How To Avoid Damage by Flat Ironing

trUe salon and color café presents an ongoing series offering easy tips and tricks from our expert stylists to help you maintain your best salon hair at home.
There once was a time when flat ironing meant placing your hair on an ironing board and pressing it with an actual iron, just like you would press clothes. Wait, what?
Lucky for us, we live in a world full of modern technology. In today’s world, flat ironing now refers to straightening your strands with a handheld heat-clamp hot enough to flatten even the twistiest of curls in a matter of minutes! No fuss, right? Wrong. If you’re an avid straightener, or even if you only straighten for special occasions, you need to be informed on the proper ways to use a flat iron to protect your hair. Trust us, your hair (and your trUe stylist) will thank you!
Here are five trUe tips to avoid damage that flat irons can cause:

1. Avoid straightening the same strand of hair more than once; this can be very damaging and cause extreme breakage. Instead, try applying the flat iron with one long sweep down each section of hair.
2. Always use a thermal heat protectant on your hair before heat styling. Think of it as a buffer between your strands and the high temperatures of your flat iron. trUe recommends three great products to safeguard your strands. Color Wow SPEED DRY Blow Dry Spray is an alcohol-free formula which reduces dry-time and minimizes exposure to damaging heat. Aquage Beyond Shine, a thermal-pressing product, maximizes shine and eliminates frizz. Another favorite product among trUe stylists and clients is Moroccanoil® Heat Styling Protection, which allows hair to withstand temperatures of up to 430 degrees!
3. Always avoid using your flat iron (or curling iron) on wet or damp hair, no matter what. That sizzle you hear when ironing wet locks means that your hair is being stripped of its moisture, leaving the shaft vulnerable to breakage.
4. Use the lowest heat temperature to effectively smooth your strands. Just because your flat iron has a high heat setting doesn’t mean that it promises effective results. It’s not important how quickly your hair heats up, but how your hair cools back down in place. Try starting on a lower setting, and if along the way you feel the need to increase the heat, do so slowly.
5. Try a straightening balm to assist the process, and avoid excessive hair spray post flat ironing. trUe carries a wide variety of finishing products designed to help you lock in your look, with the desired hold you need.

And that’s all there is to it, straight from the experts at trUe salon and color café. Trust the trUe team to help you keep your hair healthy and happy! Be sure to bookmark our blog, and like us on Facebook and Twitter for more helpful hints.