Permanent straightening treatments?

[carolinewxo]

I'm cutting all the flat iron damage off of my hair but still want it to be smooth and straight and I'm willing to pay the price tag. I have 1c, fine hair, with one or two waves but they can poof and they aren't flattering; I prefer the sleek look on myself as well. I've heard keratin isn't really worth it and japanese straightening would probably kill my hair, but how about redkens new shape control? Theres barely anything about it online but maybe someone here will know about it! Or are there any other treatments you know of?

My hair looks like this, maybe a little less wave:
http://i.shoppinglifestyle.com/gallery/2009/03/38_SiennaMiller.jpg

And I really would love if I could find a treatment that I could airdry to have smoothness like this:
http://www.glamour.com/beauty/blogs/girls-in-the-beauty-department/2010/11/23/1123-olivia_palermo_bob_haircut_bd.jpg


Thanks to anyone who posts :)

[spidermom]

There's hair wrapping. Basically your head becomes a giant curler. There are how-to YouTube videos.

I used to put my hair into a loose-ish ponytail on top of my head at night, then dampen and roll the ends. I did it for curl, but you could use big rollers and get a bit of curve instead.

I also used to straighten by making a segmented ponytail after blow-drying on cool (a ponytail with hair ties about every inch going down the length). Very important - don't make the hair ties too tight or you will get dents.

Some people with 1C have reported that they get a straight result by combing during drying. But don't brush wet hair; that can cause a lot of damage.

But if your hair is similar to the first picture; very nice. Nothing wrong with that!

[Raiscake]

I used to do Japanese hair straightening when I was in high school. It made my hair really, really straight. No real damage to report, or at least none I've noticed. I know you said it might kill your hair but my coworkers do it all the time and their hair's just fine.

There's also hair wrapping. I've been curious about this for a while but I haven't been successful yet.

[Alex Lou]

I haven't heard of redkin, so I can't speak to that specifically. But, I believe that for any chemical straightening method, the chemicals break the disulfide bonds in your hair and then reconstruct them. Rearrangement of the chemical structure of your hair simply does not come without lots of damage.

[Aimskylove]

If my hair was naturally how yours looks I wouldn't do a thing! It is beautiful. But I understand not wanting what you have. My hair is very curly and with keratin it looks like what you have naturally. I would suppose that someone with less of a curl would get more of a straight look. Honestly in my opinion the safest thing is keratin. I have done the other stuff and my hair is very strong but I could tell the difference between my healthy hair and processed hair. My hair did break more and feel rougher and not as soft. Look up reviews on it. Thats what I did because I once thought of doing the Japanese Straightening until I read how damaging it could be. With keratin you just need to find the right brand and use the right shampoo.

[torrilin]

If I want straight looking hair, using silicone heavy conditioner or combing it while it's wet and soaked with conditioner will do it. I don't have any pictures of me with hair that looks wavier than your second picture. F and 1c hair just doesn't hold waves well... until I came here and started trying out things from the Curly Girl method, I seriously thought my hair was 1a. Poof is about the last word I'd use to describe my hair. Staticky maybe. Or limp. This suggests to me that you're probably not 1c and F both. If you look at the new visual hairtyping guide, a 1c might have as many as 5 full wavelengths showing in the hair at waist length. Most 1c folks would have less. I've got maybe 4.

Most F hair can't take heat treatments or any kind of perm, whether it's something meant to straighten or something meant to add curl. It'll lead to splits from hell, and likely a lot of breakage. NOT a good scene. (realistically, F hair breaks and splits if you look at it funny, or if you let tangles go for a day, so...)

Hair wrapping might work for you. Letting it grow so the weight of your hair pulls out the natural wave should also help. And some bun styles give a more regular wave pattern, which might give you a look you like better.

Ultimately tho, you need to work with your natural hair type, not against it. No straightening treatment will make your hair grow straight, so there will always be upkeep, and rather a lot of it.

[Gingerbear]

I just ordered the Redken Chemistry Shot Phase Smooth Down treatment:http://www.amazon.com/Redken-Chemistry-Phase-Smooth-Treatment/dp/B002JF1CBA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1327024169&sr=8-3
It hasn't arrived yet--but I will try to remember to post an update with my thoughts on how well it works (for what that's worth!) haha

I also really like the sulfate-free, cone-free L'Oreal Paris Eversleek line. I have the Repairative Smoothing Shampoo and the Frizz Taming Serum--both seem to make a major difference for me in keeping my hair straighter and less frizzy. I have never tried the conditioner.

Lastly, I agree with everyone's suggestion on the hair wrapping. I do this on nights I am not washing the next day and it works great.

[cheetahfast]

Something truly permanent would be a bad idea.

I agree with the hair wrapping suggestions.

[jeanniet]

If you really want your hair straight and wrapping doesn't work well enough, you may simply have to compromise and not grow it as long, or deal with damage (in which case you probably won't be able to grow it too long anyway because of breakage). Sometimes getting what you want (straight hair) is worth giving something else up (length), and there's nothing wrong with that. Or do some experimentation and see if you can find out what gives you the straightest hair with the least amount of damage--but just know that you may experience additional damage along the way. It's all about deciding what's most important to you, and from what you've posted, straight hair is more important to you than length. So see if you can find a bit of a middle ground.

[dulce]

Permanent straightening is NEVER permanent as the new hair constantly growing out has not been treated.

[lacefrost]

If you really want your hair straight and wrapping doesn't work well enough, you may simply have to compromise and not grow it as long, or deal with damage (in which case you probably won't be able to grow it too long anyway because of breakage). Sometimes getting what you want (straight hair) is worth giving something else up (length), and there's nothing wrong with that. snip

This 100%. Anything permanent will damage your hair a lot so you will have to choose. Do you want straight hair more or (to throw out a random hair length) classic length hair more? Or you may have to choose between long & straight hair that you have to wear up constantly and short & straight hair that you can wear down?

Usually people can get away with doing one really damaging thing to their hair (bleaching, flat ironing all the time, wearing it down all the time) but have to sacrifice something else (softness, the ability to wear it down, the ability to color it, etc). It's kind of like picking your poison.

Whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll look pretty.