I finally figured out how to successfully maxiglide my natural hair!!

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!
 
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tkj25

Member
thanks guudhair. you're so sweet. congrats on starting your bc & your avi hair is cute.

8 is high wonderstar, but it's the setting that works for my hair. believe me i've tried lower to no avail.:lachen: i keep heat styling to a minimum & use plenty of heat protectant, so i think i'll be good. thanks for checking out my album though.
 

Dposh167

Well-Known Member
this is the kind of result i was looking for in a maxiglide. I'm not natural...but I luvvvv how ur hair came out!! i just ordered the new maxiglide mp. hoping it will straighten out my roots. But like u said u had to go over ur roots with the mini. So i'm hoping i get the same results as u did when i stretch
 

TaraDyan

Natural again ... this time for good!
Your hair looks fantastic ... so shiny and healthy. I need to practice my own flat ironing techniques more so I won't be so dependent upon stylists.
 

tkj25

Member
thanks taradyan & pinkskates! ... now i just need to step up my fintess routine, lol, i haven't worked out in ages.
 

Mystic

Well-Known Member
Wow, I love your hair!! Your maxiglide result is awesome - I will use some your tips. Thanks for posting.
 
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The Savvy Sistah

New Member
It looks great!!!

I've been looking at your fotki and you have made alot of progress for doing the big chop in 06.

That was also a good observation regarding the straightening and moisturizing conditioners. Humectants are created to draw moisture and that's the last thing you need alot of if you want your natural hair to stay straight. (That's when oils come in handy).

But overall, when I do my length check at the end of this month I'm going to make sure I refer back to this thread.
 
P

patient1

Guest
Niiiiice! You got the Janet thing going on from the Control video. I wanted that hair sooooo bad back then.

Good job. The end to root thing sounded like the key. :)

p1
 

harrison

New Member
your hair looks good!! I ordered a maxiglide this week. I hope my hair looks like this when I'm done...:yep:
 

missnappylady

New Member
Your hair looks great!:kiss3: Thank you so much for posting! :yep:I've been trying to figure out this maxiglide thing forever. I'll definitely be trying out your tips when the weather warms up. I'll post too if it turns out as well as yours did.


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