The Fastest Way to Straighten Hair

Anyone who straightens their hair knows it takes both time and skill, and they wish they had more of both. Sam Villa, founding partner of the Sam Villa brand and education artistic director for Redken 5th Avenue advises to instruct guests to “slow down to speed up,” meaning slow down the pass with the flat iron so heat and compression can straighten hair faster. See more of Villa's tips below for achieving pin-straight hair in minutes:

Fastest Way to Straighten Hair
1. Clean hair straightens better, so start out with either shampooed hair the day of or night before, or use a dry shampoo. Actually, the dirtier hair is, the more it will smell when compressed with an iron. If hair has excess oil, that is fine - oil adds slip and helps protect hair.

2. Always work with a heat protectant product. Because heat causes damage, products are not an option, they are a necessity to protect hair, reduce frizz and add slip - especially on medium to coarse hair textures. Before blow drying, apply Redken Align 12 protective straightening lotion to each section before compressing.

3. Wrap dry (brush in X pattern with blow dryer directing heat on top of the brush) hair with the Sam Villa Pro Results Ionic Dryer and Sam Villa Paddle Brush, stretching hair to reduce curl pattern and help smooth. If hair is already dry, skip this step.

4. Section hair in half above the ear, so the crown/top layers are pinned up and the rest is left down. Very quickly, randomly compress sections in the bottom half with a Sam Villa Sleekr straightening iron. You don’t need to be precise because no one sees this hair. Coarser textures need more compression and a slower pass.

5. Take down a section from the top half, the hair that everyone does see, and pass the iron slowly - remember, slow down to speed up. Again, coarser textures need more compression and a slower pass.

6. Continue taking down sections until the entire top half is straightened.

7. Finish with Redken Control Addict 28 strong hold anti-humidity hair spray or, for compromised hair, apply Redken Diamond Oil Shatterproof Shine.

Super Fast Straightening: For those with straight hair from scalp to mid length and texture from mid length to ends:

1. Using a center part, isolate the hair that needs to be straightened by putting both sides into loose ponytails and compressing with a Sam Villa Sleekr straightening iron. Just keep the elastic loose to prevent creating a mark and don’t touch the elastic with the iron or it could melt or create a line.

Other tips and techniques for guests can be found on http://www.samvilla.com/how-to/.

Stylists can use http://www.samvilla.com/how-to/tips/flat-iron-tips-heat-tension-compression as a resource.

[Image: Thinkstock]