hair straightening questions...

[Marlin]

Heya, I know there is a current frizzy hair post, but I had a couple of questions too, concerning the use of straighteners. Having recently purchased some to attack some hair in need of taming, I want to make sure I have have absolutely the right idea before I commence my war....!!



Some tutorials say wet conditioned hair, others say dry conditioned hair... other posts I've read in the past say hair with the conditioner still in as the hair goes through the straighteners....


Now, since I a) don't want to ruin my ponies hair, and b) don't want to damage the straighteners just yet(!), particularly since the warnings say no contact with water (which I'm assuming also means no other liquidy things!!), what exactly is the right thing to do?!


I don't really have any baity ponies to experiment on, so whilst I will be very careful regardless, I'm hoping to make minimal mistakes! 'Straight' answers or shared experiences appreciated!


Cheers 

[babystarz]

I think it depends on the straightener. The newer hi-tech ceramic/tourmaline ones can be used on wet human hair without damaging it, but the older/cheaper ones cannot. I would follow the same strategy with ponies just to stay on the safe side. Different types of straighteners heat hair in different ways - the ones that heat from the outside in can be very damaging, while the ones that heat the whole strand uniformly are less damaging. Of course, any time you're working with heat to style there will be damage, you just want to minimize it.

Also, make sure you're not going above the lowest heat setting. And I would practice on ponies you don't mind ruining to begin with to be sure that the lowest heat setting isn't too hot.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

What I do is this:

Wash pony's hair with shampoo.  While hair is still dripping wet, coat the hair with conditioner and let it sit for about 30 minutes on a towel or whatnot.  Heat up your straightener - most of the new ones will be able to handle a little moisture.  That warning about liquids is mostly so you don't have water drip down the cord and into the straightener or more dangerously, back to the power outlet. 

Pony should be kinda slimy - divide hair into small pieces and pass through the straightener.  Tips:  Be mindful of HOT HOT HOT conditioner dripping from the pony.  Repeat until hair is mostly dry and conditioner is gone.  Then COLD WATER RINSE to get the last of the conditioner out, and style.  If you are styling for curls, you may want to rinse with hot water and then style but I think cold water works better, personally. 

[Marlin]

Thanks, guys.

The particular model I've bought doesn't have settings, so I intend to use them heated then switched 'off' anyway to keep the heat low. I'm thinking then, that some moisture as you say might be ok? Lovesbabysquirmy, your method is certainly the most common one I've come across     My model does say dry hair only... but you'd think I'd be ok doing this? They are new, ceramic coated plates if that helps?

[NoDivision]

Yikes, I wouldn't advise using a straightener that does not have any kind of heat setting. Pony hair can and does melt at higher temperatures.

[foalpatrol]

Mine doesn't have a heat setting either so I heat it up and then turn it off.  When it needs heating up again, I turn it back on for a few seconds.  And I never use it on dry hair, I keep a cup or water and a toothbrush nearby so I can wet sections as I need to.

[babystarz]

My model does say dry hair only... but you'd think I'd be ok doing this? They are new, ceramic coated plates if that helps?

The warning is probably there either because of the risk of electrocution if it's fully submerged or because it's not waterproof. Ponies don't have a lot of hair so I don't think either problem will be an issue. If you want to be extra safe, unplug it when you turn it off and run it through the pony's hair.

If the plates are metal coated with ceramic, the hair strands will heat from the outside in. It's really important to make sure you're making quick, smooth passes through the hair so that you don't accidentally fry it. I'm speaking from straightening expertise about human hair, mind you I'm not as familiar with the structure of nylon hair, but it seems to act like human hair in a lot of ways so I think my tips are applicable, there's just an added risk of melting.

[Marlin]

This has all been really helpful - thank you everyone 


Despite my straighteners being ones without settings, I'll give them a go anyway and be very careful about it. I have a pony in mind to try them on, so will see how I go 

[nhal039]

Oh I would 100% recommend getting some cheap G3s to practise on first. I think everyone would have once accidently burnt a ponies hair while they were learning.
I will share my secret thou ; ) its a winner I think as I have never burnt hair doing it this way. It doesnt matter if the ponies hair is wet or dry, has conditioner in it or not, but what you want to do is wet a muslim cloth and wrap it around the ponies hair and straighten that way. The straightner dont touch the ponys hair and the cloth holds the moisture so the hair cant burn. My straightners dont have settings either but I keep them on all the time this way, without the cloth I have to turn them on and off , its a pain in the butt!
But I would still recommend getting g3 to practise on first

[Marlin]

Great tip! Thanks! 

[tehrin]

Different brands can do different things. It depends on the straightener you have an how hot it gets.

I use an old revlon ceramic straightener with various heat settings on it (0-40 I think). I have mine set to... 5, but I use 30 in my own hair. 0 on my straightener doesn't really do much, honestly, so I have to turn it up a little more. I'm afraid to go past 5 with ponies.

You'll always want to test the heat setting with your straightener and some bait ponies first!

I usually just rub a dab of conditioner through the manee and tail, comb it through. Sometimes, I'll also spritz a little leave in conditioner in to stand in place of water, or I'll just get the hair wet in the faucet and towel it off so it's not entirely dripping then run it through.

The water and conditioner protects the fiber from melting. But you'll not want to leave it in too long. 5 seconds max. Most people just brush it through really quickly, but mine has no issues keeping it on a little longer or slowly moving a problem mane or tail through the straightener if they really need it.

While the fiber is still piping hot, I like taking an eyebrow comb through the ends. It makes a bit of a difference in fixing frizzy fibers. The eyebrow combs are much finer than a fine-toothed hair comb.

If only they made a comb that fine that heated up... it would work miracles on frizzy doll hair!