One of the most frequently asked questions we get involves straightening African-American hair. Without getting into all the socio-political and psychological reasons why someone would straighten her hair, let’s explore how this can be done.
Before we begin we should probably define some terms (as we are going to use them here).

• Permanent (as in a permanent change to the hair texture)- we’re defining permanent as a change that will not go away until the hair is actually cut off or breaks off. Permanent changes to the hair will grow out. But, permanent changes cannot be removed any other way.
• Temporary- a change that will either gradually wear off over a period of days, weeks or months or that can be easily reversed.
• Pressing- using a hot comb pulled through the hair to temporarily loosen the curl pattern. Depending on how much heat is used can gently loosen the curl pattern or completely straighten the hair.
• Flat-ironing- using a device with two flat plates to temporarily loosen the curl pattern. Depending on how much
  heat is used can gently loosen the curl pattern or completely straighten the hair.
• Relaxer- a chemical process applied to the hair to loosen the curl pattern- causes a permanent change (see above for the definition of permanent). Depending on the strength and how long it is left on may make the hair completely straight or just loosen the curl pattern.
• Permanent (as in a chemical process)- term used interchangeably with relaxer. Sometimes you will hear of a permanent that adds curl to the hair. This is just the opposite effect of what we’re talking about. Depending on the strength and how long it is left on may make the hair completely straight or just loosen the curl pattern.
• Texturizer- a mild relaxer. Causes a permanent change to the hair. But, by definition, the hair is not taken to straight.
• Reversion- the process of temporarily straightened hair going back to its natural curl pattern.

When it comes to straightening the the hair, there is a range of what people want to achieve both in terms of time and the degree of straightness. Many people simply want to loosen their natural curl pattern to make their hair more manageable. Others want the hair completely, or almost completely, straight for styling purposes. Some just wish to have a temporary straightening for a few days to wear a special style. Others want their hair straight permanently.

Two Basic Ways of Straightening the Hair
Curly hair can be straightened in a couple of ways. Heat is the simplest, quickest and most temporary way of straightening hair. Using a pressing comb, a blow dryer and a comb or a flat iron hair can be straightened at home in just a matter of minutes. However, a shower or even a humid day will immediately revert the straightening, causing the hair to curl up again or get frizzy. On the other end of the scale, a permanent (also called a perm or a relaxer) can take the hair to
completely straight- permanently. We always recommend that perms be done by professional beauticians because of the potential damage that can be done by a relaxer put in the wrong way.  There is another way of straightening the hair known as a Keratin Treatment or Brazilian Keratin Treatment.  This is a semi-permanent straightening of the hair normally done by a professional in a salon setting.  It gives straight hair for several weeks or months.  However because of the harmful chemicals found in most (if not all) of these treatments we cannot recommend them in good conscience.

Other Ways of Straightening The Hair
Natural-Laxer MIX is a fairly unique way of straightening the hair. Certain compounds present in nature when
applied to the hair with gentle heat can cause a temporary relaxation of the natural curl pattern. This results not in straight hair but in more manageable hair. Natural-Laxer MIX contains a blend of natural herbs and clay from the African Sahara desert. This unique combination of ingredients works, over time, to gradually make the hair more manageable by loosening the natural curl pattern. It can also be used in conjunction with heat (pressing, blowing out the hair or flat ironing) to reduce the amount of heat needed to do those procedures and make them last longer (delays reversion). Besides the potential results and consequences of the various straightening methods, there is another very important consideration- your natural curl pattern and hair type. People with a loose curl pattern and smoother, more round hair will get easier straightening results than someone with kinkier, coarser hair. Many biracial people are simply trying to eliminate fuzziness or want to wear their hair relatively straight temporarily. This can often be easily achieved using a warm comb (rather than hot) and some styling products.
The less heat you can use on your hair the better. The milder the styling products you use, the better. Keeping your hair closest to its natural curl pattern is less stressful. However, if you are applying heat to your hair on a regular basis , you could be doing more damage than just getting a perm. This could be either curling it because you’ve gotten it permed until it’s bone straight. Or it might be that you’re wearing it “natural” but are pressing it or flat ironing it several times a week.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 5th, 2007 at 7:55 pm and is filed under Black Hair Styles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.