G1 Hair straightener advice

IceCrystal

Thunderous Mountain Boy
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I have no experience in de-frizzing pony hair, so read and watched a few tutorials. I learned from a youtube tutorial that the best temperature for de-frizzing G1 hair with a hair straightener is at 100° to 140°C. I then tried to find out with models are in that temperature range, but the ones I looked at start at 150° minimum temperature.

Those of you who use hair straighteners for de-frizzing hair: which model do you use and at what temperature?

Thanks for your tips!
 
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I de frizz ponies on the regular, it's pretty tedious but the outcome is usually way better than the latter!

I use a set of Diva hair straighteners (Diva Pro Elite Arabian Night), just your average every day pair. I believe the lowest temperature is 110°C or 120°C on those though I primarily stick to the lower temp just for safety. I wouldn't recommend any straighteners that don't have a temperature list or gauge where you can select the temperature. I ended up using a pair (they were handheld portable/travel straighteners, the really small ones) and I ended up melting a few strands of hair. The big straighteners can be quite clunky to manoeuvre around the head area but they still work pretty well.

I always use a de-frizzing/anti curl cream. I feel it does help as it adds some kind of moisture barrier so the hair isn't bone dry and more prone to damage. The specific one I use is Creightons Frizz-No-More and it works pretty well. After the hair has all been straightened I make sure to thoroughly rinse out any remaining anti curl cream. Luckily when you rinse it'll maintain the straightened style, and then style freely!
 
@cannibalcow : Wow, I hadn't even heard of a hand steamer before. Perhaps I should also consider on of these, as I hate ironing. :D

@Shyponies : thanks for the hair straightener and de-frizzing cream advice! I've just checked my regular online shop for household stuff and they do have several Diva Pro hair straighteners and the same model as Arabian Night, but in another (less appealing) colour. Yes, I checked all the Diva Pro models on their website, the lowest temperature is 110°. If you've been successful at that temperature and never had any problems with burning hair, I'll buy one of the Diva models then. Probably the cheaper model, as I would only use it for ponies (I have straight hair already :D). It also has the option to select a preferred temperature.

Also thanks for the tip, I'll add Creightons Frizz-No-More to my next amazon.co.uk order. :D
 
Oh, thank goodness, for a second I thought you want to see my laundry. :lolpony: Yes, I will, I'll order the hair straightener tonight and as soon as I have it, I'll give it a try with just a few hairs first, as I don't have any baits I could use.
 
Straightener arrived this week, I've just used it on Cherries Jubilee. Her tail looks a bit better, but the frizz is not completely gone. I now leave the conditioner in her hair overnight and curl them again tomorrow, hope it'll at least be a bit less dry.
 
I've used a straightener on pony hair frequently, to fix frizz! Mine doesn't have a temperature gauge, so I just use the lowest setting and a TON of conditioner - can't overdo it with the conditioner! ^_^
 
But does yours also sizzle when you run the straightener through the hair when it's full of conditioner? It really startled me, I thought the hair is melting. :oops:
 
But does yours also sizzle when you run the straightener through the hair when it's full of conditioner? It really startled me, I thought the hair is melting. :oops:
Yup sizzling is normal! It's the moisture from the conditioner sorta melting/evaporating away from the direct heat applied as it helps form a small barrier from the heat and the hair. It's pretty shocking at first though after a while you kinda get used to it, as long as the temp is low and the straightener isn't held on the plastic for too long it should be all good! :satisfied:
 
Ok, good to know, thanks! I was really shocked at first, as I thought the hair was melting in there. :lolpony:

Do you always keep your straightener at 110°, or do you go higher if the hair is very frizzy?
 
Ok, good to know, thanks! I was really shocked at first, as I thought the hair was melting in there. :lolpony:

Do you always keep your straightener at 110°, or do you go higher if the hair is very frizzy?
Yup haha very startling to hear the sizzling and spitting! I was shocked at first too!

I usually keep it at 110, though if the hair is particularly frizzy I go up to around 140 maximum though pretty rarely just to make sure I don't damage the hair. I make sure to make faster passes over the hair and pull the hair a little tight if it's on a higher temp. Also separating the hair in tiny tiny sections really helps, it's super time consuming but can definitely help to banish that frizz!

Also if the pony has tinsel I'd recommend keeping it as low as you can as the tinsel can melt and shrink really easily if it's a little too high. I had that issue with my G3 Waterfire which was a task in itself, some pieces shrank and crinkled but thankfully I didn't sacrifice a lot lol!
 
Thanks for your helpful tips! I did separate the hair in tiny sections, but somehow the frizz was still there, even if I used the straightener several times on the same section. Do you pull the hair while passing over it? I wasn't sure how many times I can treat the same strand before the hair really would melt, so I only did about 4-6 passes over the same section, brushing and letting it cool off in between, plus adding conditioner if the hair was dry again. I must have done something wrong, but what exactly? :unsure: Should I try again perhaps, or is it advisable not to do treated hair again? I mean it's a bit better, after leaving the conditioner overnight the hair is a bit softer now, but the frizz is still here at the tips. The rest of the hair is beautiful, it's just the tips.

I haven't got a pony with frizzy hair that has tinsel, but I have a pony that has crinkled tinsel, so I've already wondered if I could use the straightener on the tinsel as well. Or is there another recommended method for crinkled tinsel?
 
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Thanks for your helpful tips! I did separate the hair in tiny sections, but somehow the frizz was still there, even if I used the straightener several times on the same section. Do you pull the hair while passing over it? I wasn't sure how many times I can treat the same strand before the hair really would melt, so I only did about 4-6 passes over the same section, brushing and letting it cool off in between, plus adding conditioner if the hair was dry again. I must have done something wrong, but what exactly? :unsure: Should I try again perhaps, or is it advisable not to do treated hair again? I mean it's a bit better, after leaving the conditioner overnight the hair is a bit softer now, but the frizz is still here at the tips. The rest of the hair is beautiful, it's just the tips.

I haven't got a pony with frizzy hair that has tinsel, but I have a pony that has crinkled tinsel, so I've already wondered if I could use the straightener on the tinsel as well. Or is there another recommended method for crinkled tinsel?
Can you post a photo of what your dealing with? At this point it’s hard to say. It could be frizz or it could be old damaged/melted hair from previous owner of the pony. Have you done a proper shampoo and condition with this pony yet?
 
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I'll post a photo once I've removed the curlers. There is no previous owner, she's always been with me. :) Yes, I've shampooed and conditioned her a few times already.
 
I'll post a photo once I've removed the curlers. There is no previous owner, she's always been with me. :) Yes, I've shampooed and conditioned her a few times already.
So, at this point I would highly recommend to withdraw using the straightener and go back to step one with her.

There’s several, more intense things you can try with the frizz. I’m elated to hear she’s yours so you know her history and what has/hasn’t been done with her.

First step is to throughly brush the hair out starting at the tips and working your way up to the root. Use a fine toothed comb (a metal flea comb for dogs/cats is a fantastic pony hair tool). Then wet the pony’s hair with HOT water, it’s extremely important that the water is hot. Continue to brush the hair while in water then try the fo

Depending on the degree of damage there’s other things to try other than just the old shampoo/conditioner/straightener.

First is to soak the hair with Coconut oil and allow it to stay on the pony’s hair for a few days. The oil goes in and essentially re-moisturizes the actual hair and I have found leaving it in for bad hair for 24-48 hours makes a HUGE difference. I put a generous amount on the pony’s hair and leave it in the bathroom (this way it also gets heat when someone showers). Once you’ve really let it set into the pony’s hair, rinse it mostly out with hot water. While there’s still a tiny bit of the coconut oil in the hair, then you use a generous amount of (good quality) conditioner And let that soak for a few hours. Then go back to it and rinse out with hot water, again leave the smallest amount in the hair don’t rinse it completely out and give her another good brushing. Then leave the hair to dry wrapped in paper towel or a washcloth this may take 24-48hrs before it’s completely dry. Once it’s completely dry her hair should be much better, you’ll notice she will still have dry ends, you can use the straightener at it’s lowest setting on the hair now (no need to have the hair wet or damp because of the treatment that was done and she already has some protection of the conditioner still in the hair). Having wet product in the hair will ruin your straightener faster and can cause damage in the long run. If your super worried your straightener will melt your pony’s hair - test it on discarded strands from brushing her hair out. ;)

The second product you can try is Mane and Tail hair treatment. I’m not sure how readily available it is to you where you are but we can buy it almost anywhere that sells shampoo. It’s usually found with “speciality hair products” and is used to relax “unmanageable” hair types. This is great and cheap way to do it. just follow the instructions on the label and I have found thats enough.

Although I personally haven’t used this method, I know a lot of people in the pony community do. Liquid fabric softener soak apparently works wonders on pony hair.

Ummm I think that’s everything. If you have any questions your welcome to send me a message any time. I’m always around. Especially these days lol
 
Thank you so much for your detailed recommendations Skybreeze! I've never heard about the coconut oil treatment before, but it sounds good, I'll definitely try that at the weekend! I still have a jar of coconut oil I never use in the kitchen anyway, as we're not too keen on coconut products (we only like fresh coconut). :)

I've also just found a UK seller for Mane 'n Tail products on ebay. Seems to be a great product and ingredients-wise it suits my requirements. I'll try the "deep moisturising" line, sounds perfect for pony hair.

Yes, I've also read about fabric softener. Do you know how you use it, do you use it like conditioner or do you soak the pony's hair for a longer period in it?
 
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