3 Mistakes You Might be Making With Your Flat Iron

Flat irons may not be on every woman’s day to day list of things to use to achieve the perfect hairstyle (have I mentioned I loathe those women, says the inner-bitterness caused by my naturally curly wishes it was straight work myself to death with the flat iron every morning just to have the Florida humidity ruin all my best efforts within minutes hair). However, many women use their flat irons on a regular basis and a lot of them – me included – make these common mistakes that could be ruining their hair.

Turning Up the Heat

Just because your flat iron gives you the option of turning it up to 450 degrees does not mean you need to. I’ll use my hairdresser’s advice as an example. Several years ago she noted that my ends are particularly dry and cracked, and she asked me at what temperature I set my flat iron before use. I responded, “As high as possible, my hair is awful.” She told me I needed to crank it down to 300 degrees because I’m killing my ends. Talk to your hairdresser to find out what he or she recommends for your hair.

Not Using Protection

Think of your hair like you think of other parts of your body and don’t forget to use protection. You wouldn’t spend the night with a stranger without it and you certainly wouldn’t head to the beach without it, so why do we leave our hair without it? A thermal protecting spray is a vital necessity when it comes to using your flat iron, especially when you use it on a regular basis.

Straightening Damp Hair

I have to ask, who even does this? Once, I missed a piece of my own hair when I blew it dry prior to using the flat iron and the hissing and sizzling combined with the smoke that erupted from my hair made me scream for help and a fire extinguisher. I just think it goes without saying; don’t use the flat iron on wet or damp hair.