Wet-Set Your Hair For Straight Locks Without The Heat Damage

If you prefer your hair straight and sleek, you've probably straightened it a few more times a week than is healthy. Over time, heat damage from using hairdryers and hair straightening tools every day can cause your hair to lose shine and become more brittle, alongside issues like color fading quickly, split ends, and frizz. Restoring heat-damaged hair to its former healthy condition can be expensive and time-consuming. 

Luckily, there is a way to get a straight, Hollywood-style blow out hairdo without using any heat. Yes, you can achieve a perfect blow out at home, and one of the ways you can do this is via a wet-set. Popularly used on Black hair, a wet-set uses rollers to give the hair body and bounce without needing any other tools. The wet-set was also a popular vintage hairstyle in the 1950s and 1960s, though these styles focused more on curls than straight hair. 

Here's how to get the straight, frizz-free locks of your dreams using the wet-set method.

The first thing you want to do when undertaking a wet-set is to begin with hair that has no tangles in, and is damp to the touch. Hair that is too wet will leave you with a look that's frizzy and the wrong kind of voluminous when rolled, so you want to hit the sweet spot between having wet and dry hair. You'll also need a mousse to add texture to your hair, otherwise the rollers won't hold like you want them to. Work the mousse through each strand, leaving no spots uncovered.

As you want to achieve straight hair with this wet-set, you'll need jumbo rollers rather than small ones. No matter whether you use traditional Velcro hair rollers or roller clips, you'll want to take each roller out very slowly to prevent frizz from the Velcro static. If your hair is prone to frizz, consider using clips over velcro rollers to minimize any frizz levels that threaten to ruin your bouncy straight blowout. 

To put the rollers in properly, simply divide your hair into small sections and then pull the sections as you secure the roller, either by rolling or wrapping it. Keeping each section of hair taut as you roll will ensure better results. 

How long you need to keep the rollers in will depend on how long and thick your hair is. If you can bear the uncomfortable feeling of sleeping in rollers, it might be best to do just that to ensure your hair dries completely. Silk and satin pillowcases are ideal at preventing frizz and friction if you plan to sleep in your rollers. Alternatively, if you are wet-setting your hair in the morning, think about adding a bonnet or headscarf to cover your rollers during the day, as this will speed up the drying process.

When your hair is fully dry, make sure to take your rollers out with care to preserve the sleek finish. Once done, you should have a gorgeous head of straight, shiny hair without the heat damage that comes from blow-drying it.