Video: How Do I Avoid Damaging My Hair With a Flat Iron?

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About the Expert

Jeremy Clark

Jeremy Clark is a professional hair stylist and salon owner.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Jeremy Clark, professional hairstylist and salon owner, and today I'm going to show you how to flat iron your hair without damaging it. So, there's three things to remember when you're flat ironing the hair: one is to use a thermal protectant to avoid singeing the hair, two is your technique and three is the tool that you use; it's important to use a ceramic iron. I'm going to show you the proper technique to avoid damaging your hair, and these are the tools that you'll need: a rat tail comb, a boar bristle brush and a thermal styling product. Today I'm going to use the Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Flat Iron Perfecter straightening mist. Okay, so taking a little bit of the thermal protectant, spray it on your hand and just break it down 'til you feel it start to evaporate and then go ahead and distribute through the hair from the roots to the ends. And it's really important to get those ends when you're doing a straight style or using a flat iron. Your ends can be a lot more damaged and dry and they're really going to be the main focus of where you want the product to go. Your roots are usually a little bit healthier; it's newer hair, so it hasn't been damaged by the environment and by styling products. If your hair is color treated, then that can leave your hair a little bit more vulnerable to thermal styling, so always remember to use some sort of serum or mist that will protect the hair. So, going ahead and sectioning out the bottom section, and this is where we get into the technique. The iron that I'm using is ceramic plated. Ceramic heats the hair from the inside so it heats it quickly, it doesn't singe the outside, but it is a little bit hotter. So you need to, you never want to sit in one spot with the iron. You want to always be moving it, so I'll show you that. Okay, so with your section combed out, you don't want any tangles because tangles can lead to singeing. I'm going to go in, right at the roots and just very lightly, I'm not clamping down and I'm just whisking that iron through the hair, all the way through to the ends. Another thing to keep in mind, if you have any products like gel or a hairspray in your hair already, that's actually great. That'll help protect it even more. So, the more products that you have in your hair, the better. The more dirty it is, the better. It's going to protect those ends. Running that iron through to the end, and then at the very end, it's important not to pull that hair straight. I'm actually rolling the hair under, just slightly, so that you get just a little bit of bend at the bottom. So just finishing out that last front piece, and I'm taking the hair actually forward and then rocking it back around the head shape, just so that the hair doesn't fall right in Jaime's face, give it a little kick and then brush through it, and voila! So, here you can see the finished look. You have tons of shine, her hairs been protected from the flat iron and you can see the ends still look really healthy, really shiny. That worked great. And there you go, that's how to avoid damaging your hair when using a flat iron. I'm Jeremy Clark, thanks for watching!