Girlies - Do you Straighten your hair?

given2fly78

I suppose this could be for the boys too?

You metrosexuals you LOL!

But, I'm thinking about buying a straightener for my locks. My hair is wavy-gravy, and can get curly. But not pretty curly, like unruly and bizarre. I blow dry it, but sometimes that's just not enough. Straightening kind of freightens me. Is it totally unhealthy? Will I burn my shit? Can I just do the top layer so it sits nicely?

What's the deal?

iluvcats

given2fly78 wrote:

I suppose this could be for the boys too?

You metrosexuals you LOL!

But, I'm thinking about buying a straightener for my locks. My hair is wavy-gravy, and can get curly. But not pretty curly, like unruly and bizarre. I blow dry it, but sometimes that's just not enough. Straightening kind of freightens me. Is it totally unhealthy? Will I burn my shit? Can I just do the top layer so it sits nicely?

What's the deal?

I straighten mine with a blow dryer. Although...mine gets lots of kinks it. I think blow drying is not good.

urbanhippie

If you use a good pair of straighteners and some kind of protector it won't damage your hair too much. If your hair is quite curly it can be pretty labour intensive though. It takes me the best part of an hour including blow drying. I only do it for certain occasions.

It looks good though and will often last til the next day unless you wash your hair daily.

justam

My hair gets very curly (probably not as curly as yours) but if I pull it back while it's drying and put some "sleek and shine" gel on it, it looks straighter and is less wild.

I think it might be better to try that before putting chemicals on that permanently change your hair.

iluvcats

justam wrote:

My hair gets very curly (probably not as curly as yours) but if I pull it back while it's drying and put some "sleek and shine" gel on it, it looks straighter and is less wild.

I think it might be better to try that before putting chemicals on that permanently change your hair.

sometimes I let mine air dry and it is like ed's 1991, big hair. pulling it back does help straighten but so does sleeping on it. it is smelly by the end of the day and i hate myself, so i must wash daily.

stevieraveon

I'm a guy, but on the advice of my sister I bought my girlfriend a "Chi" straightener, and she thinks it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.

justam

iluvcats wrote:

sometimes I let mine air dry and it is like ed's 1991, big hair. pulling it back does help straighten but so does sleeping on it. it is smelly by the end of the day and i hate myself, so i must wash daily.

If I let mine air-dry loose or if I blow dry it, I have far too much hair. Think of the wife of Frankenstein...( but without the white streak)

iluvcats

justam wrote:

If I let mine air-dry loose or if I blow dry it, I have far too much hair. Think of the wife Frankenstein...

lol!!!!

mine is broken too from over dying it. I must color my roots every 3 weeks so people can't tell how middle aged I truly am.

PJGARDEN

I straighten mine sometimes and I have a Chi. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have long, curly, thick, hair and i can straighten it in about 20 minutes if my hair is dry. I have gotten pretty fast over the years and learned a few shortcuts. It you get a straightener, a Chi is probably the best way to go but they are a bit pricey. If you go for another brand make sure its ceramic. It's not as bad for your hair. Also, when you straighten it, make sure you put something in your hair for hold. That will help protect it and keep it straight for the entire day. Just don't use it everyday or even every other day. It will fry your hair.

PJGARDEN

I've also had my hair permanently straightened. If you are thinking of going that route I would say no. It's expensive and didn't work all that well. It took most of the frizz out of my hair but it was still curly. It last about 4 or 5 months.

iluvcats

what's a chi?

i had the best vidal sasson blow dryer with a small thing of water on the top.
you could blow dry your hair with one hand (no brush and blowdryer, it was all in one). the water helped smooth it. the thing kept cutting off. so i bought one used (sanitized first) from ebay and it worked better but still overheated. one day it was working so well, i used it too long and it blew up, smelled and scared me....I put it in the front yard. must find another.

PJGARDEN

Its an amazing little product

http://www.amazon.com/Farouk-CHI-Inch-Ceramic-Hairstyling/dp/B0009V1YR8

AllIAm

PJGARDEN wrote:

I straighten mine sometimes and I have a Chi. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have long, curly, thick, hair and i can straighten it in about 20 minutes if my hair is dry. I have gotten pretty fast over the years and learned a few shortcuts. It you get a straightener, a Chi is probably the best way to go but they are a bit pricey. If you go for another brand make sure its ceramic. It's not as bad for your hair. Also, when you straighten it, make sure you put something in your hair for hold. That will help protect it and keep it straight for the entire day. Just don't use it everyday or even every other day. It will fry your hair.

my chi rocks my world too. (iluvcats a chi is just a brand of straightener that professionals use in the salons). my hair is unruly with breakage due to dying and i have bangs too so i have to straighten those every time. i have literally had Magenta from Rocky Horror's hair and ive tamed it with that thing.

one thing i will say.. i recently just got the chi hairdryer.. makes it alot easier to dry my hair.. plus you need an ionic dryer to get the crazy frizzies out. seriously this is coming from a person who hates having to manage their hair.. but its pretty simple.

also a tip.. http://www.drugstore.com usually has the chi line at a discounted price.. or you can find them on ebay.. just buy them from a store and not a person!

pearljamjen

I can't be bothered to spend more than 5 minutes on my hair. Fortunately for me, I just blow dry it and it looks fabo!

But there was a girl in my office who would spend an HOUR on her hair every morning straightening it (she would wash and blow-dry the night before). That's insane!!!!

DrHeidi41

I would die without my straightener! (I have the Chi, too.) I don't know how to do my hair without one. I curl or straighten my hair with my straightener depending on what kind of mood I'm in. I have shoulder-length hair, though. It's not as time-consuming as it would be if it was long.

TransplantedNewf

My hair is super curly and super thick. I don't have the patience for straightening my hair. Although, i love when other people do it for me

Jeremy1012

I'm a guy with shoulder length hair, it has been much longer in the past, and I've never straightened. Hate how straight it is already. I'd kill for curly hair.

GraySaturday

I do not have this "chi" you speak of.. but now i am honestly wishing I did! I do have an awesome straightener. My hair is REALLY long, and if I leave it to air dry it gets wavy/curly pretty gross looking. Not really cute curly. Haha. I blow dry it out and straighten it every day. If I do wear it curly, I actually curl it with my straightener, which seems to defy logic. haha.

decides2dream

i have thick, curly hair naturally and i have never personally straightened my hair. i've had it done in the salon a couple times when getting a haircut, but cannot imagine being bothered doing so at home. that said, i pretty much always just let my hair air-dry and pull a pick thru it, aplly a small amount of product, and i'm good to go. however, back at the end of may i decided to go for the japanese straightening and i LOVE it. my hair was completely stick straight and uber shiny! my hair was VERY healthy to begin with, and still looks and feels so...in fact, being straight, it STILL amazes me how it feels. so, 5 months later, my hair is still straight. i actually bought a hairbrush, haha. the only thing is i got bangs, and given how quickly my hair grows and i've had them trimmed 3x now, they are not stick straight anymore. certainly not my usual curls, but they get kinky. so, i have to blow dry them if i want to wear my bangs, otherwise, i have to pin them back with a band or sumthin'. so, it is decision time...grow the bangs out and then it won't matter, or see if i can simply get just my bangs straightened again. we'll see. having curly hair was fairly easy...but having straight hair is unbelievably easy! plus, it feels so 'light'......! my hubby LOVEs it, so many people don't even recognize me w/o my curls ...it's a great change. oh, and my hair is long....bout the middle of my back.

dream_on_it

PJGARDEN wrote:

I straighten mine sometimes and I have a Chi. It is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I have long, curly, thick, hair and i can straighten it in about 20 minutes if my hair is dry. I have gotten pretty fast over the years and learned a few shortcuts. It you get a straightener, a Chi is probably the best way to go but they are a bit pricey. If you go for another brand make sure its ceramic. It's not as bad for your hair. Also, when you straighten it, make sure you put something in your hair for hold. That will help protect it and keep it straight for the entire day. Just don't use it everyday or even every other day. It will fry your hair.

My hair is the same. Nothing ever worked for me except the CHI. When I was 13, in desperation, I even tried my mom's iron and used hairspray like starch! That only happened once. It didn't work and destroyed my hair. Once I found the CHI, it was like a miracle! I bought mine on E-bay for pretty cheap.

Keiran

My hair is curlier than Eddie's used to be back in the days of Ten. It's not only curly and long, but it is thick. My stylist talked me into purchasing a Chi (Chi is a brand name) flat iron. It is the most wonderful thing I own!!!! Don't be put off by the price, I think mine was a bit over $100. But it does the job!!!!

I use a round brush to blow dry my hair and then the flat iron to straighten it. I can even let my hair air dry and then use the Chi to achieve a straight look. It takes me about 25 minutes to dry my hair and give it a "good and thorough" straightening with the iron. I find that for the next few days, I just need to spend about 5 minutes on my hair to touch it up with the flat iron.

I also use Kenra styling products. I massage a dollop of their Smoothing Cream into my hair before drying. After it's dry, I use the Hot Spray on each section before flat ironing it. Finish off with Redken's forceful 23 hair spray to reduce any frizzies. I live in the south and we have about 10 days a year without humidity. These styling products and especially the Chi iron have given me hair that I never thought I could have. And just as a side note, I barely have the skills to brush my own hair and I can handle this routine just fine. I also think a good haircut is paramount to my success!

Best of luck and PM me if you have any questions.

roar

given2fly78 wrote:

Straightening kind of freightens me. Is it totally unhealthy? Will I burn my shit? Can I just do the top layer so it sits nicely?

Heat styling can cause damage, but if you get a good flat iron and use the right products it shouldn't burn your shit. Pay attention to the heat settings and only use the temp that you really need. I flat iron my hair almost every day and have never had any problems. (I have long, platinum blonde hair so if anyone should worry about their hair frying with additional heat styling, it's me! haha)

Favorite flat irons: CHI and Babyliss -- expensive, but worth it. TIGI Hardcore is a cheaper option and I've had luck with them.

Saving grace products: Bed Head Control Freak Serum (gel) and BioSilk Silk Therapy. I also recommend the CHI Silk Infusion.

I use the serum mixed with a tiny bit of BioSilk before I blow dry. The serum is humidity-resistant and gives a little volume. After I'm done flatironing, I put a little bit of Biosilk through the ends.

I've tried heat protection sprays and they don't seem to do anything for me.

Anon

i straighten my hair every now and then. once every 2 weeks, maybe. or if i have a special occaison.

chiquimonkey

only at the salon after i get a haircut, it's too much trouble to do on my own, it'd take me forever with the mane i got lol

Sian-of-the-dead

My hair takes two hours to straighten... and that's without the blow drying before hand.

Needless to say, I do it so rarely that people don't recognise me when it's done

EddieVedderFan1

Not wanting to spend much time on my hair, I blow out my waves with a dryer. I only use a straightener once in a while.

Be sure you use a heat protecting product if using the straightener.

Sian-of-the-dead

EddieVedderFan1 wrote:

Not wanting to spend much time on my hair, I blow out my waves with a dryer. I only use a straightener once in a while.

Be sure you use a heat protecting product if using the straightener.

:eek: and with dryers! They can ruin your hair

EddieVedderFan1

Sian-of-the-dead wrote:

:eek: and with dryers! They can ruin your hair

good point! better keep the dryer moving...don't hold it in one place and burn your hair off!! :eek:

JaneNY

I use the CHI too. To get it nice and straight, its best to blow dry it over a curved brush, to get it reasonably straight. I use biosilk on it first. Then you divide your hair in 2 layers, and use a clip to hold the top layer up on 1 side; then straighten the bottom layer on that side, then use some good hair spray on it. Repeat with the top layer. Then repeat on the back, and other side. Its a lot of work, and it will last three days with touch ups. I don't do it all the time. Maybe once a week. You can get it reasonably straight without doing the layers.

decides2dream

Sian-of-the-dead wrote:

My hair takes two hours to straighten... and that's without the blow drying before hand.

Needless to say, I do it so rarely that people don't recognise me when it's done

haha, exactly!
i would NEVEr be bothered doing so myself!
now that i had japanese straightening, people i haven't seen in a few months do NOT recognize me. it's funny. to me, i always viewed straightening as a once-in-a-while thing, when i got a haircut, if i wanted to do something different/special.....i'd never bother at home. to me, if you want to wear your hair straight ALL the time, get it straightened, period! i love it and soooo easy! sure, i'll go back to my natural curls at some point i am sure....but for right now my hair is straight with zero effort on my part, is silky, shiny and healthy...it's all good.

Sian-of-the-dead

EddieVedderFan1 wrote:

good point! better keep the dryer moving...don't hold it in one place and burn your hair off!! :eek:

Indeed!

I very rarely use a hairdryer, I even try to avoid it if i'm straightening. I have uber thick, nearly waist length, wavey/loose curly hair and it takes forever. But! When I do use it, I make sure I take advantage of the 'cool shot' function. It reduces the temperature drastically so the heat is broken up and a more natural air temperature. Plus, I load it up with protective products to try and reduce as much damage as possible... it still feels frazzled by the end of it though.

I've abused my hair for years with dryers, straighteners, curling tongs, bleach, brushing and dye, and now I just love letting it dry naturally. I don't even dye it anymore. It drys soft and defined and slowly the condition is getting better. I've even stopped brushing it unless i'm about to wash it - and I never brush it while it's wet! :eek:

I've realised that my hair is naturally voluminous, curly and beautiful, so as a result, I probably now straighten it about three times a year... To think, I used to do it every week