How to straighten hari without a trip to the salon?!!

its pretty darn expensive to perm your hair these days.. I'm wondering if any stores actually sell a solution to straighter hair?

You can get a home straightener kit just like the at home perm kits.
The one I tried, is basically this gunk that you have to comb through your hair. If you think a perm stinks, that is nothing, this is WAY worse. It does work though.
You can always go with a flat Iron. Get one that is ceramic.

I've never tried this...

I've seen chemical relaxant specifically made for Black kinky hair sold at Shoppers Drug Mart.

Perhaps this would work wonders on already straight hair

i did it as a teen a few times with a perm kit. Just followed all the steps just like a perm (minus the rollers-duh) and combed it straight as the solution was in it.
Do it topless-heh, or with a towel around your shoulders.

Some beauty supply stores do sell the same products that the salons use-you can probably find them in the phone book (sorry i only know the ottawa stores for professional hair products/colors).

If you are going to use a straightening iron on your hair, make sure you buy a good one!
I had a Conair one and it was really crap- they don't heat up enough and you spend all your time waiting instead of styling your hair...

Also make sure y our hair is dry before you use a straightening iron.

-and styling lotion also helps when you use irons, protects your hair from too much heat!

Which is less damaging to hair....chemical straightening or daily flat-ironing?

if chemically straightening BE CAREFUL!!!! i've been doing it for about 20 yrs (yikes!) either at the salon or myself and it's not something to do on your own if you're not familiar with the product. It can really burn your scalp if left on too long. Let me relate my horror story. My hairdresser of many years, got a call she had to pick her granddaughter up from nursery school asap. She said she'd be back in a few minutes and left me with the relaxer in my hair. She got held up somehow and came back late. She rinsed it out and styled my hair as usual. But over the days/weeks my hair was destroyed so badly it was breaking off. My almost waist length hair i had been growing for over 10 years had to be cut into almost a brush cut at the back just to find healthy hair. I was devastated but luckily I've had mohawks and really short funky styles in the past so it wasn't as shocking as it could've been. Anyway, if you can avoid chemicals I would as they are very harsh on your hair even if applied correctly. BTW I am mixed so I have "black" type hair and need to do it once or twice a year to keep the frizz in check. A good ceramic flat iron, i have a Babyliss, will do the trick.

Originally Posted by AmberB

Which is less damaging to hair....chemical straightening or daily flat-ironing?

daily flat-ironing; definitely can still damage hair, but nowhere near as risky as chemical straightening.

Originally Posted by raptorfan

if chemically straightening BE CAREFUL!!!! i've been doing it for about 20 yrs (yikes!) either at the salon or myself and it's not something to do on your own if you're not familiar with the product. It can really burn your scalp if left on too long. Let me relate my horror story. My hairdresser of many years, got a call she had to pick her granddaughter up from nursery school asap. She said she'd be back in a few minutes and left me with the relaxer in my hair. She got held up somehow and came back late. She rinsed it out and styled my hair as usual. But over the days/weeks my hair was destroyed so badly it was breaking off. My almost waist length hair i had been growing for over 10 years had to be cut into almost a brush cut at the back just to find healthy hair. I was devastated but luckily I've had mohawks and really short funky styles in the past so it wasn't as shocking as it could've been. Anyway, if you can avoid chemicals I would as they are very harsh on your hair even if applied correctly. BTW I am mixed so I have "black" type hair and need to do it once or twice a year to keep the frizz in check. A good ceramic flat iron, i have a Babyliss, will do the trick.

QFT


The active ingredient in products like Dark & Lovely (typical lye relaxer found at drugstores and salons) is either sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide. You really need someone who knows what they're doing to use this kinda stuff in your hair.

If you go for the Japanese (or Korean) straightening, it's the same active ingredient as perm solution (ammonium thioglycolate). Also can do damage to hair, if left too long/not done properly.