Damaging your hair while straightening can be easier than you would think. Find out how to get smooth hair without straightening irons.
The heat involved with many straightening methods can lead to damage and breakage in your hair, even causing the dreaded and hard to manage hair frizz.
Luckily, it’s entirely possible to achieve smooth locks without the aid of hot styling – or at least to minimise the damage it might do.
Naturally smooth
The first step to smooth hair is to get your washing routine right.
Using the proper shampoo and conditioner for your needs goes a long way towards keeping your hair healthy and smooth.
Whether you’ve got dry or greasy hair, there’s a shampoo out there that’s designed to help you.
In fact, Head & Shoulders even has Smooth & Silky range of shampoos and conditioners specially designed to help smooth your hair.
Once you’ve got the right shampoo, you’ll want to use a good moisturising conditioner.
Your hair is covered in an outer layer called the cuticle which is made up of overlapping scales. A good conditioner will help the scales to lay flat against the strand, giving your hair a smoother appearance and feel.
Smooth hair also provides a more even surface area to reflect light, making it look shiny.
Once you’re out the shower, you’ll want to pay a little more attention to how you dry your hair.
The thing to avoid when drying your hair is rough handling: your hair is more fragile when it’s wet, and can easily stretch or break when towelled roughly.
Rather pat your hair dry with a soft towel; even better is an old t-shirt, the flat fibres of which will treat your hair gently.
Styling gently
Avoid styling your hair while it’s still damp – as we’ve mentioned, it’s more likely to be damaged if you do. Use a wide-toothed comb to detangle as this is gentler on your knots and will avoid breakage.
If you’re in a bit of a rush, a cool blow dry can help things along. You’ll want to keep the heat to a level that’s comfortable on your bare skin to keep from hurting either your hair or scalp.
There are plenty of products that can help give your hair that final smoothing before you head out for the day.
Finishing oils will not only help nourish your hair, they can help tame any wayward strands and smooth your style.