Today’s post is definitely skewed more towards a smaller segment of my audience. On the whole, I tend to focus on product reviews that would work for a broad audience, but I’m also a proud member of #teamnatural. And this is also why I usually don’t cover hair care products, unless it’s something so amazing that I think it would work for more than silky straight hair textures. But, I also don’t venture into hair care that often either because the natural hair niche within the blogger/influencer/guru space is quite saturated. With that being said though, today’s post covers products that can actually work for a wide range of textures from silky straight to kinky curly. And, they can do double duty to help naturalistas achieve a DIY silk press. As background for this post, I’m a 4a/4b texture and my hair is just below BSL (bra strap length).
Now, if you’re not familiar, a silk press is basically what a press & curl was back in the day—only it uses lighter products so your hair isn’t weighed down. Or, IMO, it’s more like a Dominican blowout. If you don’t want to DIY this (which is totally understandable), there are plenty of salons you can go to. The main takeaways you need to remember if you do want to DIY a silk press is this:
1. Your hair must be very clean. Do NOT attempt to do this on dirty hair because the results will be less than ideal.
2. Do NOT use natural oils during the actual heat steps of the silk press. While natural oils are normally our best friends when wearing our hair curly, when you’re trying to flatiron or blowout your hair for a silk press, the high heat will actually make the oils “cook” your hair. That equals damage and can permanently alter your curl pattern.
So with that in mind, today’s review on these products will be focused from the perspective of a silk press. All but the Ion Silk Drops were gifted to me by the brand. For clarity, I’m reviewing these products as part of the silk press process which includes: Shampoo, condition, deep condition (optional) blow dry, flat iron.
Shampoo: Many Ethnicities Invigorating Shampoo & Palmer’s Natural Fusions Micellar Rose Water Cleanser
Normally I don’t do a double wash, but it’s recommended for silk presses if you’re concerned about product or dirt buildup of any kind, that you use a clarifying shampoo. Now Many Ethnicities Invigorating Shampoo is a new to me hair care brand that was created by a mom who’s children all ended up having different hair types because they are multi-ethnic. She got tired of littering her bathroom with tons of different shampoos to tackle the unique needs of each of her children’s different textures, so she made her own! I like that this is definitely a nourishing shampoo which is ideal for kinkier textures as it won’t strip hair of vital moisture. My hair still felt soft after using this shampoo.
However, I knew that my hair and scalp were VERY dirty since I had just taken out the braids I’d been sporting for the last two months. So, that’s why I also used the Palmer’s Natural Fusions Micellar Rose Water Cleanser. It’s actually billed as a clarifying shampoo and leverages the concept of traditional micellar water to attract dirt and literally leave your hair squeaky clean. Normally, I would not want my hair to squeak. But in this instance, it was a good thing. I’ve used this shampoo in the past just for a regular wash day and it’s pretty hydrating and will not give you a squeaky clean result. The only reason it did this time is because I did a double wash.
Condition: Many Ethnicities Moisturizing Conditioner
Now, since a silk press meant I couldn’t use the moisturizers I normally would like Argan or Coconut oil, that meant I needed to find other ways to infuse moisture into my hair. This time I opted for the Many Ethnicities Moisturizing Conditioner. This conditioner emphasizes moisture because kinkier textures tend to be naturally drier and need the added moisture. And although it does have oils in it, it’s balanced in a way that doesn’t leave residue or weigh your hair down like a traditional pure oil would do. I definitely want to try this conditioner again when I’m not trying to do a silk press because it would be the type that I wouldn’t fully rinse out. Note: the emphasis on clean means you cannot leave any residual product in your hair leading up to the heat tools steps.
Deep Condition: Steel Mclean Fortify Mask
If you’re concerned at all about the risk of heat damage or feel like your hair might need some added protection, a deep condition is in order. But again, you can’t use natural oils like you might normally want to do. So, I opted for the Steel Mclean Fortify Mask because it also includes Keratin as a primary ingredient. And when you’re talking about using the amount of heat that a silk press requires, you want to give your hair as much added protection as possible. I definitely liked that my hair still felt soft after I rinsed this out. But I most definitely want to try this product again when I’m wearing my hair normally rather than straightened.
Blow Dry & Flat Iron: Ion Silk Drops
The real key to a silk press is to blow dry your hair thoroughly before you flat iron it. Although people may have personal preferences for products to use, pretty much every stylist I’ve talked to—including the lady I consulted with at the Sally’s Beauty Supply—have said that you can use any kind of heat protectant serum during the heat tools steps. It’s more about technique in these stages.
And this is where the silk press diverges from my normal flat iron routine. Normally, I wash my hair on one day, set it on small two-strand twists, and then flat iron my hair the next day. I mainly do this because heat damage is real and I’m lazy and hate blow drying my hair. But the goal is still the same—my hair is being stretched through a no-heat low manipulation style versus using a blow dryer.
Now, if you don’t use a good heat protectant, you can really damage your hair if you use a high heat for blow drying and then follow up with a high heat for flat ironing. And usually for naturals, heat damage means a jacked up patches of hair that no longer naturally curl when you wet it and can only be corrected but cutting the damaged hair. To be honest, the rest of this section is more about technique than the Silk Drops. However, I do think the Silk Drops were great but it’s pretty comparable to Biosilk or IC Fantasia Heat Protector Straightening Serum.
The Blow Dry:
So, like I said, I hate blow drying my hair because my hair in it’s most natural state is super curly, and holds on to water forever. But this time, I divided my hair in 4 big sections. Then I divided each quarter into 3 to 6 smaller sections before then dividing those sections into small thirds. It was time consuming but it definitely stretched my hair, which made the flat ironing step easier. Just keep in mind, you’re blow drying much smaller individual sections so:
1. It’s not necessary to use the highest heat. In fact stylists recommend you don’t because in the next and final stage, you will be using a very high heat. If you use too much heat at this stage, it’ll encourage heat damage. I used a medium heat on medium speed throughout my entire hair.
2. For best results use the chase method. Use a paddle brush to maintain tension and keep hair stretched as you dry.
3. Focus on straightening the roots. However, (of course) do dry the entire length of hair in each section.
Flat Ironing:
There’s an optional step that some people do between the blow dry and flat iron step which is to trim your hair if it needs to be. I found that my ends still weren’t super straight so I waited until after I flat ironed my hair to trim it.
Anywho, like I mentioned before, this is the high heat stage. Now most stylists will recommend that you use heat between 400-450F. I opted for 419F using my Conair Infiniti PRO 1″ Tourmaline Ceramic Straightener. I’ve had this thing forever and I love it because I can curl and straighten with it, plus it comes with a heat cover. Much like with the blow drying stage, you need to work with small thin sections to ensure that you get as close to your roots as possible and are evenly heating each section. And again, you’re encouraged to use the chase method. A lot of stylists recommend using a fine tooth comb but I found I had horrible control so I swapped it for my paddle brush.
After finishing, my hair was definitely straight, but compared to a lot of the videos that I saw where people had that “I just got my hair relaxed” level straightness, I didn’t have those results. However, the main reason I straightened my hair was because I needed to trim it—so mission accomplished.
My Thoughts:
So, these pics are from the day after I attempted a silk press. I set my hair on bantus.
1. As much as I hate blow drying, I do have to agree that it made a difference in my ability to get my roots straight and to make the whole flat ironing process a bit quicker.
2. Seeing as how I didn’t get that super straight relaxed look, I’m not sure if it’s because I opted not to set my flat iron to the hottest setting (455F) or if it’s where I needed something like a Marcel iron. However, like I mentioned earlier, I’m not a fan of heat damage because once you ruin your curl pattern, there’s no remedy besides a pair of scissors.
3. The fact that it took me almost 2 hours to blow dry my hair means I would never do my own silk press again. Although it would be a huge markup (I spent a total of $15 on the Ion Silk Drops and the IC Fantasia Heat Protector Straightening Serum vs a salon visit that can be upwards of $125), I’m still sore from the process.
So, I would definitely attempt a silk press again, but I would want a pro to do it. My wash day this time was out of control. What normally takes me 2 – 3 hours with a max of 5 over two days if I choose to straighten, took me all day to do. I know part of that was because I had to take down my Poetic Justice braids and detangle, but that blow dry step is out of control for me!
For more info on the brands I listed visit:
www.manyethnicities.com or follow on IG: @manyethnicities
www.palmers.com or follow on IG: @palmers
www.steelmclean.com or follow on IG: @steelmclean
www.sallybeauty.com
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