Any naturals who regularly go between curly and straight?

[Opal1821]

I transitioned to natural by getting my hair flat ironed pretty regularly, but now that I've cut off the relaxed ends, I'd like to wear my hair curly every now and then.

I got into it with a hair stylist yesterday as I was buying the miss jessie's samples because he said I can't keep going back and forth. He claimed that it's hard on my curls and they won't look right. In my opinion they look okay, but I do have some heat damage from not taking care of my hair properly. I'm not looking for perfect curls but I can't imagine I'm such a rarity for wanting to go back and forth (i.e. straight about 2 wks, curly about 2wks).

Is there anyone who does this? What products do you use? What styles do you wear?

My hair is 4ish, but I welcome tips from all hair types

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

I used to do it all the time until I texlaxed 8 weeks ago. He is right that over the course of time you may end up screwing yourself if you aren't careful (even though that's not quite what he said).

Even now while texlaxed I still do the curly and straight but what I'm trying to do is give my hair a break in between the straight times. As an example I've been doing wng's, twist outs and bunning for the last 3+ weeks. On Saturday i'll be flatironing my hair for the first time in a month. Hopefully the break will have been beneficial to my hair.

If you do the two weeks on/off thing just proceed w/ caution. You don't want to permanently lose your texture when it could have been avoided. Good luck

 

[glamazon386]

I did for a while but I stopped. The front of my hair is looser than the rest and has started to loosen up over time. It's not as bad as it was some months ago after doing some protein treatments but I'm afraid of it going totally straight. You have to really be careful not to use a too hot iron and use a good heat protectant. My stylist said anything more than once every two weeks is too much heat.

 

[Eclass215]

I used to do it all the time - but it did take a toll on my curls. When I wanted to wear a natural style it didn't curl as much. Now I only wear my hair straight once a month and I think it's helping me keep my natural texture a little better.

 

[MCMLXXII]

Hi! Second verse, same as the first...please be careful! I know of a few horror stories where naturals wanted to flat-iron their hair, used a heating appliance that was too hot and their hair would NOT kink back up. Something about the peptide bonds in the hair being broken...

 

[Fine 4s]

His advice matches my experience...
As someone who used to straigthen every 2 weeks for over 10 years, only NOW I know my real hair. You most likely will have to wait much longer than 2 weeks to straighten and will have to deep condition your hair well, determine the best straightening method for your hair texture and use a good heat protectant. Check out the regimen and Fotkis of women on here who have been able to do so with LESS damage...

 

[yellagirl730]

I'm having the same problem, previously wore finger coils but with straightening possibly once or twice a month, I can't wear finger coils only wng, with straghter hair in the front. Don't think you can do anything about it but cut the heat straigntened part off.

 

[discobiscuits]

I'm having the same problem, previously wore finger coils but with straightening possibly once or twice a month, I can't wear finger coils only wng, with straghter hair in the front. Don't think you can do anything about it but cut the heat straigntened part off.

GURL, that is EXACTLY what I'm dealing with (minus the wash and go - I've never been able to successfully pull that one off with my hair). Your entire post is me now.

 

[jennboo]

Constant pressing over time will alter the texture of your hair. I used to get my natural hair pressed every two weeks RELIGIOUSLY for about 2.5 years. When my hair was wet, it was kinky-straight...if that makes any sense...no more curl or kink. It really was not a becoming look bc my roots (the parts that had not been continuously ravaged by heat) were kinkier than the older portion of my hair (the length).

 

[Opal1821]

Thanks ladies- I definitely think I want to wear my hair curly more often, so I'll try to limit the presses to one a month to every month and a half. I may just need to cut off a few inches to make it more even. I love a straight look, but it never stays that way when I workout. Plus my scalp loves it better when I wash once a week.