Lianne Bruney founder and CEO of hair health brand ProTress examines the pros and cons of the silk press on natural textured afro hair

A silk press is a hair straightening techniquethat doesn’t involve chemicals and, if done correctly, can achieve results thatare more impressive and potentially less harmful than relaxers. So, if you’vebeen seduced by YouTube demonstrations of the ‘Silk Press’ and witnessed the effortlesstransformations of thick, natural curly hair, into long, silky tresses and youfancy giving it a whirl, there are a few things to consider to avoiddisappointment, hair damage and/or hair loss.

Preparation

Prepare your hair – Clean hair is an essential part of the preparation for ensuring that you achieve the glossy, straight locks you desire from the Silk Press process. For best results, use clarifying shampoo to cleanse your hair.

Clarifying shampoos, unlike regular shampoos, cleanse your hair from product build up, hard water minerals, excess oil/grease and environmental pollutants saris wigs which, if not removed, could potentially cause damage to your hair when heat from the silk press process is applied. After you have shampooed your hair, condition your hair with a smoothing conditioner. Using a smoothing conditioner helps to flatten the hair cuticles, which will limit damage to hair during the straightening process, as well as enhancing the silky, straight look of your hair. Once you have rinsed the smoothing conditioner out, towel try your hair and apply leave in conditioner.

Blowdry your hair

Now that you have thoroughly prepared your hair for the Silk Press, the next step is to blowdry your hair. Blowdrying helps to straighten the hair pre-iron. The straighter you can get your hair by blow drying the better, because it will reduce the intensity with which you will need to use the straightening irons, reducing the possibility of heat damage. Adopting good blow dry technique should also flatten the cuticles, making hair straight and silky in appearance.

Use heat protection serum  

Once you have achieved straighter locks, through blowdrying, it’s time to take your hair to the next level of straight and silky. Butbefore you proceed with the straightening irons, it’s important to coat yourhair with a protective serum. A protective serum will protect your hair fromheat damage.

Should I use a flat iron or a steam iron for the final step?

Once you have applied the serum you can proceed tostraighten your hair in small sections with a flat iron or a steam iron. Steamirons are considered to inflict less damage to your hair because they infusewarm moisture into the hair shaft whilst the hot plates straighten the hair. Flatirons, on the other hand, use dry heat to straighten the hair which sucks themoisture out of the hair shaft, making hair dry and more prone to breakage.

Benefits of silk press

? Your hair will look great

? There’s no denying it, if done correctly, yourhair will look amazing.

? No chemicals

The silk press is a hair straightening technique that doesn’t involve chemicals and, if done correctly, can achieve results that are more impressive and potentially less harmful than relaxers.

Maintenance

Silk press (unlike other natural hair techniquessuch as, rod sets, twist outs and braid outs) is low maintenance with regardsto aftercare. The bedtime regime simply requires you to wrap your hair.However, washing your hair or applying water to your hair should be avoided tomaintain your straight locks, because once water is applied your hair willrevert to its natural curls.

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The downside of a silk press

Heat damage – If you have been on the natural hairjourney long enough to achieve growth of five inches or more, it is likely thatyou will crave a little variety with hairstyling, which is why a silk press wouldbe so appealing. However, the main side effect of the silk press, especially ifdone frequently, is heat damage. Although you may have applied the heatprotective serum to your hair to prevent heat damage, this will not eliminatethe risk of damage.

Heat damage occurs when keratin (hair strands) ismelted by the heat applied, causing hair to become permanently altered in shape(usually straight), never returning to its natural curl pattern. Heat of around215-235 C is likely to cause keratin to melt. Once the shape of the keratin isaltered, the hair becomes dry and limp, because it loses its elasticity, whichmakes hair more prone to breakage. Therefore, regular silk presses are notadvised.

Hair breakage

Because your hair is always growing, the contrastin textures between your curly roots and straight ends can cause hair to breakwhere the two textures meet. This might become increasingly evident uponcombing your hair. To avoid breakage once your visible curly roots appear, washyour hair to restore your natural curls.

Product build up

Because afro hair is curly, it is naturally dry because the sebum that your scalp produces cannot flow all the way down the hair shaft. Once you have silk pressed your hair, your temporary straight locks allow sebum to flow straight down each hair strand, making hair appear unnaturally greasy. Because it is advisable not to wash your hair for the duration of the Silk Press, (which is typically two weeks), you will not be able to wash out the excess product build up for the duration of the hair style.

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