Interested in getting your hair permanently straightened?

[YorkieLover]

Don't waste your time reading this if you don't want straight hair. You will be bored silly. But if you do, and you're willing to spend the money, this is a miracle process, and I want to share this so you maybe won't go through all the baloney that I did. :)

I know, I know. Everyone always asks, "Why in the world would you want to get your hair straightened?" Well, because ever since my early teens, I have had very thick, course, curly, wavy, frizzy hair. Industrial strength. Think Rosanna Rosanna Danna. Big. Poofy. Wiry. Argh! It took me an hour of blowdrying to pull my hair straight enough to then use either a big-barrel curling iron or a flat iron to straighten it (another 20 minutes). That's a lot of work a couple times a week ... week after week ... month after month ... year after year! Not to mention ... if I got rained on, splashed, steamed, sweated, or humidified in any way ... POOF ... all that work for nothing. It was SO frustrating, and my family was SO tired of hearing me complain.

Over the years, I've tried home straightening kits. All they did was fry my hair and scalp, then a month or two later, my hair would be frizzy again. I've tried having it done in beauty salons, same thing, but maybe less scalp burns. That's way too abusive to hair and scalp, and most of the time I'd still be frizzy or I'd have no body at all.

I got a Chi Turbo 1" flat iron. What a slick little jewel - straight hair - fast - and when you use silk protein on the hair before you flat iron ... what a shine and what smoothness! But still, any moisture ... I'd start frizzing.

Finally, a local hairdresser said she does the "Japanese permanent hair straightening system" that I had read so much about. What I didn't realize at the time is that there are many different 'systems' and how important it is for the hairdresser to be VERY experienced with all kinds of hair and have many, many, many processes under his/her belt. She did the BioIonic process on my hair (only like her 3rd time ever) - the first time it was not straight and still frizzy, so I asked her to re-do it, for which she charged me more money. After the second process, my hair was almost as frizzy as my natural hair, and the bottom 2-3" felt very dry and damaged. I was not a happy camper! She explained to me that your hair is 'not supposed to be straight and sleek and shiny, that you have to work to get it that way'. Huh. That's not what people were saying at beautywalk.com (which I found out about AFTER my second bad process with her). So, from my experience, I would NEVER recommend the BioIonic process.

After much research, I decided that most people were extremely happy with their hair after the Liscio (made by Shinbi International) or the Yuko systems. Most everyone that had one of those processes done said they have straight, shiny, sleek hair and did not have curl or frizz. The only salon I could find in my state is a 5 hour drive away, so I went up for a consultation. The gal didn't even know if she could help me until she looked at, studied, and felt and tested my hair (because it was damaged from the two previous botched processes). When she looked at it, after just flying in from more training in NYC, she determined it was damaged, but because I had strong hair, and it was underprocessed, she decided she could help me. She just happened to have the next day open (since she had been out of town), so, long story short, she used the Liscio process, it took 7.5 hours, but I had straight hair after she blew it dry, using only her fingers to seperate the hair during drying. I could not believe it! It cost me $400, but she would not take a tip at all, telling me that she thought I'd been through enough already with the other hairdresser. Literally, I walked out of there stunned!

It's been 5 months, and my hair is still straight where the chemicals were applied. Of course, my new growth is coming in and that is wavy, which is irritating, but I just touch it up real quick with the ceramic flat iron, and curl the ends under, and I'm done. It's amazing how trouble free my hair is now. If I get rained on or anything - no frizz. Since it's such a long drive to her shop, and since it involves an overnight stay, I'm going to stretch out my next appointment for a few more months - the one to do the new growth.

To me, this has been so worth it. No more worry about rain or humidity, no more hours fussing with my hair, no more living my life AROUND my hair. Sorry this is so long ... I just thought that I would have liked to know all this BEFORE I went through what I did. :)

Oh, btw, if you want to see some before and after pictures, try this:

[url]http://www.leresh.com/before_after.html[/url]

Click on a picture and you'll see the before and after of that person. (Some of the differences are amazing!) (And, no, I'm not pictured.) That website is for a different hairdresser than the one that did mine, though they work at the same salon. The woman that did my hair was Alysia, and as far as I'm concerned, she is a miracle worker! :)

[miriama59]

Those are great pictures. A few years ago, I started getting wavy hair, wavier as time has passed. It is annoying to me. I use straightening balm because if I don't I end up with frizzies.

This was confusing to me and I could not figure out what was happening.

A friend won a trip to NY and I took advantage of our free salon visit. I asked both the stylist and colorist at the Avon Salon and was told that as my hair is graying and I am getting older, the texture of my hair is changing. I color it so the gray isn't noticeable, but this explains a lot to me.

Anyways, I liked all the pictures. It is amazing how much of a difference hair can make to a person's looks.

[cujo0123]

I have very curly hair and straightening takes hours with a flattening iron for ethnic hair and tons of products. I also have thin hair and because of my thyroid I have lost lots of hair. It frizzes with the slightest bit of moisture if straightened. I don't want permanant straightening because sometimes I like to have my curly hair. My mother is a hairdresser and did tell me that Japanese treatment works but you still have to blowdry it straight. Whats the point of getting it? With all the hours it takes to straighten taking an hour off that time doesn't help that much.
Any suggestions that aren't permanent?
Thanks for posting this! It is good to know!

[tlspiegel]

WoW. What a great story! My hair is naturally wavy and the more moisture in the air, the wavier it gets. But I like it that way.

A very very long time ago I wanted my operator to give me a spiral perm. She resisted, I insisted. She did. My hair looked like I had stuck my finger in a live socket. It was incredibly ugly. I went home and cried for the entire weekend. Monday I called. She said come in and I did. She proceeded to put on a straightening solution (no guarantees mind you, that my hair would still be on my head after the process). :)

It turned out soft and shiny and I must say I was must have been super lucky. I was blessed with great hair and rarely have a bad hair day or bed head.

The only time my hair got weird on me is after my diagnosis of hypothyroid and it started falling out in chunks... however, it's grown in nice and thick and very healthy again.

I blow dry my hair in winter, and air dry in summer, but if it's wavy - no biggie to me.

[Tracir]

It sounds super for you- I have to laugh... I haven't had a natural curl in my hair my entire life!! I actually now have a little wave since I had Maddy- even my mom is amazed at the wave. I was getting perms in 3rd grade- I have baby fine, super thin straight hair!!

But the irony and you mentioned that iron- I finally tried a John Freedman line for Super Straight hair and gave up since 1994 on curls- just looking for volume. This line was at the Dollar Store and it works so great with my hair. I get highlights to coat the strand with something and keep my blonde but I have given up on the curls.

Just so funny how there are curly hair people out there wanting straight hair and baby fine hair people out there wanting curly!

[YorkieLover]

[QUOTE=cujo0123]My mother is a hairdresser and did tell me that Japanese treatment works but you still have to blowdry it straight. Whats the point of getting it? With all the hours it takes to straighten taking an hour off that time doesn't help that much.
Any suggestions that aren't permanent?
Thanks for posting this! It is good to know![/QUOTE]


When I had the stupid BioIonics process done, I did have to keep blowdrying my hair straight ... and that's what made me so mad ... it might have taken 10 minutes off the blow time, but that's so ridiculous, you're right, why bother to get it done?

That's why I'm so happy with this Liscio process. I do use a blow dryer most of the time ... BUT, it is not to straighten it at all ... because it's already straight ... I just use the blow dryer to dry my hair faster and give it more body. Sometimes I use a flat iron, only to curl the edges under.

I do not recommend home straightening kits, especially for do-it-yourself (without help). (There is one home version that I have not tried that is fairly recent. I think Matrix or Redken makes it, and it's supposed to "last" for a couple of months. I have no idea how well it works, but I think I read some people talking about it on beautywalk.com).

If I didn't go the way I did, this is the process I'd still be using to straighten my hair:

* Blow dry hair pretty straight until almost dry.
* Apply Phyique Keep it Straight (straightening lotion - works pretty good to calm frizzies)
* Finish blow drying
* Apply some kind of silk protein, mostly to the ends (it's like a light oil that helps protect and infuses into hair, and also makes hair shiny ... I use Farouk Sunglitz Repair & Shine.) (I like using this on my hair, even if I don't flat iron.)
* Flat iron hair with what I consider the best flat iron: Farouk Chi Turbo 1" ceramic flat iron. (It's adjustable heat, and I keep it in the mid-range for heat. You can get one on eBay for lots cheaper than from a beauty shop or beauty supply store.)

All you people with normal hair, rejoice ... for you have so much less to fuss over. :)

[cujo0123]

I remember some rollers that worked well and tamed my frizzy hair when I was a kid. My sister with stick straight hair was even able to use the rollers to curl her hair and it would stay. They were steam rollers and a little salt was added to the water. I don't remember the name of them but they did help for my curly hair and my sisters straight hair. They were supposed to be less damaging than most rollers. They are made of foam and individually were set on top of the machine that was filled with water and salt right before they were used.

[YorkieLover]

[QUOTE=Tracir]Just so funny how there are curly hair people out there wanting straight hair and baby fine hair people out there wanting curly![/QUOTE]

I think it's a woman thing. Not too many women like the hair they were given. If it's curly, they want straight ... if it's straight, they want curly ... if it's brown, they want blonde ... etc., etc.

I could have maybe tolerated the curly (although my curly/wavy was unruly, thus, messy to me), but the horrible frizz was my undoing. I was so obsessed about keeping it straight that most people who know me had never ever seen my natural hair. Boy, am I glad those days of fussing are over with!

I'm glad you found product that helps you, especially at a dollar store. I have so many products that were totally useless to me (didn't work). I've given most of them away, and I'm glad I don't have to look for anything more. :)

[YorkieLover]

[QUOTE=cujo0123]I remember some rollers that worked well and tamed my frizzy hair when I was a kid. My sister with stick straight hair was even able to use the rollers to curl her hair and it would stay. They were steam rollers and a little salt was added to the water. I don't remember the name of them but they did help for my curly hair and my sisters straight hair. They were supposed to be less damaging than most rollers. They are made of foam and individually were set on top of the machine that was filled with water and salt right before they were used.[/QUOTE]

Caruso. My DD uses it and loves it ... but she still has to flat iron her hair to tame the frizz first (yes, she got my frizz, but she is too young to be sick of straightening it yet) ... then she uses the Caruso steam rollers to get big, bouncy curls in her long hair. Yes, they do work really well ... because her hair is very resistant to curl, and it's the only rollers that work for her hair. The newer Caruso steamer units do not need salt, which is nice. :)

[Pipanella]

[QUOTE=Tracir]It sounds super for you- I have to laugh... I haven't had a natural curl in my hair my entire life!!

Just so funny how there are curly hair people out there wanting straight hair and baby fine hair people out there wanting curly![/QUOTE]

Isn't THAT the truth! Same here. My hair has always been so stubbornly straight. My mom was a hairdresser, and she said I was her biggest challenge. She took me to a hair show with her one time, and the guest stylist had me up on stage and by the time he was done with me, he was so frustrated, the other stylists had done three people and he was still on me! He just couldn't believe how stubborn my hair was.

Most of my life I've had perms and have always had short hair. Right now, it's still short, but longer than I usually let it get. I will never have 'long' hair, I just look horrid with it very long, but it is longer than normal, and I'm still struggling with curling it. Thank goodness for 'product.'

[ShainaT]

Thanks YorkieLover for the awesome post. I have never heard of this before. How long is it supposed to last on your hair?

Has anyone heard of "Straight to the Maxx"? It is an infomercial for a home-straightening product that is supposed to be wonderful.

[YorkieLover]

Shaina, I've heard that Straight to the Maxx works okay on some people, but is a disaster on others ... and it does 'wear out' so that you have to do the process over on the hair you already did it on.

The Japanese thermal reconditioning is a permanent hair straightening system. I would recommend the Liscio process (what I had that worked) or the Yuko process, which is similar. When you have one of these procedures done, the hair that has the chemicals applied to it will ALWAYS be straight. Of course, your hair does get new growth and that will be curly, so you have to go in every 6-9 months to get your roots only done.

This is an expensive procedure, but for the time and hassle and aggravation it has saved me, it is well worth it. And since it takes an average of like 7 hours to do, I felt the hairdresser well earned her money. And I have no problem curling my hair, if I want a different look - I just use a flat iron (twist up to curl) or a curling iron on the ends. :)

[bestmidwest]

Wow YorkieLover, I can totally understand wanting to get that done if it takes that much time for you to do your hair! I watched the video and it looked like a lot of work for the stylist, so I can imagine it costing that much!! They said something about how much people spend on products to control and straighten their hair. That stuff is so expensive, you're probably saving money. Cool!

[Shainie]

Almost all my life I've worn my hair curly. Just the past 6 months or so my hairdresser told me how to do it straight, and I love it!

It takes a little bit of time, but I realized it's not much more than all the scrunching and blowdrying when it was curly.

I use "Stick Straight" gel by Grahm Webb. Then use one of those big round brushes while I blowdry. I take a section, blowdry it, flip it to the side then grab the next section under that. I comes out smooth, and shiny, and still has body.

I'm sure this probably only works for people with wavy hair. Tight natural curl is a whole other story!

[3tbear]

I bought stuff at a salon that makes my hair straight, you just put it on and blow dry it. It works great since my hair has a natural wave to it. I haven't used it lately so I can't remember what it is called but my DH always said I looked great after I used it. I'm sure you could find a product like it for the regrowth part of your hair that would make it straighter.