So yesterday I had a job interview, or more accurately, I was invited to a preliminary information sharing session for a possibly position with a company that… well… let’s just say a company I won’t be working for (full story can be found HERE). At any rate, I was very concerned about just how I should wear my natural tresses, since the company was located in a melanin deficient suburb of Toledo, and just might frown upon my wrap, my twists, or my Fro. My only alternative was to press my hair and bend the ends for the “relaxed” look I know to be “corporate acceptable”. I was somewhat apprehensive about having to go with this style, since I’d just blow dried my hair a day or so before and try to limit the amount of heat I use on my hair. But with finances on the line, and what seemed like a viable opportunity in my sights, a sistah had to do what a sistah had to do!

Here is what I started with:

Yes, I know my ends look horrible… leeb me ‘lone. *lol*

It’s been quite a minute since I attempted to curl my hair, since even after straightening my wavy roots gave my desired style more body than what I was going for. So I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. With time being of the essence, I couldn’t allow myself much room to fuss, but I wanted to make sure I achieved a straight enough texture while at the same time limit the amount of heat damage. So after perusing the pages of PressingHair.Info for the proper pressing technique, I fired up my Gold n Hot pressing comb and 1/2′ bumping iron and set upon my mission.

Prior to placing any heating implement into my hair I made sure to give it a good dose of Proclaim Professional Care colour and heat protection glossing polish to stave heat damage and calm the frizzies. The heat setting I used on the comb is 400 * F, which works best for my hair without burning, scorching, or frying my strands (PressingHair.Info recommends not using the highest setting, and using your own good judgment on the temperature that is best for your hair type). Because my hair was already semi-straight from blow drying, I only really needed to quickly pass the hot comb through each section of my hair.

NOTE: The picture is for “display” purposes only, as I was in the curling stage at this point. While I sometimes will run a warmed comb through my hair to “relax” the coil so that I can place my hair in a ponytail, when I really press my hair, I do a section at a time for the best effect.

Next came the curling, which was really more like “bumping” the ends than anything else. The heat seating on the iron is roughly around 350* F (it preset with a min and max setting… I use the max). As you can see, the substantial barrel on the iron give me sort of a “bob” style bend, which at the end of my progress, resulted in a look much like this:

Because I am in dire need of a end clip there was a great deal of “frizziness” going on that may not be visible in the pictures, but overall I think I did a decent enough job.

NOTE: One thing I do not like about the press and curl style is the hair appears shorter than what it actually is.

Once I returned from the “informational meeting” that wasn’t, I took a wide tooth feather comb to my hair and gradually released the “bumped” ends from their set to examine the length difference:

So there you have it… The very first press ‘n curl attempt of my natural life! Not something I will be going very often (once every other month if I can help it… if that), but the results are acceptable and decent.

I anticipate the press lasting a couple of days, provided I don’t somehow get it wet and wrap it nightly (or whenever I take one of my infamous naps *lol*). Although I don’t plan to bump it again the press will help with smoother wrap wearing, which will be my style of choice until In The Mix Friday rolls around. *wink*

Healthy Hair Wishes,