Before and After

BEFORE

AFTER

No, there is no mistake in the caption of the above pictures. See what happened was, last week, I wanted to flat-iron my hair. I did, but on the same day, I also washed it and pulled it back (see AFTER). My hair started our like my BEFORE pic and finished looking like my AFTER.

Before I describe the process, I'll start by saying this is what I did wrong/did not do and will definitely do differently, when I decide to flat-iron in the future:

pre-poo
deep conditioner 
chase method
do the process on a day where I have no obligations
use a better flat-iron

So as you can see, I was off to a great start!

I started off by shampooing then doing a short intense deep-conditioning treatment with Kérastase Oleo Relax line. My hair felt soft, in my opinion, so I proceeded to apply my leave in and heat protectants on wet detangled hair. I sectioned my hair and then blow dried each section. As I reached the ends of my hair, the comb often got stuck. I thought it was due to tangles, but then realized my ends were dry and brittle. I decided to give myself and trim, hell almost a cut! No need for me to hold on to dead ends!

Next, I pulled out my generic Baby Bliss titanium flat iron and continued to flat-iron small sections of hair. My results were okay, but my hair felt dry. Half-way through the process, I realized, I didn't have time to finish my entire head, as I had an obligation in the afternoon. Anyway, I was neither happy with the way my hair looked nor felt. In the heat of the moment, I decided to just wash my hair and pull it back. I have to admit in the shower I kept worrying the curls would never return, they did and I'm happy I listened to my conscience.

This experience taught me the importance of deep conditioning. I won't flat-iron my hair again for a while. I went swimming in a pool the day before I flat-ironed--- I was crazy to even to attempt it, I know!

For the moment, I'm implementing more prepoos (1xs per week) and deep conditioning sessions (2 xs per week) into my routine. My ends were in pretty bad shape, so I make sure I seal them with oil. I also oil my ends lightly every night before going to sleep.




Have you flat-ironed your natural hair, what was your experience? Any tips? Any recommendations for a good, affordable flat-iron?

XOXO