My silk press experience

Hi, hi everyone! I hope we are having a great day! I just wanted to share that I tried something different with my hair. If you are new here, you will probably notice that I wear my natural hair a lot—specifically in a two-strand twist. But I wanted to try something different and decided on a silk press.

I hopped on Fresha, found a local stylist, and booked my very first silk press appointment. By now, you are probably wondering what a silk press is, but before we get into that, let me give you some context. I have a full, coarse type 4C hair, which means my hair is naturally thick and tightly coiled. That said, let's dive into what a silk press is and my experience.

So, what is a silk press?

A silk press is a temporary way of straightening your natural hair using heat, that leaves your hair soft, shiny, and silky without using chemicals such as relaxer etc. It is "temporary" because it doesn’t alter the natural pattern of your hair, which means that once you wash your hair or expose it to moisture, it will revert to its original curl pattern. Silk press is often considered a healthier alternative when compared with other chemical tretaments.

The Process

Being my first time, the hairstylist asked me a few questions to get a feel for my hair needs. She asked if I had done a silk press before, what style I wanted (straight, bouncy, or with some movement), my hair concerns, and my overall hair goals. During the consultation, she noticed I had done a less-than-perfect colour job, so we agreed to fix that as part of the session. So after she assessed my hair, we proceeded with the following:

Detangle and colour

My stylist began the process by gently and painlessly detangling my hair into sections and brushing it out. Next, she worked in sections and applied the colour to my hair. Then, she covered it with a conditioning cap and allowed it to sit for about twenty to thirty minutes. Once the colour was set, she rinsed it out with lukewarm water and followed up with a deep conditioning treatment which lasted about fifteen to twenty minutes before rinsing it out again.

Blow dry and trim

After towel drying my hair, she applied some moisturiser and some heat protectants onto my hair to protect it from heat damage. Next, she sectioned my hair and began the blow-drying process using a round hair brush and blow dryer. However, the sections she had yet to do were covered with a conditioning cap.

Straightening the hair

Starting from my nape she ran the flat iron from the root to the tip of my hair and continued working that way until she covered all sections. Once she was done, she trimmed the ends of my hair and then styled it into a classic centre part.

Key takeaways

Being my first silk press, I was impressed by the length of my hair, the colour, shine, softness and the movement! I mean I was able to flip my hair from side to side and run my fingers through my hair. So, if you are thinking of considering a silk press, this is probably the sign that you need to go for it 😉