If you are asking, is it better to straighten hair wet or dry? You want to straighten your hair correctly, so it’s as free of damage as much as possible, right? And you have every reason to protect your hair. The truth is that you are better off straightening the hair when dry.

According to stylists working in a permanent hair straightening salon, when you try to straighten wet hair, the hair iron clamps down on the hair, and since there is nowhere for the water to go, the water boils in your hair follicles and damage it.

The same way you shouldn’t straighten the hair while wet is the same way you shouldn’t straighten it with products on it. It’s even worse if the products contain alcohol.

Besides avoiding straightening wet hair, other things you should do when straightening your hair include:

Don’t rough dry the hair

Since they can’t straighten wet hair, some people rush to dry the hair. It’s recommended that you towel dry the hair, but some ladies, in their haste to get the hair as dry as possible they rough dry it.

They put the hairdryer to the highest setting then proceed to dry the hair as fast as possible. This is wrong as it often leads to hair damage.

As mentioned above, you should let the hair air dry, but if you don’t have the time, you should be strategic about how you rough dry the hair.

The right way to go about it is to rough dry the hair until it’s 80% dry. As you are blow-drying the hair, ensure that the nozzle faces downwards at all times so that the hair doesn’t frizz.

Once you achieve 80% dryness, let the hair air dry or blow it out smooth with the blow dryer.

Use a thermal protectant.

Even with the best care, it’s common for the heat to get overboard and sometimes damage the hair. To ensure that your hair is safe, always apply a thermal protectant before starting the hair straightening process.

Apply the heat protectant, and it will protect you from up to 450 degrees of heat. The beauty is that the product also resists humidity, so you can apply it even if your hair is still wet.

Don’t be in a hurry

Being hasty doesn’t solve much. In fact, it results in more damage than was previously there. For the best straight hair, take your time when doing the straightening. Don’t randomly grab fistfuls of hair as the straightening iron won’t get to the pieces that are too thick, and you will have to keep reapplying the heat, which increases the chances of the hair drying up.

The right way to go about it is to create sections of your hair.

Begin with splitting your hair in the middle at the back, then bring it forward, so you have two sections to work with. If your hair is thick, consider clipping it into four light parts that the heat can easily go through.

Watch the temperature you are straightening the hair

The temperature you use to straighten the hair comes in handy at determining whether the hair gets damaged. If you go through many resources, you will find them saying that you should set the temperatures at 450 degrees.

This is the temperature recommended for professionals working in Japanese hair straightening salon Rockville and other established institutions.

When straightening the hair at home, keep the temperatures low to avoid damaging the hair. A safe zone is between 300 and 350 degrees.