What are your experiences with hot irons? I have a cheapo straightener at the moment, but I ordered a better quality one.
Do they damage your hair?
Is there a good product you can use to protect your hair against the heat?
How do you straighten the back of your hair?

Oh and another question. When I go to the hair salon, I ask my hair dresser to thin my hair as it is very thick. Does this damage it at all? Does it slow down the growth?

Go for the Ceramic ones. They are not as hard on the hair as the cheapo's. But yes, over use can damage the hair some, depending on the condition of your hair.

There is a lot of products that can protect against the heat. Just read the labels. More has come out now.

I never recommend thinning hair out because you are taking certain chunks out depending on the way it is done. You will always have those short hairs that sometimes stick out. Also depends on the texture. But no, it does not slow the growth down. Hair growth comes from the hair shaft. If you like the results from it, then I would not worry about it.

With practice straighting the back of the hair gets easier. It sure can be a pain sometimes though.:D Also depends how curly it is.

Just make sure to use long, steady strokes, and don't hold the flat iron still on your hair. This will help protect your hair from damage. Like Goettling said, the back just takes practice.

What they^^^ said. I have naturally very curly hair. It's not thick and course, however, but kind of fine and soft. I pretty much try to wear it straight during the winter months. So I'm usually using a blow dryer every other day or so and I have also used the hot iron. I try to condition my hair at least every two weeks or at the very least, once a month. This also helps keep the hair in decent condition. If you go for fairly regular trims, at least every three months, and in keeping with the advice above, you should do ok.

Just an afterthought, my daughter has gone for that Japanese hair straightening, which lasts about six months, and she has great results with that. Your hair does come out pin straight, however, so if that's not the look you want, than it's not for you. And it's very pricey. Your hair also has to be in good shape before you do it. She's going for her fourth round in May.

I've got ceramic ones too. The damage depends on how often you're planning on using them. I must use them less than once a month, and that doesn't do a lot of damage, but i used to use them a lot more than that, about once a week or more, and i could see the damage from that. Also depends how damaged your hair is from other styling, such as colour and blow drying, as it'll already be weakened from that. You can get protective serums and stuff like that to smooth on your hair and protect it from too much heat damage, but i don't bother since i don't use them much. Also, only ever go over the hair sections once with the straighteners, this will prevent damage. So move the straighteners from root to tip fairly slowly to make sure it straightens properly, and you don't have to do it again.

To straighten the back of my hair, i part it to either side, then straighten one side at a time. I just pick up small sections starting from the very back, straighten it, and let it fall down my back, so i know which hair has been straightened. My hairs long at the back though, so it's not as wavy there as it is at the front. So i usually just straighten the front and sides fully, and pick random pieces from the back and underneath. It still looks fully straightened that way, and causes less damage.

Good tips everyone. I am going for a trim and a slight thinning today. I ruined my hair a year ago by dying it with peroxide, so I'm just waiting for the natural hair to grow out. The peroxide really damaged my hair, but by next year it should be grown out.
I usually straighten my hair every morning, but I will use a low temperature and put on something to protect it. I will ask my hairdresser to recommend something.

I dont like them because over time they can damange the hair but if you still want to use one they have products that you can put on your hair to protect it from all the heat.

I use Paul Mitchell Heat Seal before I use the straightener or curling iron.

Once in a while I use this product http://www.maxiusbeauty.com/ - got it from HSN I believe. I have super thick, coarse, curly hair prone to frizz and it's the only thing that seems to work.

When I straighten, I usually pin up several pre-combed coiled up sections ((3-4 sections each side) with butterfly clips and work on the back first, then toward the front on one side of my head at a time. Usually the 'burning' smell is from the styling agent, and not my hair. The device I use has adjustable heat so I have it set in the middle usually.

I used to chemically straighten/relax it from age 16 to 30-something but it really damaged the hair. I had it "thinned" before when I was younger but my hair works better when it is really long and all one length, with an A line so that it gets weighed down.

Also climate plays a factor for me. In California, my hair was a lot frizzier - now I live in dry Colorado and I have much better hair days.

A lot of what seems to work for curlies is your own type of hair, the texture (coarse, fine), the type of curls and thickness overall, then mixed with your area's climate. There are message boards that have more advice, like naturallycurly.com

I heard Giovanni has some great natural styling products but they are a bit pricey.

As for thinning my hair, I have it done all the time, and I really like it. When I was younger, I had a massive amount of hair and thinning was a definite necessity and comfort factor. It was thin it or look like a bush (with a little b).:-/

If you're trying to grow your hair out or maintain it at long length the I would advise stopping any heat styling, because no matter what it will always damage your hair and the only way to fix it is to cut if off. If you're happier at shorter lengths then a silicone product will help it look less damaged, but you'll need to clarify frequently and then condition heavily after because silicone can keep your hair from absorbing moisture.

I've tried straightening irons but the thing that worked the best was a hairdrier with a comb attached. It totally fried my hair though, so I stopped doing it after awhile.