Hi, I have long naturally curly hair. It looks awful and frizzy if I don't get it progessionally blow-dried all the time, but I can't afford to continue doing that. They charge me anywhere from $80 to $200 depending on where I go because it is long, thick and curly.

I made some expensive purchases as an investment to save in the long run to avoid going to the salon and doing it myself:
1. Salon quality ceramic iron
2. Salon quality ionic hair dryer
3. Farouk and other brand serums and protective solutions to not damage from the heat and keep it glossy and smooth.

The problem is, whenever I try to blow dry on my own, my hair frizzes out big time. I have no idea how to blow dry my hair i am embarassed to admit. I watch the stylists pull and tug wth a curl brush then they stick the blow dryer like 1 inch away from the hair and blow dry it down, so do I really have to hold it that close? On television and when I watch other people do it, they just hold it like shoulder distance away, shake their hair and just dry it...my hair turns into a fro when I do that.

I also don't know if I should start to iron when my hair is wet, damp or completely dry, but by the time I dry it with the dryer, it is like a crazy mess instead of smooth and somewhat straight.

Please I will love whoever can share these priceless tips with me!!! Time is of the essence because I can't keep my hair this way without going to the salon for another day.. Whenever I don't go, I have to roll it up in an ugly huge bun to try to hide it.

THANK YOU!! :)

well i don't have very curly hair, but one thing I started doing that helped straighten my hair a lot better is to tug on it when you use the flat iron. make sure you have a ceramic one too. tug on each peice of hair (not too hard, just enough! lol) so that it straightens out, and go down the strip slowly. you might have to do it a few times since you have very curly hair, but i think it will work. also, get some kind of serum to take out some of the frizz. if you want something inexpensive, i recommend citre shine-shine miracle. use as much as you need to make your hair more slick.
i hope this helps! :D

That's a great tip love8, I'll try slightly tugging...I did purchase a high quality Farouk brand serum for protection and gloss...

How wet/dry should my hair be before ironing? Damp, completely dry, doesn't make a difference?

Thanks.

make sure your hair is completely dry before putting an iron anywhere near it. ironing wet hair is just screaming for trouble!

a good serum is also good advice. it will help tame the hair and smooth it out.

when blowdrying, you can hold the blowdryer real close to your hair but if you do that its important to keep the dryer moving. dont let it sit on one spot for too long. the air coming out is very hot and can burn your hair. also, dont worry if your hair is frizzy after blowdrying. mine is that way too, it turns into a huge puffball. but putting on some serum (very small amount, it doesnt take much!) and flatironing will smooth it down. its very difficult to get my wavy hair to be smooth and silky without a good smoothing cream and a flatiron.

oh i am so excited about doing my hair for the very first time! On the rare occassion that I try to straighten it, it takes at least 2 hours, very sore arms and a disasterous result...

I had not read your post (you hadn't posted it yet caliente) so instead of getting a puff ball from blowdrying, not knowing "that's ok" since the iron i guess would smooth it out (hard to imagine but i'll try)...i was home today so i washed my hair in the morning, blow dried it just for a couple of minutes so it's not soaking, then put serum in and let it air dry throughout the whole day and evening.

When it dried, i had corkscrew curls, like really really curly..my almost waist length hair curls up to just around my shoulders.

I then heated the iron - i have a large plated one to save time - and added some more serum ( i think i overdid it in that area lol) and using love8's advice, tugged as i ironed which i'm like duh why have i not tried that before, but i didn't know, and whalah, i completed in about half an hour and my hair is straight! I can't believe I did it myself, it feels so good and the thought I saved money from going to the salon, i'm very excited about it.

I was going to get it wet thinking it would burn being dry, but after I tried a sample and it seemed ok, i didn't get it wet and now that you told me that is bad caliente, i am so relieved and won't do it in the future.

Thanks so much, i can't believe i got such useful advice about my hair that i have always failed to straighten, with a couple of very practical but necessary tips - thanks so much... :bouncing: (not that i have anywhere to go, but it feels good having gotten it done. Whenever I go to the salon the person doing my hair asks where I am going that night, i feel like a loser cuz i don't go anywhere and feel pressured to say "to a dinner" or "family gathering" or something like that :confused: :) ).

congrats! i'm glad you got it to work!

i know how you feel. i had really bad luck trying to straighten my hair at first. the very first time i tried a flatiron, i used my mom's old metal flatiron. OUCH! it was painful, pulling out the hair and it didnt straighten at all. i bought a ceramic iron but when i tried using it, i didnt turn the heat up enough so it did absolutely nothing. i was so frustrated. my sister-in-law (a hairstylist) told me to turn the heat way up, so i did, and voila! for the first time in my life i had pin straight silky shiny hair! now i am completely in love with my flatiron. :)

Caliente you just gave me another good tip! My ceramic iron has a lever that adjusts from low, med, and high and everything in between for the heat. I was setting it at medium thinking anything higher would be too damaging. My hair ended up with volume - not slick straight - which looks amazing, I mean I can't believe it's my hair, it's just so nice, but now I know if I want it REALLY straight, to go for the high heat lol...thanks girl!!

boardbabe, i'm so glad our advice helped you!
hair doesn't have to be an icky and painful experience. :D

BoardBabe, I had the same problem. My hair is so thick and wavy that when I have my hair done by a professional, they charge me double most times. What I do is I begin by conditioning and then shampooing, and then conditioning again for 3 minutes. After I get out of the shower, I wrap my hair up for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then apply Blow Serum, which you can get at almost any salon. Its by Artec and it helps protect hair from heat damage. Next, I section my hair into sections (top, back, left side, and right side) and dry each section with a paddle brush. Afterwards, I take my straightening iron and I starighten each section starting with the back then the sides and then the top. Sometimes, it takes straightening a second time. Apply some hair balm, and your're finished.
Also, one night a week I take Biolage conditioner and apply it to my dry hair, wrap it in a towel, and sleep like that. It helps keep my hair from drying out.
Hope this helps.