An increasing number of women with all-natural hair have turned to the occasional use of silk presses to enjoy all of the benefits of a relaxed hair without any of the chemicals. A silk press is a modern day, improved form of the more traditional press and curl.

With a silk press, a flat iron is used to straighten out the hair, allowing the natural hair to be real straight, silky, soft and shiny. This process eliminates all of the sticky grease associated with press and curls, while producing attractive, straightened hair; making it an increasingly popular option.

The Danger

However, with a silk press comes the risk of damaging your natural hair forever. With many salons ultimately focused on the resulting straightened out hair after the press is done, excess heat is applied during the process.

A silk press is typically a three-stage process: shampoo, blow dry, and flat iron. Not only is the last stage critical to the success of the press, it can leave a lasting mark on your hair thereafter. Many who have gone through this process have been plagued by what is known as “heat damage” after the blow out and flat iron.

Heat damage to the hair leaves the hair completely straightened out, despite your best efforts to revert it. Your hair simply wouldn’t curl again, seeming to adopt its straightened form as its more natural form. Although this is not always the case (and it can be avoided with proper precautions), it is a fairly common occurrence among those to have done a silk press.

What to do in the Event of Heat Damage

If you wish to keep your natural hair, a silk press might not be the best option for you. If you’ve already had one and now suffer hair damage due to overheating, what do you do? Hair damage due to overheating can be frustrating, but it can be managed.

A hair damage is not the end of the world, and you do not necessarily have to cut out chunks of your hair before it can be restored. As you work on restoring your hair, doing some protective styles will help keep the damaged area out of sight.

Whether or not you expect hair damage from excessive heating, it is important that you follow the steps below after a silk press, to keep your hair safe and in good condition.

Vlogger shows her Hair Damage – Scroll down for the Video

Clarify hair with clarifying shampoo

Heat protectants, straightening serums, and blow-dry creams are all products you will be needing for a silk press. These silicone loaded products are difficult to completely get off your natural hair with regular shampoo. Use Going-Natural Herbal Shampoo for deep cleansing to remove every unwanted chemical.

Deep conditioning

Whether or not you regularly do this for your natural hair, it is important after a silk press. A deep moisturizing conditioner such as the Going Natural Deep Detox Conditioner will help return the missing moisture and hydration to your hair after the heat damage. It will also protect the hair from toxin buildup by introducing some much needed nutrients to the hair.

Protein treatment

An important part of the conditioning process after heat damage is protein treatment. Using the Going Natural Silky Shea Hair Butter, you can introduce some proteins to your hair to stimulate fresh hair growth. This further strengthens the hair and stimulates growth that wears off the effect of the silk press.

Ultimately, you want to keep in mind that restoring your hair might take some time, depending on the severity of the damage. Give your hair some time (two weeks is ideal) to build back its hydration, strength and health after the treatment – before braiding or curling again. In time, your natural hair will return.