Hair Styling - Tips for Using the Flat Iron

Why is straightened hair look so healhty and silky? Hair when flat ironed has a smoother surface that reflect the light and appears shiny.
All you need is a good flat iron and these tips below to get smooth and shiny locks!

When choosing a flat iron make sure that you purchase a ceramic coated straightener - most of these high-end tools produce negative ions and far infrared heat that's much more gentle to your hair, seal hair cuticles to preserve moisture and ultimately condition hair for added shine and health.

Next you'll need to get the right size straightener for your hair:
- for short to medium hair lengths get 1" - 1.5" wide plates that are fine for most hair types;
- for long hair, 2" plates or larger will make hair straightening less tedious unlike narrow flat irons;
- for thick, curly hair you can use wider plates, but they're little harder to maneuver;
- if you want to be able to create curls and flips with the straightener, opt for plates with rounded edges that won't leave 'dents' in your hair.

Before you begin straightening you need to prepare your hair for this process. After shampooing and conditioning, apply a good thermal protective product to protect hair from heat damage.
Blast with the hairdryer until dry (unless using a wet-to-dry straightener), brush hair out and separate your hair into small pieces with hair clippers.

Coarse, extra thick and curly hair might need a higher heat setting 350-400 degrees F, while normal hair types can handle 300-380 degrees F.
If you're hair is chemically processed or damaged, use lower heat settings, bellow 300 degrees F.
Run the flat iron through small pieces at a time. Press while running the iron through your hair and avoid stopping before ironing the whole strand.
Always clean the surface of your iron after it has cooled down.
Finish with a mist of hairspray - this is a great barrier against humidity and stop frizzing.

Recommended products

The Ozon Titanium Flat Iron Hair Straightener ($83.98) contains tourmaline ceramic heaters, which give off the same ionic effect but use the benefits of ti on the actual plates.
Biolage Fortifying Heat Styler ($11.50) provides basic styling and protection to actually strengthen and repair weak, damaged and overworked hair.