Very curly damaged hair and want straightening advice?

Question

I have extremely thick and curly hair but my hair is also baby fine so it breaks easily. I dye my hair and use good shampoos and conditioners to help with any damage. I have a chi hair straightener but it just fries my hair. When I try using it on a lower setting my hair stays curly so that didn't work and I've tried about everything I can to keep it from damaging with hot irons.

I had my hair straightened ONCE chemically when I was younger and it burned my hair so badly I don't even want to try that ever again.
I was considering using big huge rollers to help get a straight but soft wave to my hair. Any ideas of the best way I can straighten without using hot irons that damage my hair further? I'm about out of options and I'm tired of dealing with tight curls I can't do anything with. Thanks!

I'm looking at all this advice and it seems amazing but I've tried so many of the mentioned products and my hair is left greasy or dull. Even when I just use a little. Any idea why it's working for you and not for me then since the answers revolve around creams of some sort that I have a bad experiences with? So no ideas on rollers? Thank you so much for your time in answering this question! It's so appreciated! I'll give these a shot again and see if the combos work.

Answer 1

i have the same problem. this is my foolproof way to kill the curl and bring on the shine!
#1 wash and condition hair with moisturizing products, deep condition hair once a week!! (dont skip!)
#2 apply straightening or relaxing balm to hair while towel dryed.
#3 apply silkening shine serum while still damp
#4 DONT BLOW DRY!! this damages hair even more.
#5 after air dry, straighten w/ sedu revolution hair styler (this is the most amazing straightener ever, just came out in Feb.)
#6 apply a smoothing creme
#7 apply shine and hold spray
STRUT THAT HAIR!!!!
for a big celebrity curl-
#1 do steps 1-4 from last directions.
#2 place big fat plastic rollers throughout hair and use a tourmaline hair sryer WITH A DIFFUSER on it. this distributes the heat.
#3 remove curlers and spray with shine and hold spray
STRUT THAT OTHER HAIRSTYLE!
good luck~

Answer 2

Ok first go to the salon and get your dead/split ends trimmed off i'm pretty sure you have some if your hair is damaged. Also, you should get Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Time Rewenal the shampoo, conditioner, and refining mask. Throw away your Chi all they do is burn your hair and damage it even more, get a sedu, bion, or a GHD. Get a 1 in. you have better control over those and straightens better.

When you shampoo your hair massage gently and make sure to take off all the shampoo or it will dry out yout hair even more. Condition your hair three times, the second time combine your regular conditioner with deep conditioner. Don't condition your roots or it will make your hair look greasy. The third time you condition do it with cold water it will seal in the moisture and add shine.

While your hair is still dripping wet, apply some Infusium 23 leave-in conditioner this is great for damaged hair that is going to be straightened. Use only on the bottom half of your hair. Comb it through with a wide tooth comb. Use a very small amount of serum or creme just on the ends of your hair, let it be oil free and don't put it in the roots. Let your hair air dry then with the straightener straighten it layer by layer. Don't do huge pieces at a time, the smaller the layer the more thoroughly you can straighten it and it wil come out nicer. If you do this at night then wrap it up with a silk scarf.
About once a week use deep conditioner. Like put mayonaisse in your hair for 15-20 min. before taking a shower.

Or you can try to tame your curls so they can come out really pretty heres a website:
http://www.wikihow.com/Special:LSearch?search=curly+hair&fulltext=Search

Answer 3

using a product will defiantly help. i have curly hair that i straighten and what i do is this:


when i take a shower i wash my hair first then condition it with a good thick conditioner. (try biolage or tresame (sp) ) then leave it in until the very end of my shower. squeeze the water out and wrap in a towel. i only leave it like that for about 5 min to get the excess water out. then i put in some kind of product (i use smoothing gel by matrix). and then i blow dry it in sections with a metal brush. you need to do it in sections or else the rest of your head will start to dry and get frizzy. all i use is a blow dryer, nothing else. but if you need it you can go over it with a flat iron when your done. after im done i put a wax on the ends and a bit around my hair line to help prevent friz. another thing i do or rather dont do is wash my hair everyday. i usually only do it every 2-3 days. that way i only "abuse" it 2-3 times a week, and not everyday.


i hope this helps. good luck!!

Answer 4

Use a really good leave in conditioner every day. You can also get heat proof stuff to put in your hair, that keeps it from getting damaged by straighteners. Another way to get your hair hydrated, is to get Aussie 3 minute DEEEEP Conditioning Conditioner. 3 times a week, when you have the time(and until your hair isn't dry anymore) rub a whole bunch of the conditioner into your damp hair, put on a shower cap, and wait for 20 minutes. Then, wash the comsitioner out until your hair doesn't feel silky anymore(this way there's no build up in your hair). It totally works!!! Also, Aussi stuff isn't expensive. I hope this helps, this totally helped me!!!

Answer 5

I have the same. Very curly but my hair is very thick. Suggestion-on a wk.end, wet your hair, do not use any shampoo or cond. Wrap your head in a not needed towel. In a glass that u do not use usually, put approx. 1" of Virgin Olive oil. Get a small pot, fill it half way with water. Then put the glass in the water with a med. flame. Heat it up for approx. 8 min. Then with your damp hair & towel, massage the oil into your hair. Wrap it & watch a TV show for 2 hrs. approx. Then Rinse your hair-use shampoo. The next day Shampoo your hair again to get the rest of the extra oil out. OH-PUT A LOUSY PILLOW CASE ON YOUR PILLOW, OIL WILL BE ON YOUR PILLOW! Do this approx. every 3 or 4 months.
Lots of Luck!

Answer 6

I have lighlty wavy hair too , my hair is thick like yours but I straight it with a ceramic straightener (better than aluminium ones ) , the brand is Phillips (Babyliss is good too), but it doesnt damage my hair!!! I think you should buy a straightener with ceramic "blades" (if u see what I mean) , once a week, use a kind of oil to nourish ur hair (olive oil or argan oil, argan oil is wonderful for hair !!!), put it as a mask , let it during the weekend (when you think you will not go out or work outside) and wash it with shampoo (l'Oreal , Dove, Elseve, i wonder if these brands exist in the US) they are very good , Herbal Essence is good as well . I hope it will work out !!!

Answer 7

do you use product when you are straightening your hair? I have the same type of hair as you and if you don't use product it does wreck your hair. There's heaps of different straightening balms and sprays out there but I use V05. It's also great as a leave-in conditioner when you want to leave your hair curly

Answer 8

try not to brush it too hard you can use lemon juice with a pure cotton pad or you could wash with mayo or avacadoes

Answer 9

get a darn perm