The Ultimate Beauty Guide

Sleek, straight, run your fingers through it kind of hair is something women try to achieve day after day, yet we still somehow manage to fall just short. You would think creating simple, straight strands would be as low maintenance as the hairstyle looks, but unfortunately, the opposite is true.

To help you on your journey to silky hair, we’ve come up with a few tips to get you there. Read on to learn the tips and tricks below for smooth, beautiful hair.

Using the proper shampoo and conditioner: The path to sleek hair all starts with what you are using to cleanse and condition your hair. If your hair is prone to frizz and fly-aways, then you should be using frizz-reducing, smoothing shampoos and conditioners.

Hairbrushes are important, too: Brushing your hair with plastic or nylon bristles can cause your strands to break. To prevent breakage from occurring, try using a brush with boar hair bristles instead. Boar bristles are easier on the hair and also help redistribute oils throughout the hair which will boost shine.

Smoothing serum: Rub a few drops of smoothing serum on your hair when it is still damp to protect your hair from heat before blow drying.

Rough dry: Rough dry (simply use the blow dryer and your fingers, no brush yet) or air dry your hair until it’s 80% dry. Blow drying soaking wet hair will cause more damage than it’s worth, and blow drying too soon can just cause your hair to become frizzy again.

Blow dry with a flat paddle brush: Make sure your brush has a mix between nylon and boar bristles to prevent breakage and steer clear of metal round brushes. Aim the blow dryer in a downward motion towards the hair, this will help lay the hair cuticles flat and prevent frizz from forming.

Use heat protectant spray: While your hair is damp and after your hair is completely dry from blow drying, lightly spritz a heat-protectant onto your hair before you use a flat iron.

Flat Iron: Straighten one to two-inch sections of hair at a time with a ceramic-plated iron. Ceramic-plated irons cause less damage than other flat irons and straighten hair more quickly and efficiently than other straighteners. Make sure you don’t go over the same piece of hair more than three times, though. If your hair is not straight by the third time, it may be time to invest in a better straightener.

Set your style: Hit your freshly straight hair with the cool setting of the blow dryer to set the look. Then, finish off your sleek and silky locks with a bit of smoothing cream. Doing this will keep your hair smooth and straight all day long.