It’s not easy to straighten hair. It takes time and skill, which is why it’s one of the most common services offered in a hair extensions salon.
There are a variety of ways that salons can get hair straight. Your stylist’s method will depend on the type of hair you have, how much time they have, and the look you want to achieve. Here are some of the methods salons use for getting straight hair.
They use a flat iron.
Flat irons are the most common tool that salons use to straighten hair. A flat iron is a metal tool with a handle on one side and a plate on the other, which heats up to about 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.
When your stylist puts your hair between the two plates and runs it over your strands, the heat seals your cuticles together, preventing them from curling back up. The result is smoother, shinier hair.
They use a blow dryer/flat iron combination tool.
This type of tool can be more effective than just one because it has two heating elements: one for your hair and another for your scalp.
This allows you to get rid of frizz instantly by drying your roots first, then going through your ends with an attachment that gives off steam and heat to seal them down.
They use a protectant spray before applying heat.
If your hair stylist is not using a heat protectant before you use your flat iron or curling wand, they’re missing out on one of the most important steps in straightening your hair.
Heat protectant sprays go on before heat styling tools touch your hair to protect it from any damage caused by heat exposure.
This will also help your stylist get even smoother results when styling your hair in a salon. Some products even contain ingredients like silicone that help make styling easier by taming frizz and flyaways.
They use relaxer kits.
These kits contain two parts — an activator, which contains sodium hydroxide, and a neutralizer, which counteracts the effects of the activator and neutralizes any remaining lye in your hair.
The process requires mixing both parts at specific ratios before applying them to your hair for 20 minutes or more. Once your hair has been treated with a relaxer kit, it will be permanently straightened until you decide to re-relax it again or grow out your natural curls.
Keratin treatments
Keratin treatments are also popular in salons because they help keep your hair straight and shiny without using chemicals or heat on it at home. These treatments involve applying keratin protein to your hair while it’s wet, then letting it air dry after being blow-dried straight by a professional blow dryer.
Afterward, you won’t see any signs that you had a keratin treatment done until your next wash when your hair will feel soft and smooth like silk.
They use steam
Another method used by salons to straighten hair is to use steam from a dryer or boiling water. The steam relaxes the curl in your hair, making it straighter.
Once the curls are gone from your strands, your stylist can blow dry them until they are completely dry and then go about styling them as they normally would with heat-protectant spray or serum for added protection against heat damage during styling.
Bottom Line
Straight hair is a coveted hairstyle that many people have tried to achieve at home, albeit unsuccessfully. If you want to look like you have had your hair straightened at salons that do hair extensions Bethesda, or you want to know the secret to salon-quality straight hair, the answer is that it is a combination of tools, techniques, and products.
