How to Flat-Iron Kinky Hair
- 1). Shampoo hair with a smoothing shampoo and follow with a smoothing conditioner. Leave conditioner in the hair for three to five minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
- 2). Apply a generous amount of leave-in conditioner or smoothing cream. Concentrate on areas of the hair that are more prone to frizz such as the hairline and ends. Massage into the scalp as well. Comb through the hair to evenly distribute.
- 3). Dry hair using a flat or large, round brush to smooth the cuticle and a blow-dryer. Section the hair by separating 1/8-inch areas of hair from the bottom and clipping remaining hair with a butterfly clip. Grip the hair with the brush and run it through from root to ends while using your other hand to follow the movement of the brush along the hair shaft with the blow-dryer.
- 4). Use a ceramic flat iron on a high setting to begin flat ironing kinky hair. Section hair into four quadrants with a rat-tail comb by slicing from the center forehead to the nape and then ear to ear. Clip with butterfly clips.
- 5). Slice a horizontal section from one side or back of the head and apply a dot of smoothing cream or gloss. Apply the flat iron starting at the root and slowly moving down the hair shaft, holding and combing with a hair-cutting comb and following with the hot iron. Turn under the flat iron as you reach the ends to apply a slight curve and eliminate the appearance of frizz. You may need to go over the section repeatedly to smooth completely.
- 6). Continue flat ironing sections until the whole head is complete. Apply a gloss to the entire head to smooth any remaining frizz for a finished look.