How to naturally straighten hair

[momoftwo708]

Hi everyone! I have gave up heat for my new year resolution, only for special occasions.

My hair is apl and when I air dry it it's pretty much like a mop, not very nice looking once it gets bsl it should be better, just wondering if there anyway to get it less frizzy and straight and not ugly looking lol

I heard of brown sugar with water not sure how that would work :)
happy New Year ya all

[Andrea H]

I'm not sure if this will apply to you since I don't know exactly what your hairtype is. But since mine is relatively straight, I usually just use a boar bristle when its still damp and that usually straightens it pretty well for me.

Probably not very helpful but I'm interested in seeing what others say.

[Ravenwind]

I've seen a couple youtube videos on how to naturally straighten your hair, and one of them I tried. One was using a fan on high, and brushing your hair as it dries. Now that I think of it, the consistent brushing MIGHT be too much, because it is a lot of brushing, and essentially the same thing as using the cold setting on a blow dryer. I have naturally wavy hair so it didn't make my hair pin straight, but it was straighter. You just won't get the same result as if you used a flat iron. There was also another one where this girl pretty much wrapped her damp hair around her head and secured it with bobby pins. Her hair was pretty curly and it actually came out pin straight. Here are the videos :)

Bobby pins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1RO-d1Z9Hs
Fan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ1hZtAPkz8

Hope this helps!

[melusine963]

Check out this thread. One of our LHCers tried this recently. (I hope the link works. The site seems to be having hiccups today.)

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=109196

[jojo]

I have 2b hair but prefer it straighter so i just either do a catapillar ( a pony with lots of scruchies down the length) while its damp or i brush it with a tangle teaser or wooden comb as its drying, i dont get stick straight hair but it is more straight than if i hadnt done anything!

[momoftwo708]

Thanks, I will be checking out the videos, my hair is wavy and more on the medium side, when my hair was long I would just let it air dry wavy it looked fine but now that it's apl it's more thick and puffy lol. And as soon as its in a pony tail I get the bump in my hair I hate that

[Sillage]

Give yourself a blow out on low (under 50 C) heat? That's the only thing I can think of atm.

[Neecola]

I have tried the wrap around method, secured with bobby pins. I didn't watch the youtube video that Ravenwind posted but the one I tried had you wrap a section of hair at the crown around a large roller or aluminum can to create a bit of lift. Then the rest of the hair is brushed in the same direction around the head and secured with pins. It took a really long time to dry but it did work. It would be far to much work for me to do on a regular basis as I wash every 2-3 days.

Have you considered using a bit of leave-in, gel or mousse to tame the frizz and bring out some of the waves?

[PraiseCheeses]

I get my 2c/3a hair super straight by drying it in a loose lazy wrap bun on the top of my head. (Let it air-dry for a while first, and move it around a couple times so you don't get the bumps.) When it was around your length, I had great results from pinning it around my head and covering it with a scarf.

[Amygirl8]

Yeah, please don't use that brown sugar thing :rolleyes:
I usually get the best results from wrapping my hair around my head while bobby pinning it as I go.

[dulce]

I comb my very wavy hair as straight as it can go after washing,conditioning,then go watch tv or go on the computer,placing a floor fan near me set on high,positioned so it blows my hair straight behind me.It really reduces frizz and makes it straighter,even my hubbie has commented.It also dries fast.Try it!![am not kidding ,it really works for me]

[Lauram]

I have wavy hair and if I braid it after washing, very losely and secure with a scrunchie...then over night I wear it down and it flattens out and finishes drying.. It has some body from the waves but is pretty straight.

[momoftwo708]

Wow that sounds interesting the fan method and the braid thanks!

[chen bao jun]

Yes, my cousin used to do the head wrap thing.. It's called a doobie. She's black but has type 2 wavy hair. Maybe 2c?
It won't work really with type 3 hair, but works very well with type 2. Her hair always looked straight, no wave at all.
I have heard that coconut milk and lime juice mixed together is a natural relaxer that also works on type 2 and on maybe type 3a hair--you might google 'coconut relaxer' and check this out. It's not permanent-will last only until the next wash. it will relax tightly curly hair types, too--but not enough that you would say that they had become 'straight', just looser. But I believe it will make type 2's straight. its the lactic acid in the coconut.

[chen bao jun]

My type 3c hair becomes straighter with braiding. After 3 or 4 days of being braided, its not straight, but appears to be wavy hair. However, this does not work for everyone. It makes types 2s appear to be wavy, not straight. You also have to be a silky-textured type 3, not a cottony textured.
My cousin and I always used to wonder why braiding made me straighter and her wavier. Its interesting how different hair types react differently to the same thing.