Women love changes whereas Mother Nature is a bit playful. When we have straight hair, we want curls. And the other way round. Luckily, there are lots of ways to make the hair straight without heat so a flat iron isn’t the only choice. How to straighten your hair?
Having silky-smooth, straight hair may be a problem, especially if your hair’s naturally frizzy and curly. Girls with curls have a truly challenging hair care routine, let alone styling. They can’t get carried away because it’s really difficult to tame and smooth unruly hair. To make things worse, all hairstyling attempts end up with frizzy or broken strands.
Thick hair – straightening is a challenge
Thick strands are the least prone to straightening. The rule is simple: the thicker and fuller the hair, the harder it is to straighten. Even after achieving the desired effect, it’s not long-lasting. Even if you apply a styling primer designed for fixing straight hair, it may leave your hair weak and weighed-down. So the question arises. How to straighten curly hair to avoid damage?
Longer strands – no need for straightening
On the other hand, the length of hair may be a plus. The longer the hair, the better. The gravity works – hair is longer, heavier and drawn down so it’s straight. When hair’s long, the effect of straightening is longer-lasting. Still, you may have problems with split and curly hair ends.
A flat iron. Does it always make a good choice?
Some hair types are resistant to straightening so high temps are the last resort for lots of women to force their hair to cooperate. Too bad, straightening with a high temp (e.g. 200 degrees) entails paving a way towards damaged and over-processed hair. Especially when hair’s fine and fragile or when you fail to provide the right heat protection before using a straightener.
Surely, you must do something more. A flat iron is a brilliant styling tool – easy to use and effective yet only if you follow directions and use products for faster straightening routine. Protecting the hair against heat matters to reduce the harmfulness of a flat iron.
Cosmetics or home remedies?
How to straighten curly hair? Why don’t you search for help? I mean proper products which make straightening easier and give longer-lasting effects as well as deliver heat protection. Some of them even work as a substitute for a flat iron. There are also home remedies for straight hair e.g. using mixtures of natural ingredients which have certain properties such as oils for straightening hair.
Straightening shampoos and conditioners
A set of products that have a precise task is a common choice. A shampoo and conditioner which make hair smooth and straight are available at nearly every store. Usually, these products are mild so heatless hair straightening is out of the question. Shampoos and conditioners simply make blow-drying and styling easier.
Hair straightening oils
Hair oils, available in drugstore and natural versions, make a better choice. If you buy them at a store, make sure they don’t contain many preservatives. Do oils make hair straight? Regularly applied oils smooth, tame and unpoof hair so it is straight. Most of them (especially argan oil) protect from heat and prevent loss of moisture during the blow-dry or straightening routine. Go for them if you wonder how to straighten your hair.
Mineral oil
The forgotten mineral oil may help you straighten your hair. Be careful while applying it solo. Mixed with a natural oil or hair mask, it works wonders. All you need to do is apply a mineral oil to hair (avoiding the scalp) and leave it in for an hour or more. After washing it off, your hair will be definitely heavier, smoother, shinier and more straight.
Hair smoothing keratin treatment
When all hair straightening methods fail, there is one more option you can try – hair straightening keratin treatment. It is done by a hairstylist and involves repairing damaged hair structures with keratin – a protein which makes up hair. Among others, you get a semi-permanent effect of straight hair and a better protection from the outside elements. The effects last for a few months but you pay a lot. The treatment has lots of benefits and drawbacks so the choice is up to you.
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