I am black female, I use a hot iron to strighten my hair, but I also use a chemical relaxer. I had a lot of new growth and have not been to beauty shop because of lack of fund. So I just washed my hair with conditioner, let it air dried, (I have a hair dryer, but I just choose to let it air dry. because I was off work for 2 day so I had plenty of time. It take a whole day for my hair to air dry because it is long and thick. I have been using a hot iron for the past 2 weeks, but you can also use those electric flat iron to strightening your hair, you can add a little setting lotion to your have also past strightning it with the flat iron to make it last a little long. The electric flat iron does not get as hot as the hot iron so it is a lot safer to use.
My curly hair has been the bane of my existence, especially the frizz. I recently bought a ceramic hair straightener called HerStyler and it is amazing. It straightens my hair very quickly and it lasts for days. Before, I would have a blow-out in the salon and it was curly within 30 minutes.
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Request: Straightening Curly Hair
Archived on 09/07/2009
What are the steps involved in hair straightening? What has to be done to keep it that way?
Ranjeetha from Karnataka, India
Feedback:
RE: Straightening Curly Hair
I have curly hair and I use a leave in conditioner to keep the frizzies out. After you wash it towel dry it gently and then I let it dry naturally, but if you're in a hurry just dry it on low heat. Start with the ends and work your way up.
I bought a flat iron by Revlon with a heat setting on it. The #14 setting works for my hair, but the Chai (used in salons are wonderful). Also don't forget to use a flat iron spray on your hair, that way it protects it and keeps it from frizzing up. I buy the Matrix flat iron spray and also the leave in conditioner by Garnier. It works wonders. My hair is not frizzy or dry by using these items and I don't have any split ends. Good luck. (01/03/2008)
I have naturally curly (very curly) hair, and I am trying to straighten it without chemicals or heat, does anyone have any suggestions? I've tried the relaxers and they just made lots of my hair fall out. Please help me.
Janie from Wisconsin
Answers:
Straightening Curly Hair
Anything that is used to straighen naturally curly hair is going to damage it.
Chemicals, heat, anything.
Just let your naturally curly hair be it's self.
Check out http://www.naturallycurly.com for more great info on naturally curly hair. (08/30/2007)
I don't know how long your hair is but when I was younger one of my girlfriends used to set her hair using orange juice cans as hair rollers. (And here I am with naturally straight hair getting a perm every few months!) (08/30/2007)
My daughter has the same problem with her hair. She uses a CERAMIC hair straightener every morning. I don't know of anything that will straighten it that doesn't use chemicals and all the chemicals will damage your hair.
God Bless,
Sheila in Titusville, FL (08/30/2007)
My teen age daughter had The same problem. We tried the chemical route, even had it professionally done. It all broke off. It was awful. We used every hair product to defriz it that we could find to try, Lots of oils and leave in conditioners. Nothing worked. Nothing even sort-of worked. She was so discouraged. I even stopped people on the street if I saw someone who's hair looked good. Finally we learned of the Chi ceramic flat iron through our chiropracter! We had tried other ceramic flat irons, but the Chi iron is special. It is a little expensive, but is worth every single penny. There are special products made to go with the Chi iron. The most important is a liquid silk that gets infused into the hair. There are other silk products, but it has to be Chi only. If you try both, you will see there is a big difference. It was explained to us by a salon that uses Chi that that particular flat iron gets much hotter than the others. The silk made by Chi is also made to protect the hair from the hot temperature. Also, what is so great is that her hair stays straight.
With the other irons, it would straighten initially but start to poof out shortly after. This has literally given her a whole new confidence. She's been using it for over a year and her hair has never been so healthy. We get it trimmed regularly. She washes and straightens it about once every 4 or 5 days. It does take an hour to iron it but she's gotten to be very good at it. I do hope this helps you. It was such a tremendous discovery for us. (08/30/2007)
By Dody
RE: Straightening Curly Hair
My daughter has coarse, curly hair that we straighten once a week with a ceramic iron. She washes her hair and then lets it air dry. You can use a large blow-dry brush and that may straighten it enough for you or you could go on to use what we do, which is a Pantene conditioner that we put on the hair before we use the ceramic iron. She has ALOT of hair but this really makes her hair more manageable. (08/31/2007)
I was going to suggest using very, very large curlers - as large as you can find. Wrap the hair while it is damp and either blow dry or let it air dry. Orange cans sounds like it would work very well, though the large curlers might dry faster as there is more air flow. (08/31/2007)
if your hair is long enough, perhaps you could go to bed with it wet and puled back in a ponytail. At least the part by your head would be straightened out some. Maybe add another holder down on the ponytail to straighten it out or get creative to let it dry while wet, but in a straightened position. (08/31/2007)
Please consider setting your God-given glorious curls free! I am 46 yrs old, and also 'fought' my curls most of my life. It was only when I turned 40 and let my natural curls take over that I began to truly realize what a gift God had given me. I am still a somewhat shy person, but the attention my hair gets when I am out and about is truly astonishing! I receive compliment after compliment, from both men and women of all ages. It is now six years later and I am know in my small community as 'the woman with the beautiful hair'. WOW, what a rush for a shy, overweight middle-age woman! I wish I had had the nerve to let it go natural years ago. All is takes to keep it healthy is a good diet, a deep conditioner once a week, and a good scalp-cleaning brushing before I wash it every three days. More hints can be found on this website: http://www.naturallycurly.com/
May God bless you (and your curls!),
Tamak (09/01/2007)
By tamak
RE: Straightening Curly Hair
I decided I'd put in my 2 cents worth. I have very thick, curly, but FRIZZY hair. I agree with Tamak in that the curly hair can be very pretty, however, the FRIZZY is not! I'm in my forties and have also battled my hair my entire adult life. I just recently discovered the flat irons as Dody mentioned and am at last enjoying a different style. I can't wait to try her suggestion on the liquid silk!! It's nice to have straight hair until the humidity or rain arrives - maybe the silk will help! Thanks for suggesting, Dody! Good luck, Janie! Leah (09/05/2007)
I too have curly hair and have set it loose, but as a child I loathed my hair. I would wash it before bed and, don't laugh, wear a stocking cap to bed. This won't work past where the cap fits, but it straightened out the poof considerably. No heat, no damage. I recently found out my mom used a cut off nylon when she was younger; much cooler. Where was this advice when I needed it? (09/07/2007)
By beamersquared
RE: Straightening Curly Hair
I relate about frizzy hair. I live in Houston, TX and it's humid most of the year.
A lady I met at a beauty salon told me her 'secret' for frizzies;
While your hair is wet, take a tiny amount of Vaseline, rub it in your hands and rub your hands over your hair. Then style, etc.
You might also try this on damp or dry hair before you straighten your hair. Maybe it will protect it.
This trick didn't work for me though because I have straight and heavy hair, but still frizzy!
:) (09/11/2007)
