Warning about straightening treatment

[Arianwen]

Curlies/wavies beware!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmuReXbBJDI

[RitaCeleste]

Yep, I looked into this awhile ago. I was wondering if it would fry my colored hair. Someone had posted in one thread about a friend to ended up with white dots everywhere three years down the road and had to chop. I can color my hair and color my hair no problem. In the past perms and relaxers have fried my hair. It starts off great, after a few months, I'm a frizzball. Perms loose their definition and just become frizz, the straight goes away and its just frizz, frizz, frizz! I don't what it is about perm solution but my hair hates it. I somehow just feel that any attempt to straighten or curl it is gonna end in disaster. They act like this straightening method is safe for the hair. I don't think putting chemicals on your head and heating them to 400 degrees sounds like it its gonna be good for your hair. That's if you don't choke on the fumes.

[vanity_acefake]

I just cannot see why you would want to put a chemical used to embalm dead bodies on your hair!
It is toxic, causes cancer and can do nothing but damage to you and your hair.

[RitaCeleste]

Oh, I can tell you why. My S.O. always asks if I can straighten my hair. I always tell him "NO!" The girl he works with just straightened hers and I got to hear how good it looks. Things like that are why people straighten their hair regardless of the method. My sister flat ironed me once. I washed before seeing my S.O. because it took forever and I didn't want to be told how good it looked and feel like I had to run out and buy a flat iron. Even once gave me white dots at the ends. I love brushing my hair, but people assume my hair is fried from the coloring. It isn't, its just wavy, and that doesn't go with brushes. I can suck it up and go back to finger combing a lot easier than I could start trying to straighten it. But the why is all peer pressure. My waves are not ever gonna leave me looking well-groomed or professional or over-styled. That's the why, and it stinks.

[vanity_acefake]

RitaCeleste :grouphug:

[RitaCeleste]

I'm gonna wait a few years and see if his coworker ends up with a pixie! :D My S.O. was picking on me a tad bit about reading the forums and doing treatments on my hair this summer. He asked about shaving it off. I told him I was growing it to classic length. He asked about me sitting on it or dipping it in the toilet. I promised to cut anything that fell in the toilet water. He said didn't believe that for a second.:p Usually when it gets to this length I get people telling me to cut it. (This time has been no exception.) I'm still cutting out bits of the last haircut no one liked, so I'm not listening this time. There shall be no straightening. There shall be no bad haircut! That's FINAL!

[Unofficial_Rose]

I'm gonna wait a few years and see if his coworker ends up with a pixie! :D My S.O. was picking on me a tad bit about reading the forums and doing treatments on my hair this summer. He asked about shaving it off. I told him I was growing it to classic length. He asked about me sitting on it or dipping it in the toilet. I promised to cut anything that fell in the toilet water. He said didn't believe that for a second.:p Usually when it gets to this length I get people telling me to cut it. (This time has been no exception.) I'm still cutting out bits of the last haircut no one liked, so I'm not listening this time. There shall be no straightening. There shall be no bad haircut! That's FINAL!

Seriously, wtf is it about people and thinking long hair will go in the lavatory :confused:
I've never had hair that long, but I would have thought it was perfectly simple to flip it out of the way?

[MidnightStar]

Oh, I can tell you why. My S.O. always asks if I can straighten my hair. I always tell him "NO!" The girl he works with just straightened hers and I got to hear how good it looks. Things like that are why people straighten their hair regardless of the method. My sister flat ironed me once. I washed before seeing my S.O. because it took forever and I didn't want to be told how good it looked and feel like I had to run out and buy a flat iron. Even once gave me white dots at the ends. I love brushing my hair, but people assume my hair is fried from the coloring. It isn't, its just wavy, and that doesn't go with brushes. I can suck it up and go back to finger combing a lot easier than I could start trying to straighten it. But the why is all peer pressure. My waves are not ever gonna leave me looking well-groomed or professional or over-styled. That's the why, and it stinks.


Oh, RitaCeleste, I can completely sympathize! I also have wavy hair that always looks slightly unfinished, which is why I wear it up so much! I don't like to flat iron except for my bangs, and I did find a set of no-heat curlers that worked pretty well for me (Clairol, I think?), but they're a pain to use and if I use them too much, I seem to shed a whole lot more...I used to straighten, straighten, straighten like there's no tomorrow, but it seemed to be even more damaging than coloring. I'm trying to embrace my waves, but it's not easy!!

[KatiSasha]

RitaCeleste, I'm sorry that you don't see much support from your SO. From what I've read here it could be that your hair is a lot curlier than you think. Have you ever tried Curly Girl method just to see if more curl will come out?

My hair is similar to yours as it gets longer and I found that doing that method every so often will smooth out the waves at the very least :) Hope this helps!

[gthlvrmx]

formaldehyde? The stuff we used for the pig and cat dissections?

[gretchen_hair]

That is so crazy! I read about that before but watching the video really makes it sink in.

I wonder if people still smoke embalming fluid? Isn't that what they call PCP? People used to soak cigs/joints in it and smoke it and get all crazy?

[RitaCeleste]

Today is the first day, I've wet it and left it alone pretty much to dry. Its even got some little corkscrews. (actually all along the bottom) I think I'm gonna have to retype it. It looks like its more 2b/2c. But yeah, it seems like everyone loves straight hair when yours isn't. Or they love curls if they are from setting rollers and are acting all arranged and well-behaved. My hair isn't frizzy but the waves look messy and windblown. I think it suits me fine though. I'm not a neat and tidy person. I'm only going to brush it when its wet from now on. Back to finger combing. Hope S.O. learns to love the curlier me!:D Straight just isn't gonna happen for this hair. I'm sure any method of permanent straightening would damage it and lead to a big chop.

[archel]

Oh I so understand. I have hair that doesn't know if it's wavy or wurly or what and always looks like a total mess unless I blow it out or straighten it with an iron, which I am trying to get away from. SO...I wear it up pretty much every day. I'd rather have it healthy! And no way I'm breathing formaldehyde fumes.

[Mina17]

This might be showing my age, but I find it ironic that people are so against having curly or wavy hair nowadays. I grew up in the 80s when people wouldn't be caught dead with straight hair, and now people get flak if they don't straighten it. :D I wonder if perms and body waves will come back in style?

[RitaCeleste]

Yeah, my hair needed perms in the 80's, it wasn't curly enough. The waves had to be just right etc. I'm rather enjoying going without makeup, hair spray, and gel. I can throw on a bohemian shirt and some jeans, wear my waves askew and look like I totally meant to do that! But maybe the hours we all spent in front of the mirror glamming it up are a hard sell to a few generation who haven't had to do it? I catch myself watching things like Pretty Little Liars and wonder if anyone is inspired to dress up a little. Then I remember I'm sharing a bathroom with my two girls. :rolleyes: Perms will come back in one day I'm sure and when they do I'll have a ten year head-start.

[SpeakingEZ]

I'm only going to brush it when its wet from now on. Back to finger combing.

You probably already know this, but try not to make a habit out of that. Hair is very fragile when it's wet and brushing in itself can be very damaging unless you're very careful.