Synth Steaming Report
Printed From: HairBoutique.com
Category: Hair Extension Topics
Forum Name: Hair Extensions
Forum Description: Hair Extensions can be the quick fix for short hair.
URL: https://talk.hairboutique.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=20476
Printed Date: July 20 2025 at 3:55pm
Topic: Synth Steaming Report
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Subject: Synth Steaming Report
Date Posted: March 03 2005 at 8:12pm
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Hey girls, Got my hair steamed tonight, and it's so smooth and silky--it seriously feels brand-new (even after all the experimenting I've done). I also got the ends razored a bit. I would post pics, but I'm all out of batteries! Of course, this process does result in pin-straight hair, so for those who want curls, you'd either have to reset the curl or perhaps you can steam with rollers in--not sure if that would work. :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Replies:
Posted By: Save~A~Stray
Date Posted: March 03 2005 at 8:21pm
Jenny~ you went to Isaac's to steam? If you did, did ya get a name on that steamer? Sorry, to keep bugging you about that but if I'm going to do synth, I would love to get a top notch steamer. Can't wait to see those pics!! I love the straighter hair myself. 
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Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 03 2005 at 8:52pm
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Hey SAS, I didn't get the exact brand name (sorry...), because Isaac seemed to feel that they all would work about the same. His is a professional garment steamer, on casters, with a flexible hose and the nozzle thing, and he said he paid around $60 for it. It looks a lot like these ones: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43514&item=4359238350&rd=1 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43514&item=4359238350&rd=1 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43514&item=4361280843&rd=1 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43514&item=4361280843&rd=1 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43514&item=4361379463&rd=1 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=43514&item=4361379463&rd=1 Beyond that, it was just like a blowout, really--just using the steamer instead of a hairdryer. Best of all, the steaming was free. Apparently, he gives a free steaming to all his synth clients, so it worked out quite well! :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: Save~A~Stray
Date Posted: March 03 2005 at 9:14pm
Thanks Hun  ------------- |
Posted By: sherrie215
Date Posted: March 03 2005 at 10:16pm
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Thanks Jenn, good to know that the steaming really helps! Cant wait to see pics! ------------- www.hairextensions101.com - www.hairextensions101.com www.mybeautyaddiction.com - www.mybeautyaddiction.com |
Posted By: Save~A~Stray
Date Posted: March 04 2005 at 7:13am
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Juliejetson~I was looking for steamers on the web and saw this one by Jiffy. Is this the Mac Daddy one you have girl? http://www.goodmans.net/search.asp?c=wig - http://www.goodmans.net/search.asp?c=wig I swear I was searching for the top item only..(LOL)!! 
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Posted By: Scotchyroo
Date Posted: March 04 2005 at 7:38am
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I have the low-end jiffy steamer from goodmans. I like it a lot. It was like $80. You really only need a super powerful steamer if you are making dreads. Any old steamer will jazz up open-ended snyth..... in my four monthes of experience that is. You can also use it for clothes...... ------------- |
Posted By: zapevaj
Date Posted: March 04 2005 at 11:51pm
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Oh, I have one like that. No need to pay $90 for it, though- you can find one (most commonly the Conair Professional Garment Steamer) on eBay for $40ish. ------------- http://www.hairalchemy.net - Hair Alchemy |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 05 2005 at 12:19am
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How about those little handheld ones, like: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20611&item=4362934882&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20611&item=4362934882&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW or http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=300&item=4362173809&rd=1 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=300&item=4362173809&rd=1 :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: Scotchyroo
Date Posted: March 05 2005 at 6:28am
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I had one, there wasn't anything really wrong with it, but the resevoir wasn't big enough to do a whole head, which meant stopping and waiting for it to reheat. That said, you could just do the top, or alternate. ------------- |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 05 2005 at 8:02am
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Ah, OK. Good to know. :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: isaac
Date Posted: March 06 2005 at 3:44pm
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The conair home pro thing is amazing. Its cheep and does the trick very well. The hand held runs out of water to fast. The conair new is under 100.00 And you can not only do your hair but your clothes and curtis and everything else. Its a true investment:) Isaac ------------- Http://www.cyberparlor.com |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 06 2005 at 7:27pm
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Hehe...just bought one! Anyone else's apartment morphing into a hair salon? :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: zapevaj
Date Posted: March 07 2005 at 1:31am
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Well, mine...but that's obvious. The steamer's super-handy, though; I can do my own dry-cleaning. :) -Rae ------------- http://www.hairalchemy.net - Hair Alchemy |
Posted By: Bridget
Date Posted: March 07 2005 at 9:52am
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What do you think about adding some fab. softener in the water part of the steamer? ------------- It is what it is... |
Posted By: FinaFina
Date Posted: March 07 2005 at 12:29pm
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I vote that we all take a picture of our bathroom counters on a "typical" day (i.e getting ready, hmmm. looks like I could use *just a bit here*, whoa, didn't notice how *bad* that looked over there, hmm, didn't I have some of those old hot rollers somewhere? etc etc.) OK I'm adding a steamer to the mix. . .my hair seems to have reached "critical mass" -- it's kinda yucky right now. . .maybe I've overdone the fabric softener, and the curling iron. Can I steam it WITH ROLLERS IN IT so it doesn't go stick straight??? Fina ------------- |
Posted By: Gina E
Date Posted: March 07 2005 at 1:07pm
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[QUOTE=Jenny_RR]
Anyone else's apartment morphing into a hair salon? :) Absolutley... I bought an extra ironing board for my work bench. Sometimes I'll be in the basement working on hair and my man is in his(sacred) work room fixing RC cars or whatever else hes piddling with! Awe!!!Aren't we cute?!!!! Anyone have suggestions for containers to keep hair organized? Mines in a hat box...but its not very tidy! That may be an interesting thread to start?! Miss Fina...You mailed that WAWA yet? (Sorry, I'm geekin!) I have a shark hand held with upholstry/garment attachment. Hope that works...I'll find out soon! Gna ------------- I've got a new puppy!!! She's a http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y1/GinaE52979/EvansFirstDayandRoxy06019.jpg - White Boxer |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 07 2005 at 5:50pm
OK, I assume you're having the same thing as Mer and I experienced--the hair gets bunchy, stiff, it's hard to get a brush through it.... Frankly, I'm surprised yours has lasted this long without bunching; mine was like that after less than a week, I think. I actually don't think the hair's like that because you overdid it with the iron (I hadn't even used one at that point, and I don't think Mer had either) or the fabric softener (ditto the first point). I just think synth--no matter how well you take care of it--gets like that after awhile (simply because of daily wear--exposure to water, heat, wind, brushing, etc.). My feeling is that it's unavoidable, frankly. If you can get a brush or comb through the bunches (and keep in mind that they're not really tangles so much as big bunches, so if you go section by section, the hair will separate), you may be able to curl those sections in rollers and then steam. I don't know if this will be enough to revert the hair to a smooth state, but it's worth a try. Otherwise, you'll need to blow it out or steam it out with a brush, both of which will make the hair pin-straight. At that point, you'll need to reset the curl. If you decide to blow it straight, it can be helpful to mount the dryer on something so you have a hand free to hold the hair, while your other will be holding the brush. If you keep the blow-dryer moving, you shouldn't singe it. It's possible that the PH 28mm can withstand this process without straightening out, but I highly doubt it. And this is also why I'm doubtful that never steaming or heat-styling synth hair is a possibility; I just don't see how you can get rid of the bunchiness without doing that, and the bunchiness happens pretty quickly--for you about 10 days, for me and Mer less than a week, I think. I believe Kalika was blowing the ends almost immediately. I just can't imagine that you can only fingercomb this stuff for 2 or 3 months with success, although I may be missing something. Perhaps someone else should chime in here, since these are only my best guesses based on 3 1/2 weeks of wear.... Perhaps some of the synth vets know of another solution. :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
FinaFina wrote:Posted By: FinaFina
Date Posted: March 08 2005 at 12:30pm
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Hi Jenny By "yucky" actually I'm *not* having problems with it bunching. . .when I brush it, it's very smooth and silky; the ends are just kinda weird. . frizzy I suppose is the best way to describe them. This morning I put in hot rollers when the hair was wet - and BINGO - it responded beautifully. Just have that problem of getting all those ends correctly placed in the rollers (it is IMPOSSIBLE with all these layers). I just think that this hair wants/needs (notice how it has a personality now) to be treated the very old-fashioned way. . .rollers, let the hair dry in the rollers. I bought a hand-held steamer today (the $19.99 ConAir one). I'm going to put rollers in and steam it with them in. Will advise, with pics, later on. Fina ------------- |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 08 2005 at 8:06pm
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Whew! I spoke too soon. I'm starting to think the bunching is more of a problem with longer lengths. Anyway, if it's only the ends, I would think your rolling-steaming technique would work well. Can't wait to see pics. You're an inspiration, Fina! :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: juliejetson
Date Posted: March 08 2005 at 10:30pm
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The ends do get kinda wonky(sp?). Just keep that brush moving when styling them with steam/blowdryer and they should smooth right out. ------------- |
Posted By: Syren123
Date Posted: March 08 2005 at 10:42pm
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This is getting scary! Bunchy? That's no good! Steaming will fix bunchiness, but take out the curl? Oh NO!! To be honest, I think the PH doesn't feel all that smooth and silky...one color particularly (pfefferschwarz, it's like #2), but the beautiful Mahagani does feel silky. Most interesting, the PH feels just like the Trimco I ordered, although Trimco only comes straight. Hmmm. The good news is I did many curl tests last night and Trimco, when treated right, will curl and the curl will last, just like WaWa. And the PH curl will rejuvenate with my curling iron when curled wet. But but...isn't it a huge pain to recurl a whole head?!  Bunchiness in only a week. Hmmm. |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 08 2005 at 11:12pm
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Yeah, well, that's what I had anyway. But it did smooth out with the blow-dryer. I think the length contributed to it. Maybe it was something I was doing wrong though. More experimentation is needed to get an accurate read on this. (In other words, don't go by me!) You may also want to ask Mer and Kalika. :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: zapevaj
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 1:35am
It's bad for your steamer, actually- it will gunk up eventually and die. :( -Rae ------------- http://www.hairalchemy.net - Hair Alchemy |
Posted By: FinaFina
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 10:14am
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OK here's what I did: 1) wrapped it up in those little white squishy roller things 2) steamed it 3) let it dry, about 30 minutes 4) removed the rollers voila, big, beautiful hair, once again. . . ends still need some work but I am VERY VERY blow dryer shy at this point. Also I went ahead and ordered a weft of 18/22 French whatever from Glamour Hair. I'm with you Jenny, it's like IMPOSSIBLE to NOT get heat near this hair, I mean c'mon. . .if I wasn't jacking with styling my hair what would I be doing?? (oh yeah, I might be, oh, say, cleaning my house, doing laundry, exercising. . .NAH) Anyway I'm going to go ahead and put some human hair in the places where I must control the look!! I'm going to make strands with the LG/nail glue method and attach them with shrinkies. I think that synth works well on the parts of my hair that I do very little with -- i.e. the BACK. It is going STRONG!! -Fina ------------- |
Posted By: Bridget
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 10:46am
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Rae, yeah your prob. right. Maybe something that wouldn't be clogging?? Fina, that's a good idea! Just put the hh in the areas that need style control! ------------- It is what it is... |
Posted By: Syren123
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 10:52am
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Fina. That's brilliant! Synth in the back, hh in the front and sides - that way, a bag of hh will go a long, long way! And the front is WAY easier to maintain yourself with shrinkies, extentubes, whatever, and you can mess around to your heart's content without having to wrestle with the back! Ohmygod. Where's Save-A-Stray?! I need the back of my head pinchbraided IMMEDIATELY! So Fina, are you going to do that - put the hh in the front yourself? Pls keep us updated (like you wouldn't)! |
Posted By: amm
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 11:23am
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HH in the front/sides and synth in the back with WaWa is what I'm doing. It's working beautifully. Very little upkeep. http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP934431446&id=9267 - http://talk.hairboutique.com/forum/viewthread.asp?forum=AMB_AP934431446&id=9267 Here's GH's french in 18/22. It's what I wear as well. Curls big as well as smooths beautifully. 
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Posted By: Syren123
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 11:53am
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But the synth you're wearing is straight, isn't it, amm? It's good to know that it's very little upkeep and we know how awesome yours looks. I'm just wondering if a person wears 28mm PH in the back and does NOT jack with it - especially no heat - if the curl will stay in rather than fall completely out. That is my main question. That 18/22 blend is frickin' gorgeous. |
Posted By: amm
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 12:01pm
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Ahhhhhh. Thought you were just talking synth in general. Just from my own testing of the PH's curl, it relaxes after each wash until the curl turns to wave and then it's eventually gone. This is without blowdrying or styling. In the meantime, I installed the WaWa after wrapping it around the tiniest iron. The curl was like a ringlet. I haven't had to mess with it since and it keeps a strong wave through washing. If only this stuff came in the colors and length PH did. ------------- http://shrinkies.net - Extension Supplies & Virgin Brazilian Hair |
Posted By: FinaFina
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 1:34pm
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My 28mm PH is quite full of body and I have washed it LIBERALLY. It is nowhere near STRAIGHT -- in fact the only parts of it that have threatened to be straight are the ones that I've messed with with the blowdryer. The back is still wavy -- no problems there at all. Again - I've not put *any* heat on the back. amm I got the 18/22 French Refined regular weft. I'm going to pretip it and remove some of the yuckier synth from the front. I've gotten GH's 18/22 mix before, but in the body wave pretips, and LOVED the colors. I got it in the 18" but I'm thinking that 14" will work as well -- since I taper it so much around my face. I sure hate to waste that long HH!! Will keep you posted. The GH won't be here for another week or so. . . Fina ------------- |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 5:58pm
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This is interesting because it seems like we're having a range of results with the PlastikHaar. Mine and Kalika's seemed to straighten almost immediately; Mer's retained a little wave; AMM's tests have shown that the wave loosens and goes straight; and Fina's is still going strong. Well, I'm sure we'll figure it out. I think it's safe to say that to lengthen the life of the curl, it's best to: 1. Avoid blowing the hair out with a dryer or steamer. 2. Get a shorter cut (not butt-length anyway), preferably with layers. 3. Get the 28mm, as opposed to the 50mm. 4. Avoid hot water or frequent washing (although Fina has done this with success). 5. Try to finger-tousle the hair as much as possible, rather than brushing. The rest remains a mystery.... :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |
Posted By: Jenny_RR
Date Posted: March 09 2005 at 7:14pm
By the way (don't know if I mentioned this yet), I sent a therm sample to Sara at PH (the ebonyline Adore, not the WaWa, which I don't have). Hopefully, she'll be able to hook up something similar in her lengths and colors. :) ------------- http://www.beautyaddictmag.com - www.beautyaddictmag.com |