For Black women, a silk press isn’t just a hairstyle; it’s a transformative event. There’s something invigorating about leaving the salon with silky, flowing hair—often curled or bumped into a voluminous style like a fluffy bob or artfully layered into a butterfly cut.
As exciting as it is to have a silk press appointment on your calendar, many Black women harbor a quiet fear that the heat required to get their hair bone-straight will fry their strands. (You know, the panic that sets in when the water is running down your hair in the shower, but your curls aren’t bouncing back to their natural state.) The Black community has, in many ways, come to accept heat damage as an inevitable part of straightening hair. Some people have even gone as far as “training” their curls to withstand prolonged heat, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Brendetta Ashley, a hairstylist in San Francisco, says the key to achieving a sleek, long-lasting silk press that doesn’t destroy your curls and coils is less about the heat-styling itself and more about prep and maintenance. “If the prep is done right, the silk press will last,” says Ashley, who notes that properly cleansing, conditioning, and wrapping hair is essential.
Ahead, experts share their best tips for achieving a glossy silk press that lasts—and doesn’t cost you your curls.
How to prep your hair for a silk press
Just as an artist would not start painting on a dirty canvas, you can’t silk-press dirty hair and expect beautiful, lasting results.
The stylists we spoke to agree that the key to a healthy silk press actually starts before a flatiron goes anywhere near your head. “The first thing you need to do is cleanse the scalp,” says Ashley, who suggests using a clarifying shampoo to remove any dirt and oil buildup.
We love the Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo, which uses charcoal to gently exfoliate and cleanse the scalp of flakes and buildup. Olaplex No. 4C Clarifying Shampoo and the Cecréd Clarifying Shampoo + Scalp Scrub also provide a deep cleanse without drying out the hair.
