The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Astralwing on December 03, 2018, 08:12:43 PM
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sorry if these have obvious answers but it's better to be safe than sorry
first, when defrizzing a pony's hair with a flat iron, what is the maximum recommended temperature to heat the iron to without it damaging the hair?
second, would wetting and then blow drying a pony's hair on low heat help set the hair better for curls/whatever hairstyle i give it?
i really appreciate any answers on the subjects, thank you
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Rule #1: Do not trust the marked settings on your curling iron. It won't be accurate enough. Even the same model may vary from unit to unit. Until you get a feel for your particular one, start low and work your way up. I don't have any concrete numbers for you, sorry. :c
If you need to set a hairstyle, boil it. I wouldn't blow dry; not hot enough to help, and all that fast air is likely to mess up the style in the process.
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I'd always put it on the lowest possible setting on the flat iron, and I worked with fairly newer ones...and as Sugarberry mentioned, even the same model may vary...Obviously the newer ones will get hotter quicker. A few quick passes should do the trick. Just don't leave it on one spot of hair for too long. I never worried about numbers.
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the lowest setting mine has is 310 degrees, if that helps
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I read somewhere that as long as the hair doesnt steam or sizzle, it should be fine.
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And keep the hair wet. It MUST be wet and/or full of conditioner, otherwise it can burn and melt. :cry:
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And keep the hair wet. It MUST be wet and/or full of conditioner, otherwise it can burn and melt. :cry:
Yes! Can't forget that.. I almost did..heh :lol:
I always used conditioner.
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so 310 degrees is a safe temperature once the hair is wet and conditioned?
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You don't specify which ponies you'll be working with, but most MLP hair is nylon. Nylon's melting point is usually well above 400F. Therefore, 310F should be safe in most cases.
However, like Baby Sugarberry said, a hair iron is not a lab-calibrated piece of equipment, and you should still be cautious at first, in case your particular unit runs hotter than its marked settings.
Best of luck in prettying your ponies!
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most of the ones i want to defrizz are g3 and g4 ponies, so i should be good there, but i have a couple g2 happy meal ponies with crazy frizzy hair too. is their hair made of the same stuff?
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I haven't tried working with McD ponies, but their hair is definitely lower quality than any of the store-bought toys (maybe with the exception of the worst G4's) so I'd be extra cautious with them. It might not even be nylon; if it is, it's the cheapest kind out there. Stuff seems to frizz the second you so much as look at it.
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Definitely keep the hair wet: I use a bowl of water and conditioner mixed together that I dip the pony hair in to as well as the Tresemme Heat Defense spray which I am extremely liberal with. You will of course need to wash all that out once Pony's hair has been straightened.
Just be careful, because this Actually Happened To Me: while I was halfway through straightening the hair of several ponies (and happy in the thought that I was fixing them) my straightener went on the fritz, and heated up to max without any warning, instantly melting the hair of the pony that I was working on between one pass and the next. It was a fakie, but a rare one, and I was Very Upset. Though I console myself with the thought that it could have been much worse as I had just finished with Scandinavian Truly, so silver linings I guess.
Good luck!
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If a pony still has a bit of factory curl that you want to restore, forgo the heat and just wet the hair and put it into curlers. I've always been a water and let it steam kinda gal with straightening hair, just takes a lot of patience, and honestly sometimes the ends still stay a bit frizzy, but there's always an improvement.
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I don't think the G2 McDonalds ponies' hair is nylon. Not sure what it is.
Certain editions of G3 Rainbow Flash and Petal Blossom (the ones packed with free baby ponies) also have non-nylon hair. Not sure what it is. The single-packed versions of them seem to have nylon hair.
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update... i used the iron on a few ponies but something strange happened that i've never had happen before - the tips of their hair became very coarse and hard after a couple passthroughs, so bad that i had to snip it off! thank goodness it was only the tips
what could have caused this? was it too hot? not enough conditioner? why only the tips?
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I would guess the ends melted? Maybe look at them under a magnifying glass and see if that doesn't give you more information. The tips probably dry out the fastest which makes them more prone to excess heat. If frizzy they may already be more spread out too, which again will result in more heat hitting any individual strand.
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update... i used the iron on a few ponies but something strange happened that i've never had happen before - the tips of their hair became very coarse and hard after a couple passthroughs, so bad that i had to snip it off! thank goodness it was only the tips
what could have caused this? was it too hot? not enough conditioner? why only the tips?
Yup, the ends melted. Turn the heat down and go a bit quicker with your passes. If you take smaller strands it'll work better too.
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I've used heat to fix pony hair many times, mostly using a flat iron, and I've never had an issue with it. I make sure the hair is wet and covered in conditioner and use the lowest heat setting possible. I also never use heat unless I absolutely have to.
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:blush: Settings haven't provided any failsafe upon my irons. The longer the iron is on the hotter it gets and this is on the lowest setting, unless you let it cool awhile you may not make it through the herd before the lowest setting gets too hot. Fakie hair is usually of a lower quality and quicker to stick, so you can warm up by straightening the hair of some fakies you don't care about... I still do. Also ventilate, whether or not you smell the chemicals it's likely better not to breathe them... for wetting keep a spray bottle of water/cream rinse solution handy, also useful is a plate to allow the iron to cool back down upon. Keys are patience and quickness.
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And keep the hair wet. It MUST be wet and/or full of conditioner, otherwise it can burn and melt. :cry:
I second this! Keep the hair wet and full of conditioner as you work.