So You Want To Be A Straight Natural?
The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Straight Natural: Silk Press Tips, Tools, and Products for Healthy Heat Styling
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Are you curious about being a straight natural? That’s the term for those of us with naturally curly hair who love to wear it straight – without permanently altering our curl pattern.
In this guide, I'll take you through a step-by-step process of achieving a silk press, the products and tools I swear by, and some essential tips for heat styling while protecting your natural curls.
What is a Straight Natural?
A straight natural is someone with naturally curly or coily hair who prefers to wear it straight through heat styling rather than chemical straighteners. By choosing temporary heat over permanent chemical alteration, you can still enjoy a return to curls after wash day. But, mastering the art of safely heat styling is key to preserving the health of your curls.
Preparing Your Hair for a Silk Press
A good silk press starts with excellent prep. Here’s how I prepared my client’s hair with products to ensure a healthy, glossy finish and strong hair that bounces back.
Olaplex Bond-Building Treatment
For strong, healthy hair, I began with an Olaplex treatment, which is often mistaken for a protein treatment but works differently. Olaplex is a bond-building treatment that goes deep into the hair shaft, repairing damage from chemical and heat styling. Using Olaplex ensures the hair’s elasticity and strength without the risk of protein overload.
Steam Treatment for Extra Hydration
I followed up with a steam treatment to lock in moisture alongside the Olaplex, a crucial step in any heat styling regimen. This added hydration helps maintain healthy hair and prepare it for high temperatures.
Products for Long lasting Moisture
For cleansing, I used the Moisture Shampoo that hydrates without weighing the hair down, ideal for keeping hair nourished yet light. Then, I applied the Deep Repair treatment to strengthen and moisturize the hair. This product is infused with keratin proteins, providing the strength necessary to protect against heat damage.
Bring your hair back to life with our Moisture Shampoo. This creamy, nourishing formula is designed to infuse your strands with long lasting hydration while keeping them light, bouncy, and full of movement. Unlike heavy moisturizing shampoos that can leave buildup behind, this one delivers the perfect balance: deep hydration without weighing your hair down.
Features:
Gently cleanses while replenishing moisture to dry hair
Creamy, rich formula leaves hair soft, hydrated, and manageable
Keeps hair weightless, making it perfect before blowouts or silk presses
Strengthens and nourishes from root to tip
Safe for all textures, including fine hair, extensions, and color-treated strands
Benefits:
Your hair feels hydrated, silky, and smooth after every wash
Perfect second step after the Volume Shampoo for a balanced cleanse
Preps your strands for styling by keeping them moisturized and pliable
Helps prevent dryness, frizz, and breakage between wash days
With Moisture Shampoo, every wash day leaves your hair hydrated, soft, and ready for whatever style you choose, whether it’s a blowout, silk press, or natural curls.
What’s inside:
SUNFLOWER SEED EXTRACT: provides UVA and UVB protection to preserve radiant color.
COCONUT MILK: creates a strong barrier around the hair shaft to prevent breakage.
RHODOCHROSITE: balances moisture levels.
How to Use:
SHAMPOO: wet hair and lather from roots to ends. Rinse well. Repeat if necessary.
CONDITIONER: after cleansing with shampoo, apply evenly from roots to ends. Leave in for 2-3 minutes and rinse well.
Pro Tip: Deep conditioning is essential for straight naturals. Always deep condition on every wash day to ensure your hair can handle the occasional heat styling without damage.
Give your hair the ultimate reset with our Deep Repair Treatment. Formulated with the perfect balance of strength and hydration, this intensive mask revives dry, damaged strands while keeping them soft, defined, and healthy. Infused with keratin protein and rich moisturizers, it works from the inside out to repair, fortify, and restore your hair’s natural beauty.
Features:
Deeply hydrates while reinforcing strands with protein
Infuses keratin to strengthen and protect against breakage
Restores elasticity so curls clump, pop, and define
Improves softness, shine, and manageability
Ideal for hair that is heat styled, color treated, or prone to dryness
Benefits:
Hair feels instantly stronger and more moisturized
Visible results, curls spring back with bounce and definition
Keeps straight naturals and curly girls alike protected from heat and stress
Perfect for weekly deep treatments or paired with a steam treatment for maximum absorption
When your hair needs both moisture and strength, the Deep Repair Treatment delivers. It’s the key to keeping your strands resilient, hydrated, and full of life.
What’s inside:
SUNFLOWER OIL + MALACHITE: restore moisture, shine, and resilience while protecting hair from environmental stressors.
RHASSOUL: a mineral rich clay, makes this a great treatment for even finer textured hair.
How to Use:
Apply to clean towel dried hair and leave in for 5 to 15 minutes, then rinse. Tip: Focus on mid-lengths to ends to help prevent split ends.
Essential Products for a Long-Lasting, Frizz-Free Silk Press
When prepping hair for heat styling, it’s all about layering the right products:
Emergency Miracle Treatment Leave-In Conditioner
I started with the Emergency Miracle Treatment leave-in conditioner from my curly hair care line. This lightweight cream deeply penetrates hair without leaving a heavy, greasy finish, a must-have for smooth, shiny silk presses.
Give your hair the hydration it craves with Emergency Miracle Treatment. This lightweight leave in conditioner penetrates deep into each strand, delivering lasting moisture without heaviness. Perfect as the foundation for any style, it preps and protects your hair so it stays hydrated, healthy, and manageable all week long.
Features:
Lightweight formula absorbs quickly to hydrate from the inside out
Provides lasting moisture retention between wash days
Strengthens and softens without buildup or heaviness
Ideal prep step before blow drying or heat styling
Safe for natural hair, relaxed styles, extensions, and fine strands
Benefits:
Keeps hair hydrated longer, even if you heat style weekly
Perfect balance of moisture and weightlessness
Leaves hair soft, manageable, and frizz-free
A must-have for straight naturals or wash and go girls who need moisture without reapplying product daily
With Emergency Miracle Treatment, you can enjoy long lasting hydration and strength without compromising your style, it’s the leave in that truly lives up to its name.
The Benefits:
• SILK PROTEIN: nourishes, repairs and protects hair.
• SERECITE MICA: smooths, seals hair color and provides radiant
shine.
• UV FILTERS: block sun damage.
How to Use:
Depending on the length and type of hair, apply desired amount to damp hair after washing.
Comb through roots to ends for even distribution.
Do not rinse out. Style as usual.
Le Deux Blow Dry Cream
For added heat protection, I layered in Le Deux , a blow dry cream. Blow dry creams are game-changers, especially for curly hair, as they not only add moisture but also provide a barrier against heat, preventing the hair from drying out.
Meet your new heat-styling essential. Le Deux Blow Dry Cream is the perfect balance of moisture and protection, giving your hair a silky, weightless finish every time you blow dry. Unlike traditional heat protectants, this cream based formula not only shields your strands from heat damage but also infuses deep hydration. Keeping your hair soft, smooth, and manageable.
Features:
Provides heat protection against blow dryers and hot tools
Cream consistency delivers intense moisture while protecting
Keeps hair silky, soft, and frizz free without weighing it down
Makes blow drying easier by improving slip and manageability
Ideal for naturals, relaxed hair, silk presses, or extensions
Benefits:
Your hair stays hydrated even under heat
Smooth, shiny results without dryness or breakage
The perfect foundation for silk presses, curls, or protective styles
Lightweight, so it works beautifully on both fine and thick textures
With Le Deux, you don’t have to choose between moisture and protection, you get both. Make it the final step before blow drying for salon quality results at home.
What’s inside:
• SUNFLOWER SEED EXTRACT: acts a UVA and UVB protectant while preserving radiant color.
• SWEET PEA PROTEIN: hydrates, smooths and defines hair.
• MAGNESIUM: hydrates and improves the elasticity of hair.
How to Use:
STYLE STRAIGHT: Apply to towel dried hair. Leave for 2-3 minutes and blow dry.
Amethyst Oil Heat Protectant
I sealed it all with Amethyst oil, which adds shine and extra heat protection. This lightweight oil gives a silky finish and keeps the hair sleek without weighing it down.
Seal in shine, lock in moisture, and protect your hair with Amethyst Oil. This lightweight finishing oil is designed to penetrate the hair shaft, delivering long-lasting hydration without weighing your hair down. Perfect for both blowouts and silk presses, it doubles as an extra layer of heat protection while keeping your hair soft, smooth, and frizz-free.
Features:
Provides a second layer of heat protection for styling
Lightweight formula that absorbs quickly without buildup
Seals in moisture from your creams and leave-ins
Leaves hair silky, shiny, and frizz-free
Works on natural hair, relaxed hair, and extensions
Benefits:
Protects against dryness from hot tools
Adds natural shine without greasiness
Perfect as the final step before a silk press or as a daily shine oil
Fine-hair friendly — no heavy residue or weighed-down strands
Whether you’re blowing out, silk pressing, or simply refreshing your look, Amethyst Oil is the perfect finishing touch for healthy, shiny, and protected hair.
What’s inside:
• HEMP SEED PROTEIN: fights fly-aways and frizz. Soothes scalp.
• AMETHYST: protects the hair from hot tools up to 410 degrees and
speeds up blow dry time.
How to Use:
ON WET HAIR: apply a few drops concentrating on the mid-lengths and ends. Comb through to distribute evenly. Style as usual.
ON DRY HAIR: lightly apply and work through hair for added shine and to tame fly-aways.
TREATMENT: apply throughout scalp and hair, cover with a plastic cap for 20 minutes to an hour. Shampoo and condition hair as regular.
Benefits of Being a Straight Natural
Now, let’s talk about why some choose to become straight naturals and the benefits that come with it.
Ease of Management: Curly hair, while beautiful, can be challenging to detangle and style. A straight style makes daily care simpler and less time-consuming.
Reduced Shrinkage: Enjoy showing off your true hair length! When your hair is straight, you can fully display your length without the effects of shrinkage.
Temporary Transformation: Unlike chemical relaxers, heat styling is reversible. You can go back to your natural curls after each wash, giving you the best of both worlds.
Tips for Maintaining Your Silk Press and
Preventing Heat Damage
Once your silk press is complete, there are a few key practices to help maintain it:
Limit Heat Usage Post-Press
Avoid using additional heat after wash day. Hair becomes more fragile as it loses moisture over time, so refrain from touch-ups to prevent damage.Protect Your Hair Overnight
Wrap your hair, use pin curls, or set it with flexi rods at night to keep your style intact and avoid the need for more heat.Give Your Hair a Break from Heat
To keep your curls healthy, give your hair a break between heat styling sessions. Rotating in natural styles allows your hair to regain its moisture and bounce.
The Final Result
After the silk press, my client’s hair was shiny, bouncy, and full of life. A fresh trim added shape, and her layers provided movement and body, making the silk press look effortlessly chic.
Whether you’re interested in exploring the straight natural lifestyle or just want to enjoy the occasional silk press, following these steps will help keep your hair healthy and vibrant. Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel. Until next time, happy styling!