple tools with two metal plates that heat up and straighten your hair.
Things to Check Before Buying
There are specific points that you need to take care of before buying a straightener for yourself.
Durable: It would be so annoying if the device you brought keeps breaking down. And you have to spend extra cash to fix it and rush it the store to get it fixed. And what if something like this happened before a significant event where you want to dress nicely? Thus it is always advisable to buy something durable. If it is has a guarantee or warranty, then it’s better.
Buy according to hair type: If you have tight curls that are difficult to manage, go with iron with a broader plate. If you have short or wavy hair that is easy to operate, choose an iron with medium or thin blades.
Check Temperature: some may think that the higher the iron temperature, the better the results. But that is not the case—the Temperature of iron matters a lot. For example, if you have thin hair and you are using a high-temperature Iron, then there are chances that it may burn your hair. Therefore, it is best to buy a straightener with temperature control as a feature.
Propper Plates: There is a massive range of straighteners in the market with different kinds of plates. Recommendations are to go with the titanium-plated blades. Titanium will spread the heat evenly and will not burn your hair. It is also lightweight and durable. While on the other hand, ceramic-coated ones heat up faster and can burn your hair.
Buy Quality Product: While buying a straightener, keep in mind that you deal with hair and heat. Thus think about the quality of the machine. Using cheaper devices could be risky and may damage your hair permanently. So be aware of the quality of your iron.
Check the Shape of Hair Straightners: The hair straightener itself means that the plates will be flat. But make sure that the edges are a bit rounded. Having rounded-edged will not stretch your hair. And you can also use it for making loose curls.
Check the size: While looking for a hair straightener, try looking for a smaller and handy size. It will be easy to handle while styling and reduce the chances of accidentally burning yourself while using.
Tips to keep in mind before using hair straighteners
Hair straighteners can give you amazingly perfect straight hair. But while doing so, the heat can damage your hair to a great extent. So for avoiding that, it is essential to take some precautionary measures.
- First of all, before straightening your hair wash your hair properly with a shampoo and conditioner. No shampoo or conditioner can give you perfectly straight hair. But it can indeed moisturise the hair enough to handle the heat.
- After that, blow-dry your hair. It will add a bit of volume to your hair and keep your hair from getting frizzy.
- While straightening your hair, use a boar bristle and nylon comb. Using only nylon combs will cause static and plastic combs can be a bit difficult to handle.
- Wait till your hair is dried. Do not use hair straighteners on wet or semi-wet hair.
- Apply a thermal protect serum or spray before straightening.
- Divide your hair into two sections and then further divide it into smaller sections.
- Start straightening your hair from the front and then slowly move towards the back.
- And once you have completed the semi-sections, club them into two larger sections, bring them forward and straighten them again. This step removes any frizz, unevenness and adds sheen and gloss. Finish off with setting spray. You will have your perfectly styled straight hair.
Always take care of your hair health when you use straighteners or any other heating device regularly. The basics are shampooing at regular intervals, conditioning your hair regularly, and using serum post-wash and a heat-protect spray before styling. Additionally, using hair masks every fortnight to refresh and restore any wear and tear that the hair shafts have gone through during the styling process is a must.
