For Black girls, a silk press is not only a coiffure; it is a transformative occasion. There’s one thing invigorating about leaving the salon with silky, flowing hair—typically curled or bumped right into a voluminous model like a fluffy bob or artfully layered right into a butterfly minimize.
As thrilling as it’s to have a silk press appointment in your calendar, many Black girls harbor a quiet worry that the warmth required to get their hair bone-straight will fry their strands. (You understand, the panic that units in when the water is operating down your hair within the bathe, however your curls aren’t bouncing again to their pure state.) The Black neighborhood has, in some ways, come to just accept warmth injury as an inevitable a part of straightening hair. Some folks have even gone so far as “coaching” their curls to resist extended warmth, however it would not must be that method.
Brendetta Ashley, a hairstylist in San Francisco, says the important thing to attaining a smooth, long-lasting silk press that does not destroy your curls and coils is much less concerning the heat-styling itself and extra about prep and upkeep. “If the prep is completed proper, the silk press will final,” says Ashley, who notes that correctly cleaning, conditioning, and wrapping hair is crucial.
Forward, specialists share their finest suggestions for attaining a shiny silk press that lasts—and would not value you your curls.
Easy methods to prep your hair for a silk press
Simply as an artist wouldn’t begin portray on a grimy canvas, you’ll be able to’t silk-press soiled hair and count on stunning, lasting outcomes.
The stylists we spoke to agree that the important thing to a wholesome silk press truly begins earlier than a flatiron goes wherever close to your head. “The very first thing that you must do is cleanse the scalp,” says Ashley, who suggests utilizing a clarifying shampoo to take away any grime and oil buildup.
We love the Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo, which makes use of charcoal to softly exfoliate and cleanse the scalp of flakes and buildup. Olaplex No. 4C Clarifying Shampoo and the Cecréd Clarifying Shampoo + Scalp Scrub additionally present a deep cleanse with out drying out the hair.
