Straightening hair: Tips, tools and products you need

Straighteners can work miracles on your hair: they can transform frizzy, unruly tresses into sleek, smooth-looking strands. But they can also cause havoc for your hair, damaging and breaking your ends as they straighten. Well, fret not: we’re on hand to share our top tips, products, and tools for straightening hair. All you need to do is sit back, relax and take note – sleek hair will be yours soon!

Tips for straightening hair

Tip 1: invest in a hair straightener that has an adjustable temperature dial: you should be using the correct temperature for your hair type. For example, if you have very thin, naturally wavy hair, or very colour-damaged hair, you should try and straighten your locks on a lower temperature. Alternatively, if you have thick, coarse, or curly hair, you may need a slightly higher temperature.

Tip 2: straighten small sections of hair to ensure that you’ve evenly covered every strand. For best results, straighten your hair in sections that are approximately 1 to 2 inches wide.

Tip 3: if you want your hair to look sleek and straight, but you still want to maintain volume at your roots, try straightening the hair near your crown up and towards the ceiling. This will help to give it a lifted appearance.

Tip 4: when straightening hair, you should run the straighteners fluidly down the length of your hair, not holding them in one place for too long. If you follow this steady sweeping motion, you won’t get any unwanted kinks or ridges in your tresses.

Straightening hair tips and tricks to know

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Tools for straightening hair

Straightener: obviously, you’ll use a straightener to straighten your hair. But it’s the size of the straightener that we’re focusing on here: straighteners with thinner plates (like the Toni&Guy Flawless Finish Straighteners) will work great on hair that has frizzy, curly roots, as the slimline design will allow you to get to the hard-to-reach places. Straighteners with thicker plates work well on thick, coarse hair, as you can cover a larger surface area more quickly.

Bulldog clips: if you have thick or curly hair and need to straighten your tresses layer by layer, then invest in some bulldog clips to help you section your hair.

Brush: using a brush to guide your hair into the straightening iron will result in smoother, tangle-free locks, as well as protect your hands from handling hot hair. If you have thick, coarse hair, opt for an oval brush; if you have curly hair, opt for a round brush; and if you have long hair opt for a paddle brush or comb.

Products for straightening hair

Heat protectant: if you want to help keep your hair protected against the damaging effects of straighteners, then you need to invest in a trusty heat protectant. This product should be a staple in every woman’s hair kit: it helps to protect hair from high heat, aids in adding shine, and helps to de-frizz strands. Find out which heat protectant is best for your hair type here.

Straightening lotion: a straightening lotion is ultimately an inexpensive non-permanent straightening treatment that helps to keep frizz at bay for a number of washes. We recommend the VO5 Smoothly Does It Straightening Lotion (£5.99*), which contains a special Kerafix Technology which is activated when it comes into contact with the heat from your straighteners.

Blow out balm: if you’re looking for a versatile product that protects against heat and intensely conditions your hair, meet the TIGI Catwalk Blow Out Balm (£16.95*). This clever formula helps to deliver beautifully smooth and glossy hair while protecting against heat from styling tools of up to 230⁰C.

Want more straightening hair tips? Learn how to keep your hair straight for 48 hours here.

*RRPs are Unilever suggested retail prices only, it is at the discretion of the individual retailers to set the actual price.