Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Straightened Out And Cut Off

The ends of Syd's hair have been looking kind of rough for a while now. Several factors joined together to cause that damage, including the cold, dry winter, more "out" styles as she gets older, and the fact that Syd is learning to do her own hair. Let's face it - natural hair in the hands of a beginner is probably going to get a little damaged. No biggie, though. We just decided to cut the damaged ends off and keep moving. It's only hair...it will grow back in no time.

I usually trim her hair while it is in small twists (you can see a post about that HERE), but this time I decided to straighten it with a flat iron and then cut it. After all, it had been over 2 years since Syd's hair had been straightened. We were both interested in seeing how it looked all straightened out. Here's what we did:

Syd washed her hair and I detangled it, added some Bee Mine Luscious Moisturizer, and banded her hair overnight.

Starting in the back, I removed one section of bands. I added some heat protectant and used a flat iron (set to med-high) on somewhat small sections of hair at a time. I tried not to go over each section more than once, but I did need to make a second pass on a few sections. Bottom line, I used as little heat as possible to get the desired results. This took the first back section from this:

to this:

(Yes, I did this while we were both sitting on the floor....lol)

I then repeated the process for the other 3 sections of banded hair. When I finished, I was actually shocked that her hair reached her waist. I didn't realize it had gotten quite that long!

I let her wear her waist-length hair down for a day, but the following day I followed through with her hair cut. Instead of taking her to a salon, I opted to cut her hair myself. If you choose to do this, I cannot stress enough the importance of using hair shears. Do not use your regular household scissors, as they are not sharp enough to cut your hair cleanly. They can tug and pull at your hair as you're cutting, and you will have damaged ends on the hair that has just been cut. Talk about counter-productive! I digress...

I ended up cutting between 3 and 4 inches of Syd's hair, just to be sure we removed all the damage.
The shadows in this picture make the ends look really uneven, but by the time I realized it, her hair was no longer straight, so I couldn't take a better pic. :/



Day 3 of straight hair was Easter. Since her hair was still looking good, I decided not to do much styling. I just made 2 french braids around her hairline and brought them around to meet in the back. 4 minutes and we were done!



After 4 days of straight hair, Syd spent an afternoon being very physically active, so she got sweaty and her straight roots began to get puffy. We knew it was time to move into another style. She liked having her hair straight...she was amazed at how easy it was to comb. But that being said, she still truly loves big hair, so straightening will remain something that only happens on rare occasions. You just can't argue with her "bigger is better" hair theory!

10 comments:

  1. It looks very nice. I love that style you did with it after the trim. Such beautiful, healthy hair!

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  2. Her hair looks fantastic!! You did a great job straightening it, and the cut was wonderful as well. I'm glad all of the damage is gone, and her hair is as healthy as ever!! :)

    Char~

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  3. Smart smart smart smart!! I never thought of banding and then straightening! I might try this method so I can really see if A needs a bigger trim!

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  4. Love the way her hair looks curl and now straight although like her I prefer curly. You did a wonderful job at cutting her hair and if it is anything like yours I am sure it will be back in no time.

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  5. Her hair looks gorgeous! You did a great job with the cut! Also love the style!

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  6. Great job on the cut, her hair looks fantastic :)

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  7. her hair looks amazing! Can you post some pics of how you actually cut her hair- did you do it in sections- ie starting at the nape- cutting one layer at a time? I would love to see!

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    1. Thanks. I didn't take any pics during the actual cutting process. I thought about it, but I was afraid of messing something up if I kept stopping and starting again. But you guessed it...I started at her nape and parted out a layer, cut it, and moved on to the next...working my way up. If I cut it this way again, I will take pics for ya. :)

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  8. Two questions! 1) What is the name of the heat protection spray you use when flat ironing. I only flat ironed one of my girls twice...years ago....and I hated the spray so much and didn't get great results so I never did it again. But I think banding before flat ironing would help!
    2) What did you do with her hair over night? It seems like if you put it in a big braid that you would get waves, but I can't imagine it staying nice without doing something? Also, my girl is a bit younger and sweats a lot, especially at night, so I don't know if I would be able to get more than one day out of it, But it is worth a try! Just for something fun and different :)
    -Katie

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  9. Great straightening results! I agree with you about getting rid of the ends..the hair will be back quickly and in much better shape. I love all of the braidiing and twisting styles that you all share!

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