Flat Iron addict in need of help!

[violeteyes]

So I really, REALLY damaged my hair with a flat iron about a year ago, cut off all the damage and now I'm longing for that silky, smooth flat ironed hair again! I've held off for so long but someone commented on how "unkempt" my hair looks, even right after I combed through it!I really would prefer not even to blow dry it because it causes damage and makes my hair looks even worse:(. Trying to describe the problem is a bit hard, but I'll try! My hair is very fine, but not thin, more normal to thick. It seems so "light" and "airy" on the ends, even though I only have a few wispy layers in the front that I am trying to grow out, all the rest of my hair is one length. I must wash it everyday because it's extremely oily. What can I do to eliminate the "airy" texture of my hair to make it seem "heavier" and straighter without damaging it? I've tried many finishing cremes, frizz serums and leave in conditioners, but nothing seems to work! Please give me your advice:)

[Messyhair]

Step away from the flat iron!!

Although I don't know how to do it myself, I know there are ways of wrapping the hair when it's damp to create a silky straight 'do. Someone else here will have to explain it. :(

[Fractalsofhair]

Wearing it up in a bun is a good way to hide it, or even a ponytail!

Personally, I'd suggest putting some sort of oil, like olive oil or shea butter or coconut oil on the very ends, very little, and brushing it thru. Maybe even a little bit of gel to weigh it down. Brushing my hair out with shea butter melted in my hand and such weighs down my babyfine, but VERY thick hair quite well. Can you wash your hair only at the scalp as opposed to at the ends? That might also help!

[spidermom]

You could roll it on large rollers to get a smoothed out appearance. When I used to do this, I would wash in the late afternoon, and before bed when my hair was only a little damp or even dry, I would make a top of head ponytail and roll the ends/length on rollers.

[violeteyes]

I can't use oil- ANY amount seems to find itself taveling from the roots to the ends!

Messyhair: I'm interested in this wrapping technique- do you know where I can find an article on it?

spidermom: I have done this with pretty good results, but I don't have the time in the morning. I get up at 5:30 to shower (and wash my hair) and have to be at school by a bit after seven

[spidermom]

And you can't wash your hair after school instead of before school because .... ?

[violeteyes]

oily- I'm still going through my hormonal teenage years. It looks oily only about an hour after I get home from school

[Nightshade]

If you're shampooing a lot with a harsh shampoo, it could be making your hair MORE oily in the long run. When you strip all the oil off the scalp your scalp compensates by... making more oil.

Perhaps try diluting your shampoo a bit and spacing out your washings, then see if your oil production drops after a few weeks :flowers:

[spidermom]

I understand. I had the same thing, but I always bathed at night instead of in the morning because I wanted to stay in bed as long as possible. My hair was o.k. for one day but not for a second day. I don't have that problem now, but my skin still is oily (and getting wrinkles too; how fair is that?).

[violeteyes]

I use a pretty mild shampoo- no sulfates and the coconut cleaning agent is pretty far down the list.

[Lorien]

There's a harmless technique to straighten your hair called 'doobie'. It will take time though, you can do it before bed and sleep with it with a cap on, or if you're at home for an hour or so. It requires very dry hair, a large roller and a load of bobby pins.

Basically you take a strand of hair on the top of your head and put it on a very large roller and secure it well. Then you take all of your hair to one side of your head and wrap around the head flat, fastened with bobby pins on the top and bottom sides, as if you were wrapping a scarf around your head.

You keep doing this all the way around till you reach the ends and leave it for as long as you can, prefferably at least one hour.

When you take the pins off the hair should be very straight.

Hope this helps :)

[florenonite]

Could you try combing your hair as it dries? You don't need to comb constantly, but every 10-15 minutes run the comb through your hair. This method works particularly well if you keep a spray bottle handy and dampen the ends (the first part to dry) each time you do this. I find that this straightens my hair and keeps the ends better-moisturised (particularly if you put a bit of conditioner in the spray bottle), and additionally helps it dry faster. I haven't bothered doing so in ages, though, because I'm lazy ;)

[-simply Venus-]

Hmm, I don't know, but as for your hair being over-oily, maybe it's BECAUSE your shampooing? Shampooing gets rid of the oils in your hair, so your brain goes "Oh no! The scalp isn't getting enough oil! Lets send double!" then your hair gets oilier, you shampoo more often, and it keeps getting even oilier. If you start shampooing once a week, it'll probably be a little more normal, BUT there is an adjustment period!! During that first week, your hair will be super oily! it'll take maybe a few weeks, to a month to go through the adjustment period.

Good luck on styling your hair, though!

[contradiction]

Start wearing your hair up more and switch to a gentle shampoo. It may take awhile but eventually your scalp will adjust. Wearing hair up can help avoid that 'unkept' look

edited to add, shampoos with no sulfates always make my scalp feel disgusting.

[colormehappy]

I had such a problem with my hair not being straight, but not being curly. I've recently found out a had a moisturizing problem and now it's a lot better. I used to blow dry and straighten my hair every day. Damage galore! I switched to WO for a while which I found cut down a TON on how oily my hair gets. I think that your hair might get oily so quickly because you're washing too much. However, it is difficult to cut down on how often one shampoos because a lot of the time it's oily for quite a while while the scalp adjusts.

The only advice I have for you (besides diluting the shampoo and/or cutting down on washes) is to try wrapping your hair:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=37395&highlight=straighten+hair+guilt+free

I personally couldn't get my hair to wrap right, but that's probably because I didn't have a comb at the time. However, this would require you to wash at night so I don't know how much help it actually is... :shrug:

[Tutti_Frutti]

You really shouldn't use the flat iron anymore, even though if you think your hair looks still a little weird. You said you cut off all the damage, but could it be there are still some inches of damage? I'm also about a year and a half flat iron free, but when my hair dries it still dries pretty frizzy, especially on the top layer, because of the damaged inches.

What seems to help for me, is to wash my hair in the evening. When I go to sleep it becomes less frizzy because of the pillow I think. Maybe this works for you too? :) Putting it up damp in a bun can also help, but then you'll have some waves.

[Messyhair]

I can't find the towel wrapping technique now... I know I've seen a video demonstrating it somewhere. Colormehappy's link shows a wrapping technique that should do the trick, though. I assume it's similar to what I saw.