Anyone else feeling like they're the exception....

Rei

Rei

New Member
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On this 'you can always straighten your natural hair' thing. I'm a bit salty because this is one of the reasons why I went natural, to have the best of both worlds...but my natural hair REFUSES to stay straight. My relaxed hair had NO ISSUE with fro'in up and making me look a damn fool with my straight ends so what is the deal :lol:

I have gone to salons, done it at home, turned up the heat, turned up the moisture whatever. Each and every time 30 minutes later, it looks like I just blowdried. How much more can I turn up the heat before I just burn my hair!? I usually DC beforehand, sometimes overnight with a supermoisturizing DC (HSR), rinse it out, I've tried with products, with SMB, without products, just bare...even this weekend I've tried BKT and SAME RESULT :rolleyes: (450 degrees and blowdry results!? #ComeOnSon)

I'm not saying I'mma relax but damn I'd like to have a sleek style like ONCE A YEAR without it having to be fake :ohwell: /rant

anyone else buying into this? I feel like there should be a warning label on the "transitioning box" saying "you might not be able to get this straight again" :swearing:

If i have to look at that 'get perm straight hair in one pass' thread again im going to go ape on this mug with my flat iron i swear.


...ok. I got that out. just needed to rant. but seriously though, anyone else having this problem? other 4bs? (it's probably gonna be ya'll, it seems like every 4a and 3c are having fun swinging about :rofl:) I would just like to know if there are others with this issue because then I guess i'll just have to live with it and be salty every time i see a pinkskates picture for the rest of my life
 
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Yeah... I feel you. Another thing is you are a slave to the weather. I hadn't straightened my hair since June, but decided about a week ago I wanted straight hair. Well duh... hurricane in the gulf took care of that in about 20 minutes.

I am hoping though that once winter comes, things will be different. It will be easier to keep straight looks. We'll see.
 
LadyRaider said:
Yeah... I feel you. Another thing is you are a slave to the weather. I hadn't straightened my hair since June, but decided about a week ago I wanted straight hair. Well duh... hurricane in the gulf took care of that in about 20 minutes.

I am hoping though that once winter comes, things will be different. It will be easier to keep straight looks. We'll see.
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I'm hoping but doubting it...this will be my second winter as a full natural and last winter wasn't any different. Although I feel you on the weather thing, every time I go to a salon it's raining when I come out, lol
 
Rei, that used to be my story until I discovered Wet-to-Dry pressing and serums. I get smooth straight hair, and it doesn't revert till wash day.

My only advice is instead of using water as the wetness, use a heat protectant spray. Never fails. And I have 4B hair that's pretty TIGHT.
 
Well I remember when I first went natural and straightened my hair for the first time, it would NOT hold a curl. Then it looked like I just blow dried it. It wasn't until SEVERAL trips to the hair salon that I actually got straight hair that stayed straight. The first time I went my hairdresser said "Girl! Your hair just does NOT wanna be straight! We gonna have to train this hair" But "training" I guess she meant beating it down with heat until it stayed straight, lol - but I didn't know that at the time.

Like LadyRider said though, the summer is not a good time to try straight hair - I pretty much never wear it straight because it just poofs. Winter is best. You almost make me want to do your hair myself just so I can prove (to myself) that you CAN have straight hair as a natural!!!
 
Nonie, i'll have to do a search on that. I remember a while back a member with super long hair used to tout this as being the second coming, but she had a significantly different hair type than me so I admit I didn't pay that much attention. So you're saying you saturate your hair with heat protectant spray and then flat iron? (what degree are you on usually?) Thanks for replying
 
Eclass215, yeah I've been tempted to heat train to tell you the truth. But then I'm sure I would miss my coils...plus I feel like eventually my fine hair would just give up the ghost if I straightened too often. I've been waiting with baited breath all summer for this winter so I could swing it:lol: as soon as it it the low 70s i whipped out the flat iron...to no avail. lame!

do you feel like your hair had been easier to straighten it after she trained it? I'm assuming you mean by just weakening the bonds instead of training it to be permanently straighted (like out of the shower straight)
 
Rei said:
Eclass215, yeah I've been tempted to heat train to tell you the truth. But then I'm sure I would miss my coils...plus I feel like eventually my fine hair would just give up the ghost if I straightened too often. I've been waiting with baited breath all summer for this winter so I could swing it:lol: as soon as it it the low 70s i whipped out the flat iron...to no avail. lame!

do you feel like your hair had been easier to straighten it after she trained it? I'm assuming you mean by just weakening the bonds instead of training it to be permanently straighted (like out of the shower straight)
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Yeah I don't blame you on the missing coils thing. Before I straightened my hair I used to have the BEST twists, and twistouts - after the heat training, eh - not so much. But yeah, it wouldn't be bone straight (well most of it wouldn't be) but you could definitely see less curl definition. I still have a little heat trained hair - I think I'm gonna take a pic one of these days just to show the difference - it's very clear which half of my hair strands have seen the most heat! So, I had to take the good with the bad. Don't know if that helps or not, lol.
 
Do you sweat in your head? Also, do you press with oil? I had a friend from California (where there's less humudity than in DC) who never used oil or anything when pressing her hair. So in DC summer it never cooperated. The thing is, to get 4b natural hair silky straight, you might damage it. But I guarantee using a hotcomb (not a flat iron) and some 'hair grease' aka that thick hair oil - it's green, comes in a clear jar. Your hair will be straight and will stay straight until you get it wet.
 
addaboutmyhair said:
Do you sweat in your head? Also, do you press with oil? I had a friend from California (where there's less humudity than in DC) who never used oil or anything when pressing her hair. So in DC summer it never cooperated. The thing is, to get 4b natural hair silky straight, you might damage it. But I guarantee using a hotcomb (not a flat iron) and some 'hair grease' aka that thick hair oil - it's green, comes in a clear jar. Your hair will be straight and will stay straight until you get it wet.
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addaboutmyhair, I got my 4B hair pretty straight and not only was there no smell of burned hair at any time during the entire process or even during the week I wore it straight or even when I washed it--which I took it as a sign that there was no "cooking of my hair that occurred", I also got complete reversion on wash day. And I have fine strands, which I think would vaporize into nothing pretty quick. But at 446 degrees Fahrenheit, they didn't. They survived the flat iron thanks to protectants.

Also, I think the reason people think hot combs are better than flat irons is because they tend to press a thick section when they use flat irons, instead of taking a thin section--as narrow as would pass through the teeth of a flat iron. If you were working on very thin section, the iron would be able to heat each one and straighten each strand, instead of just the top once in a big chunk being the only ones that come in contact with the hot plates.
 
Rei said:
...even this weekend I've tried BKT and SAME RESULT :rolleyes: (450 degrees and blowdry results!? #ComeOnSon)

If i have to look at that 'get perm straight hair in one pass' thread again im going to go ape on this mug with my flat iron i swear.
e
Click to expand...

So your hair didn't get straight with the BKT?!! I'm sorry to hear this, but I have to ask:

1-How thin were the sections as you flat ironed?
Thick sections of 4b hair just won't get smooth...The front/top of my head is thick, wiry 4bc (versus finer 4a hair on the perimeter) and I can get straight at 410ºF, swangy when I dare to crank the heat up to 450ºF.

2- How many passes did you do?
I feel your frustration about the "straight with one pass" nonsense! It takes several passes for me to get acceptable results.

3-Are you sure your flat iron reaches (and holds) 450ºF? What brand is your iron?

Do you have any more BKT left? You can do another treatment right away and it may improve your results...

I really believe it's a technique issue. I've seen extremely tight,dense 4b, 4z whatever hair turn silky with heat (do a search on "thermal straightening" and "milstan iron" for some amazing results). I actually thought about getting the milstan iron but (1) I know I couldn't handle a marcel type iron and (2) I don't trust those heating ovens they use.

So, I'm planning on straightening (with BKT) soon and have been reading, researching ironing/straightening techniques. I'll share my results.
 
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I know how you feel op. I used my wet to dry iron last night. I moistened my hair with water and a creamy heat protectant. My hair feels so soft (I think I may stop blow-drying all together). It is straighter than when I blow dry but it is not silky straight at all. I'm about to give it another go with a regular ceramic flat iron and use either serum or coconut oil and see how it go's. I am happy that my hair feels soft and moisturized and that my end are straight from the wet to dry flat ironing. I'll come back and let you know if I was able to get it silky straight. I am 4a/b, medium to thick.
 
Since I've been using the flat iron only I get poofy straight hair too, which I hate. I either want my hair straight or nappy, nothing in between. My hair used to get silky striaght when I pressed and then flat ironed but that was before I knew anything about hair health. Now I'm scurred to use my pressing comb. I was gonna sell my little heating oven on Ebay cause it aint got no play from me in at least two and a half years.
 
Since everyone is different, this may not work for you, but I can only keep natural hair straight by flat ironing with a Chi with the Mizani Thermasmooth line or the Lanza line. (This thread outlines in greater detail: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=438546.) You may have already tried that with no success, but this method would keep me straight for a week even in high humidity. No other combination I've tried ever did that.
 
I have a similar problem with straightening my hair. When I had a relaxer, my hair was much shorter and thinner. Now I am completely natural and I can never get my hair to look sleek and straight. I have tried Biosilk and CHI (which people rave about) but I can never get that sleek look. When I go to the shop it looks striaghter, but their is still a visible curl pattern to it. It's really frustrating...The only thing that seems to keep my hair straighter and silkier is a cellophane. I use clear or a dark brown color and my hair looks and feels wonderful.
 
One thing that worked for me drying it in tight rollers, with a bit of creamny moisturizer (after a DC) they would be silkiER curls, and then flat iron it in small sections with the heat not too high. The silkiness is already somewhat there from the rollers, it's just ironing it straight.
 
I don't straighten, but I do rollerset. The humidity can take me from big curls to an afro as I run from the front door to my car...
 
Okay so I went back in with my regular ceramic flat iron, lightly coated each small section with carol's daughter hair balm, and it came out beautifully. I am very pleased. Don't have time to post pics now. It's not hairdresser silky straight but that's okay because it looks healthy and pretty.
 
"you might not be able to get this straight again"

If i have to look at that 'get perm straight hair in one pass' thread again im going to go ape on this mug with my flat iron i swear.

:funny:

I am in the same boat but I had the same issues even with a perm. So Im :afropick: with and without a perm. I feel your pain.
 
I have only straightened my hair once, and it looked like crap. Almost as soon as I was done, the first side had already started to revert. Although it may not loosen the curl, I think that straightening a few times will help the hair get used to the heat, which is why I think I had such a hard time...I used 410 degrees and my hair looked pretty for about...5 min.
 
These are great responses!
My plan is to go FULL FORCE --I've gone a year w/out heat, I'm ready for a str8 style!
1)Pre-poo hair, co-wash, DC
2)Detangle, Apply heat protectant, then braid/airdry
3)Flat iron using comb chase method or small sections

Hope for the best?
 
Comb chase, rollerset, high-heat, oily hair. My hair only seems to get super straight if it's slightly dirty/oily. My hair is far too light in weight to have a swing swing going on. Luckily, I like big hair.
 
Nonie said:
@Rei, I sorta share about it in the thread below. But please find all my post because the first pages give the method I used for years w/o protectant, just water. Then later I share my "safer" way. The long-haired chick you're remembering who usess it is Irresistible w/ type 3 hair.

http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=400194
Click to expand...

How many passes would you say it takes you on a section of hair to dry it and straighten?

Is your hair soaking wet when you do this or is it damp?

NVM...I just read one of your posts!
 
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I'm 4a, but maybe I can help too. What type of flat iron are you using. I found that product plus a good ceramic flat iron helped tremendously. I didn't know the difference until I broke down and got one. Perhaps it's time for an upgrade if you're using a conair (and I was getting along fine with it but my hair was on the frizzy side and would revert super fast). Also the last time I did my hair (and made a difference when I flat ironed) my hair had been braided up for a while (so it was ready to revert at a moments notice. I saturated it in silk elements moisturizing treatment the night before and coconut oil (I know you tried the moisture method before. Well so have I and I did NOT get the results I got with silk elements. And I don't know why). Perhaps you can go to sallys and get two of the samples at 99 cent each before commiting to a whole container, and then mixing it with your regular conditioner, and retrying the moisture overnight, and then with a good flat iron, flat iron it. I will say that I did something different than she did. I did not rinse all the product out. I co washed out most of it, and I even put a little more conditioner in my hand, and mixed with a little water and put in my hair to air dry. I then put in laplancha's leave in (heat protectant product also good for reversion) and let it air dry. After it air dried 80 percent I blow dried the roots with the heat side, and the rest with cool air. I then proceeded to flat iron. When I flat iron. I didn't even have sabino that time.

HTH. I know it can be frustrating. You just need to keep tweaking till you find what works for your hair.
 
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