Burnt Smell after Straightening

    Girl,, be careful,, I went to my moms hairdresser a
few months ago and she left me with a burnt smell
and I was soooo sooo mad, i cant even tell you
becuz it stayed all week till i washed and I noticed a
charred area where the hair was cut off and blonde (
just 3 or 4 hairs,, i was having fantasies of cutting off
her weave and her hair ,, seriously tho ,
i have read that when u burn ur hair u can reap the
consequences months later becuz the hair is
weakened and will gradually break off so NEVER
use a temp where u smell burning and u gotta use
heat protectant too but u can still charr it even with
the protectant if the temp is too high, try moistening a
piece of tissue and placing it between the plates,, if
the tissued charrs in any way its too hot,,(the water
should evaporate and dissapear, no browning) i
dont know if thats a truly accurate test but i've read it
more than once,, and i also think that those stove
irong and things are BAD becuz that was what
charred my hair off that time...... sorry im being so
preachy

Thanks guys, After reading a lot of the posts on this forum  I have decided to invest in a good quality flat iron but I'm still undecided on which one . I have narrowed it down to either a Sedu or a Solia. Cmesweet, which kind of flat iron do you have?

Hi Earthangel,

  First welcome. Since you have been reading the post you may know that I'm natural as well. I just wanted to give you some tips on trimming your own hair. If you twists or braid your hair you can trim it that way. Usually what I do is trim off the real thin end of the twist or braid.

Maybe you smell burnt hair because you are not used to smelling it. I had my hair burnt when I was younger and they had to cut a big chunk out. Anyways, I suggest for you not to use a hotcomb in the stove...it gets way to hot. Use a hot comb or flat iron, made of ceramic material where you can control the temperature.

I agree with Browneyez, you should never flat iron your hair without a heat protectant. If ther is a smell it is because you have probably scorched your hair, your iron was probably too hot. I have used fantasia in the past.

Hey guys, Im new at this but i have been reading up on all of the post for the past few months and have found it to be really informative. I have been natural for the past three years and was clueless as to how to maintain my natural afro but thanks to this site and your posts I now love my hair as i know have wealth of information on how to care for it. Thanks again you guys

Anyway here is my question: I recently got my hair straightened for the first time since i went natural so that i cud get my ends. Like most of you i too am afraid of stylists so i avoided a trim because of a bad experience years ago. I was surprised at how long my hair was and i was so excited but after the straightening i was left with a burnt smell in my hair that would not go away. I didnt use an antifrizz serum or heat protectant ( I know my badd). Can some one tell me how to prevent this in the future or recommend a nice heat protectant that will leave my hair smelling nice?