Silk Wrap on Natural Hair

Silk wrap is a method used to straighten your natural hair without the use of direct heat. In other words, you are going to be using heat but there’s a barrier in between your hair and the heat, this is to help lesson the effects of damage caused by heat usage. Getting a silk wrap is a lengthy process that involves roller sets, saran wrap, over head blow dryer and patience.
If you are natural or thinking about going natural you should understand the importance of avoiding heat on hair, and if you choose to use heat it’s better to see a professional or know exactly how to prep and treat your hair to avoid as much damage as possible.

Before I share with you on how to achieve a silk wrap on natural hair, I would like to say if your hair is prone to breakage easily, silk wraps are not for you. As with any hairstyle, it’s best to start with freshly cleansed hair, unless you’re about to rock a twist or braid out, but that’s an entirely different story. So not only do you want your hair to be freshly washed, but it’s best for you to deep condition your hair prior to getting a silk wrap.
After washing your hair and deep conditioning it, you will take a wide tooth comb and part your hair into about two-and-half inch parts. This doesn’t have to be done neatly, just be sure to use clips to keep the hair from merging back together or falling, cause then you will have to stop and repeat this step. Once all of your hair is parted you can start to moisturize and add heat protectant to your hair, working one section at a time. Before moving on to the next section to moisturize grab your blow dryer and alternating between cool and medium heat. Blow dry your hair until your hair is completely dry, using a brush or comb to help the process of blowing out your hair. Repeat this process on the remaining sections of your hair.

You will then proceed to roller setting your hair, this step will give you that “bump”, bounce and volume of your hair. Of course, you will have to go back under the dryer for about 10 minutes. Once done you can remove the rollers, then you will gently comb your hair down and wrap it as around your head to prepare for your saran wrap. Once your hair is wrapped with no pieces hanging you can start wrapping your hair with saran wrap, this is best done if you wrap in the direction of which you wrapped your hair. This process is a little tricky especially if you’re a beginner. Just try to keep your hair as flat as possible and use the traditional wrapping method. Which means you are going to wrap everything in one direction, and the direction is solely up to you or your stylist. Once your done wrapping you are going to go back under the dryer for 20 minutes, preferably on a low to medium setting. Taking the saran wrap off your head is the easy part just gently and slowly twist the saran wrap in the direction of which your hair is wrapped, and as you are twisting you will slowly and gently pull the wrap upwards. You may also peel the wrap and unravel that way, but this method will be difficult after sitting under the dryer. Once the saran wrap is removed you may comb your hair down revealing your new bone straight silk wrapped hair, give it a little shake and watch it bounce and sway.

A silk wrap can last however you would like it to, without proper care. That means how you wrap your hair at night, your daily activity levels and of course the weather where you are at. Silk wraps do last longer then simply flat ironing your hair.
To maintain your hair, it is best to use a hair wrapping method similar to the way you wrapped your hair before applying the saran wrap. It is advisable to wrap your hair in one direction, avoid using pins on your hair, they will leave a mark on your hair and deepen the curls. When you are ready to go to bed you will be using your silk or satin scarf, not just naturals or people wanting a silk wrap should be using these materials on their hair. You can place a bonnet over top of your scarf, but never just place your bonnet on your head, they are not as secure as scarves.

Silk wrapping on short hair is thoroughly similar to doing it on medium to long hair. The only difference is you will not be doing the roller set method after blow drying your hair. Instead, you should opt for flat ironing your hair, followed by the saran wrap method. You can however still follow the same steps if you choose but, you want to be sure your hair is long enough after blow drying it straight to be able to use the proper roller sets. You will want to avoid the small roller sets because you don’t want deep curls, but you want your roller set to be big yet still small, so you will be looking to medium-sized roller sets for your particular hair length. I do advise people with short hair to avoid silk wraps or silk press’s during this stage, your hair is growing and applying heat to your hair can slow the growth or make it come to stop. As with medium to longer hair you are still prone to damage, the only difference is you can do a big chop and start your natural hair journey all over if the damage is too bad. It is your hair and you may choose to style it however you may like, just be sure to use the proper tools and to treat hair to a deep condition before and after.

We have talked thoroughly about silk wrapping your hair, there is also another technique called silk press. Which for the most part is particularly similar; the big difference is that it is done solely on natural hair, sorry to all my ladies out there with relaxed hair, but in order for you to get a silk press that just means you are straightening your hair you with a flat iron.
For naturals who may want to take a look into silk pressing their hair, you can not use any oily products such as oil or grease nor can you use any other heating tools like a hot comb for instance. Using products of that kind can add unnecessary weight to the hair. And since your hair will be already blown out there will be no need for a hot comb. Placing a hot tool on greasy, oily or wet hair can cause serious some time irreversible damage, so just be careful not to apply too much product and be sure to use the right products on your hair.

Silk wrapping on relaxed hair can be achieved and some stylist may even recommend it. Since your hair is relaxed it is therefore already straight meaning you can skip a step. So instead of blow drying your hair you can just place the roller set in your hair and sit under the dryer, you will be setting and drying your hair at the same time. This style being done on relaxed hair is relatively better, because it will lessen the amount of heat needed to achieve this style.
No matter if your hair is natural or relaxed, this style is achievable for anyone. So, rock your hair how you want.