I’m not an advocate of heat that is directly on the hair, but it one just HAS to have it, at the very least,
do it correctly, no?

My hair not only handles heat really well (my hair is super thick and healthy and hangs three inches past my shoulders and I have 4c hair), it retains heat too. I had an African American lady more than a decade ago who knew how to do the blowout on my hair and I loved it. Unfortunately, she moved away.

Now that I’ve been doing it myself, here are a few tips:
1. Purchase an oven, don’t use your stove top to heat your comb.
2. Purchase an iron hot comb, not one of those newer brass ones.
3. Invest in a really good conditioner, leave-in conditioner with thermal protection.
4. Purchase straightening serum or creme. I prefer Frizz Busters creme, so far but am open to suggestions.
5. You need a really good blowdryer with a diffuser or another attachment that allows the air to be focused into a small stream.

When I first started, it’d take me about three hours to press my hair, but now it only takes an hour since I’ve learned how to do a blowout. That’s the key. You need to be able to get your hair as straight as possible with the blowdryer before you press it.

I don’t use grease or oils in my hair, but once it’s pressed, I use a 3-inch barrel curling iron to add some body to my hair and it comes out shiny and moveable. This lasts me more than three weeks if I keep it tied up at night, but my scalp will drive me crazy so I do my hair every two weeks.

This is a very tough question for me to respond to, because there are a few things going on.
1. If you have an allergy to a chemical in relaxers, then I would advise you to stop getting your hair relaxed.
2. I cannot tell whether or not your need a touch up. I used to get my hair relaxed 2 or 3 times a year, but I have a cousin who gets her hair relaxed every 8 weeks and if she waits much longer she ends up with “shedding” hair. Her hair snaps off at the point of new growth.

Only your edges are frizzy? Are you doing a dubi/doobie? The hairline tends to be the most fragile, so I will caution you to slow down with the blower on the edges. You are better off finding a different hairstyle; comb your hair down, or wear your hair curly (do finger-curls), rather than trying to force your hair to stay super straight.

Lastly, you may seriously want to consider getting an allergy test done. It’s not uncommon to develop allergies, even to products that you have used for years.

Keep me posted,
LaNegra

Yes, you are absolutely correct that blowing natural hair is a short-term solution, but that’s not always the case only for natural hair. For instance, I have stopped blowing my hair in the summer, as the humidity wrecks havoc as soon as I walk outside. It’s also a pain for those of us who workout frequently; frizz control is impossible, which is why I haven’t relaxed my hair in a while (cannot remember last time).

Thanks for your input

BTW, love your headshots!

The stylist washed & conditioned my hair, put it on rollers, and put me under the dryer. When it was dry, she took the rollers out, grabbed a round brush and took a blowdryer to it. When I left the salon I had bouncin’ & behavin’ hair.

As SOON as I started sweating (L.A. sunshine), my hair started curling up at the roots. I wrapped in the best doobie I could muster (even used those black wrap papers) at at night, but the roots were already doing the crinkle, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. With a hard press, it would have stayed straight, or had I gotten a relaxer, it would have been no problem. I just had to give in & let it curl. All my money down the drain in 2 days.

Unless you decide to get a relaxer, I don’t think a Dominican Blowout is going to keep your hair straight long-term if you have the kind of hair that responds well to a good press: thick, kinky/ curly hair. I DO, however, think that it is a much better way to keep your hair healthier if you do opt for a relaxer. (If that makes sense.)

Hope that helps.

I just wanted to ask you about alternative options to perming my hair, I don’t want to go natural. I permed my hair in the beginning of September and began washing and treating my hair at home. It is now January and my new growth (edges) basically lack moisture, I feel that I need to touch them up like every three to four days as opposed to every other week, when i recently got the perm. Touch up meaning; blowing out the new growth. I have already booked an appointment for a perm, but if I don’t have to perm right now then I will not. I honestly think I am allergic to perms.