I big-chopped my relaxed hair in 2020, one year after the relaxer. For the first two years, I got to know my hair in its natural state: thick, dense, and unruly. Unfortunately, though, love is not enough. I had to reconcile that wearing my hair naturally fits neither my lifestyle nor my temperament. So, I had to make some decisions. Keeping my natural hair would have to come with a sacrifice—straight a lot as a natural or straight all the time relaxed. I decided to learn how to straighten 4c hair without heat damage. I needed flexibility outside the range of kinky-coily styles. Otherwise, I would have moved back to a relaxer.
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I learned that my hair is more fickle and struggles to retain moisture in its natural state. I coloured it, and it altered my pattern, and it began breaking. Then, all hell broke loose when I applied heat to my colour. So, while I have decided not to colour it (for now), I‘ve refused to give up heat. It’s either that or a big chop and relaxer.
Over the last two years, I’ve been experimenting with being a straight natural. So far, I have had one instance of heat damage when I did a sew-in and a leave-out. For clarity, I don’t do silk presses; I flat-iron my hair.
I don’t do silk presses, I flat-iron my hair.
Facts about Straightening My Natural 4c Hair
There are a few things I noticed since I began straightening my hair. They are:
The first few times, the hair reverts quickly.
The first time I got a silk press–professionally done and lived five minutes away from the salon–my hair began reverting before I got home. By the end of the week, I was natural again. I didn’t straighten it again until about a year and a half later. At that time, the reversion took about a day to start. Now that I do it about 2-4 times a year, I easily get 4 weeks, provided the environmental humidity is low, and it doesn’t get wet.
Straightening lightens the natural texture.
My natural texture is tight, kinky, curly, and dense. Once I straightened my hair, I noticed that it was lighter. Consequently, I don’t do it every month. But I blow dry each time I wash, and over the last two years, my hair has remained stretched longer.
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How I Straighten My 4C Hair
1. Start at the Wash
Prepping for straightening starts at the wash. I usually start with a sulphur shampoo to ensure my hair is stripped of any product residue. While I’m generally light-handed with moisturizer and holding products, you need a squeaky-clean base. Then, I use either the Olaplex Bond Maintenance Shampoo and Conditioner system or the OGX Keratin Smoothing Oil Shampoo and Conditioner system. Generally, the OGX offers fantastic results, but sometimes I feel that my hair needs the repairing properties of Olaplex.
Additionally, I get my moisture in during the wash with a moisture mask or water-based moisture leave-in, as I try not to apply oils and creams post-wash. If you are going to be successful in straightening, you don’t want to slap on the kind of build-up you just removed.
2. Prep for blow dry
To prep for blow drying before I straighten 4c hair, I use the Crème of Nature Argan Oil Strength and Shine Leave-In Conditioner and follow up with generous applications of TRESemmé Keratin Smooth Weightless Silk Serum to protect my hair from frizz, shine and TRESemmé Keratin Smooth Heat Protect Spray to protect my hair from the heat.
3. Blow dry as straight as possible
So, you are washed and ready for your blowout. You want to take as much out of the work for the flat iron as you can. You can do that with a flat paddle brush or a boar bristle brush. Currently, I use the Revlon One-Step Volumizer and Ionic Hair Dryer, and it does a great job whether I decide to flat iron or not. I typically blow dry in the highest setting, and it lasts 1-2 weeks unless I have applied liquids or creams to moisturize.
4. Flat Iron the hair
I prefer that my hair be straight, but bone straight isn’t necessary. I am not worried about heat damage, but I also don’t want to be careless about it. I use a ceramic flat iron at the second to highest setting. I do one quick pass on my roots and one medium-slow pass over the full length of my hair. I don’t usually curl my ends, but I bump them. Sometimes, I add rollers.
5. Apply Olaplex Bond Oil
Tips for Maintenance
- I apply the Olaplex Bond Oil every few days.
- Since my natural hair is too light, I don’t wrap my straightened hair. I simply slip on a bonnet with or without roller on my ends.
- Keeping my hair trimmed is essential to keeping it split-ends free.
Wrap-up (No Pun intended)
This method is working for me, and I hope you’ll find it useful as well.
In the comments, let me know if you are natural, straighten 4c hair as well, and what tips you use to get the best results.
Xo, Shandean.
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