Hair will hold curl just fine but won't stay straight

[lady mechanic]

I have very fine thin wavy hair. I can put it in twists overnight and it will hold the curl until i wash it again, but every time I try to straighten it (which is once every few months) it wont stay straight more than a few hours. Ive tried washing and conditioning with "smoothing" shampoo and conditioners, not washing for a few days before straighting, blowdring then flat ironing (bad i know) and i ALWAYS use a ton of heat protectant and never flat iron when wet. I use product when i blowdry and steaighten thats supposed to help the process, but to no avail.I dont understand why my hair just wont keep a straight style. I need absolutely no products or heat to get curls. On the very rare (maybe once a year) that i use a curling iron, my hair holds curls perfectly but usually if i want extra curl ill just put it in twists the night before and its fine. Generally my hair is healthy and i dont straighten often but i also figure whats the point of long hair if i dont have fun with it now and then, and show its full length with a straight style. Just wondering why i have this issue, if anyone else has it, and what I can do to get it straight for a night out? I hate to use heat on my hair just to have it go wavy in a few hours. Btw my hair isnt magazine pretty wavy. Its more like homeless guy wavy :/ any advice or insight is greatly appreciated! Happy thanksgiving!

[lapushka]

When I was a teen, I used to blow dry my hair straight. Then I got upset when there was fog or light rain, because it would *immediately* frizz up. All this time I thought I had "difficult" straight hair. Yes, I was that stubborn and... well, stupid at least where hair was concerned. So I crimped it instead, 2 times a week after washing. And that style stayed well. It's all about finding what works for *your* hair. Straightening it might be totally pointless. At soon as there's a little bit of humidity in the air: BOOM, you're basically scr*wed.

[Nique1202]

My hair is very similar. I can't escape my natural wurliness. I can get some parts of my hair to dry reasonably straight but at least the last 6 inches or so will shrivel up into waves and curls no matter what I do or what the weather is.

Clearly, if what you're doing now isn't working, you should stop doing it. All you're doing by trying to straighten it is causing a lot of heat damage to your hair for no benefit. You might be able to get keratin straightening to work for you but it's a long shot with a lot of potential down sides (it might work, but only for a few months, or it might go wrong and your hair might never recover from it until it grows out).

Or, you could try to learn to live with your natural hair texture. Try not touching your hair at all (not with a comb, not with a brush, not even with your hands except to apply any conditioner/leave-in/oils you usually use) after you wash it one day and see what happens. You might have nicer waves than you think you do, if you let them form without interference.

[Arctic]

I wonder if some sort of "anti-humidity" product would help a bit. I think they are basicly silicone bombs, and they aim is to cover the strands so, that humidity from air won't be able to get absorbed into the hair. I have no personal experiences with these, and I can't name any products either from the top of my hat, but I've seen some such products somethimes, so they are out there. If you find them, it might be good idea to read user experiences first, before buying, so you'd minimize wasting your money.

Like other's above have said, the issue why your hair acts like this straightened versus like that when curled, is that curled hair is closer to your natural texture, and curly hair seems to be very sensitive to moisture. It's the same thing if a 1b person would ask, why their hair stays smooth with straightening, but the curls s/he tries always drop after few minutes, especially if there is moisture. Some hair is just more tuned to certain shape, than to others.

[diddiedaisy]

I have the same hair as you. It will NOT go pin straight for love nor money for more than ten minutes. Sometimes you just have to learn to live with what you've got. I've got used to having a wave in my hair when I try and straighten it, and actually quite like it.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Mine is like this too. In the end it's easier - and much kinder on the hair - to learn to live with what your hair wants to do, rather than what YOU want it to do :p

[turtlelover]

I don't touch my hair w/ heat anymore, but when I did, having a very high quality flat iron made all the difference in the world in my hair getting and staying straight. What kind of iron are you using? Personally, I am so happy now that I ditched the heat, but in the end, being happy with your own hair is what matters.

[endlessly]

Your hair situation sounds very similar to mine and unfortunately, I don't have any solutions for you. My only word of advice: accept your hair for what it is. In my case, I love that my hair could maintain waves and curls without hassle as I'd always wanted that hair texture, so for me, it worked out perfectly. The only other option I could recommend was using heavier products that would weigh it down and help make it appear straighter, but given that you have fine hair, that will probably only make your hair appear limp or even worse, greasy. Whatever you choose to try, best of luck and hopefully you can find a solution that works for you!

[lady mechanic]

Thank you all for your advice! The only time its ever stayed straight is with a salon blowout or zero percent humidity.