tkj25
Member
After much trial & error, I finally figured out how to safely & successfully straighten my natural hair with the maxiglide/minglide. I posted these steps in my hair journal & copied them here. pics are in my fotki:
http://public.fotki.com/tkj25/2008-02-24/
Here's what I did to finally achieve silky, soft straightened hair that didn't puff, swell, or frizz up almost immediately after finishing I have 4a, thick, cottony, nappy, wiry, tiny coils. my hope is this, or some derivation of it, will work for you as well:
1. I applied a blend of smoothing conditioners to my damp hair and let sit for 30mins to 1 hr. (i started with no product on my hair)
2. with conditioners still in, detangled hair & clipped into 6 sections: 2 sides, 2 top, 2 back.
3. in shower, rinse each section, making sure to smooth rinse hair in one direction to keep hair detangled, sqeeze excess water & re-clip.
4. apply heat protectants to each section. (i was a little generous with the heat protectants because i knew i'd be using higher heat, and my thick hair laughs at quarter-size amounts of any product.)
5. blow dry/smooth each section with my BaByliss Pro TT Tourmaline 5000 Hair Dryer with comb attachment (purchased separately).
6. apply coconut & castor oil to hair sections, followed by aveda anti-humectant pomade. (i made sure to apply the oil after i'd blow-dried the wetness from my hair, i didn't want it frying
7. make small sections -- about 2 in by 1/4 in. with maxiglide set to 8. (goes up to 10).
8. comb through section to smooth any tangles, glide maxiglide through bottom inch of hair -- the ends. (by starting a the ends first this helps them smooth out better & helps prevent smooth hair but frizzy ends.)
9. place maxiglide at middle of hair section & glide to ends.
10. then place maxiglide at roots & smooth to ends. (when gliding make sure to stop & finger comb/detangle any snags.)
11. the bulk of the maxiglide prevents getting too close to the roots, so i had to go over the roots with my miniglide to fully smooth them out. ( if i saw any knots i did a search & destroy)
12. repeate for all sections/for entire head.
Hair should end up silky straight, shiny, & soft from root to tips.
as a pj i've collected quite a few conditioners over time. these are recommended smoothing conditioners, i blended them, but any of these will work fine:
john freida weather works weather proofing
organix smoothing shea butter
ion anti-frizz straightening
herbal essences dangerously straight
suave professionals sleek
garnier fructis fortifying cream sleek & shine
naturelle slick line
(i love botanical, moisturizing, humectant conditioners for regular maintenance, but i found that for straightening my natural hair they don't work -- they draw too much moisture from the air, resulting in frizzy, puffy hair, which is kinda of let down especially after spending a couple hours maxigliding/straightening your hair. the maxiglide is the only thing that's been able to get my thick, natural hair straight, but until i switched my products it would never stay that way.)
heat protectants:
my maxi/miniglide combo kit came with two heat protectants -- maxius beyond straight & the end -- hey work great, but being the product junky that i am, i have a few others in my arsenal, (i ended up blending them, but any of these will do):
one 'n only ceramic silk thermal protection
ion anti-frizz heat protection
ic fantasia hair polisher straightening serum
chi silk infusion
silk element megasilk heat protect
maxius beyond straight & the end (came with maxiglide)
that was basically it. once my hair was straight i'd put in bantu knots if i wanted wavy, curls ( the bigger the knot the wavier the hair, the smaller the knot the curlier -- this keeps me from having to appy additional heat to curl it.) or pin curl section for swooping bends.
to sleep i'd finger smooth it into a high pony and bantu knot the end, securing with an ouchless band, and tie up in a stocking cap.
when needed i'd add a light coating of coconut/castor oil to keep my hair "moisturized" since i couldn't wet it. i ended up keeping it straight for 3 days, but definitely could have lasted longer. i get paranoid if i go too long without at least spraying my hair, so that was long enough for me
i think consistently/frequently using high heat will eventually thin & damage your cuticle, and potentially lead to dried out, breaking hair, so i only plan on straightening my hair 3-4 times a year, so this works great for me. i'm just happy i finally figured out how to successfully straighten my natural hair -- i love its versatility!
http://public.fotki.com/tkj25/2008-02-24/
Here's what I did to finally achieve silky, soft straightened hair that didn't puff, swell, or frizz up almost immediately after finishing I have 4a, thick, cottony, nappy, wiry, tiny coils. my hope is this, or some derivation of it, will work for you as well:
1. I applied a blend of smoothing conditioners to my damp hair and let sit for 30mins to 1 hr. (i started with no product on my hair)
2. with conditioners still in, detangled hair & clipped into 6 sections: 2 sides, 2 top, 2 back.
3. in shower, rinse each section, making sure to smooth rinse hair in one direction to keep hair detangled, sqeeze excess water & re-clip.
4. apply heat protectants to each section. (i was a little generous with the heat protectants because i knew i'd be using higher heat, and my thick hair laughs at quarter-size amounts of any product.)
5. blow dry/smooth each section with my BaByliss Pro TT Tourmaline 5000 Hair Dryer with comb attachment (purchased separately).
6. apply coconut & castor oil to hair sections, followed by aveda anti-humectant pomade. (i made sure to apply the oil after i'd blow-dried the wetness from my hair, i didn't want it frying
7. make small sections -- about 2 in by 1/4 in. with maxiglide set to 8. (goes up to 10).
8. comb through section to smooth any tangles, glide maxiglide through bottom inch of hair -- the ends. (by starting a the ends first this helps them smooth out better & helps prevent smooth hair but frizzy ends.)
9. place maxiglide at middle of hair section & glide to ends.
10. then place maxiglide at roots & smooth to ends. (when gliding make sure to stop & finger comb/detangle any snags.)
11. the bulk of the maxiglide prevents getting too close to the roots, so i had to go over the roots with my miniglide to fully smooth them out. ( if i saw any knots i did a search & destroy)
12. repeate for all sections/for entire head.
Hair should end up silky straight, shiny, & soft from root to tips.
as a pj i've collected quite a few conditioners over time. these are recommended smoothing conditioners, i blended them, but any of these will work fine:
john freida weather works weather proofing
organix smoothing shea butter
ion anti-frizz straightening
herbal essences dangerously straight
suave professionals sleek
garnier fructis fortifying cream sleek & shine
naturelle slick line
(i love botanical, moisturizing, humectant conditioners for regular maintenance, but i found that for straightening my natural hair they don't work -- they draw too much moisture from the air, resulting in frizzy, puffy hair, which is kinda of let down especially after spending a couple hours maxigliding/straightening your hair. the maxiglide is the only thing that's been able to get my thick, natural hair straight, but until i switched my products it would never stay that way.)
heat protectants:
my maxi/miniglide combo kit came with two heat protectants -- maxius beyond straight & the end -- hey work great, but being the product junky that i am, i have a few others in my arsenal, (i ended up blending them, but any of these will do):
one 'n only ceramic silk thermal protection
ion anti-frizz heat protection
ic fantasia hair polisher straightening serum
chi silk infusion
silk element megasilk heat protect
maxius beyond straight & the end (came with maxiglide)
that was basically it. once my hair was straight i'd put in bantu knots if i wanted wavy, curls ( the bigger the knot the wavier the hair, the smaller the knot the curlier -- this keeps me from having to appy additional heat to curl it.) or pin curl section for swooping bends.
to sleep i'd finger smooth it into a high pony and bantu knot the end, securing with an ouchless band, and tie up in a stocking cap.
when needed i'd add a light coating of coconut/castor oil to keep my hair "moisturized" since i couldn't wet it. i ended up keeping it straight for 3 days, but definitely could have lasted longer. i get paranoid if i go too long without at least spraying my hair, so that was long enough for me
i think consistently/frequently using high heat will eventually thin & damage your cuticle, and potentially lead to dried out, breaking hair, so i only plan on straightening my hair 3-4 times a year, so this works great for me. i'm just happy i finally figured out how to successfully straighten my natural hair -- i love its versatility!
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