Fighting the Temptation.....Naturals

[Kurly K]

Ok so I've been limiting straightening to once a month to track growth...but it looks so much longer straight and I feel like I can do so much more I'm tempted to straighten more often mayb twice a month...But I'm scared and dont want to alter my curl pattern or damage my hair or slow down the growth because what I have been doing has proven to give me growth.... So I'm asking for feedback from naturals who straighten or who never straighten and why??? Help Please!!

 

[tinkat]

I don't ever straighten my hair bc I am not really interested in straightening my hair all the time and to avoid overdoing it with the heat. It seems like my hair is not growing bc it is always in a shrunken state, but I know that it is. I try not focus on the length bc my hair shrinks alot, it is something that I know that I have to deal with, regardless how long my hair gets.

 

[Whimsy]

Hi - you may want to do a search, there are two recent threads (long ones too ) about this. one was for naturals who DO straighten and the other for naturals who DON'T.

Best of luck on what you decide.

 

[Kurly K]

k thankies

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I promised myself no heat or straightening for 1 year, not because I'm afraid of the damage. I just wanted to be free from blow-dryer / curling iron / heat for a year. When I have my nappy anniversary I'm going to get my hair straightened. It's going to be fun to see where I end up.

 

[LunadeMiel]

I haven't fully straigtened my hair since 1/5/08. Everytime I start, I chicken out and give up. When my hair is blowdried it gets very big an intimidating... I'm not really interested in seeing my hair straight anyways. I figure I will wait until my one year anniversary to straighten..

 

[Southernbella.]

I've been tempted to straighten again lately, only because I think I've had a growth spurt. My longest layer is now collar bone length. I'm anxious to see how long all my hair is, but I'm going to wait.

I'm not really scared of heat damage because I never had it while I was transitioning. I'm just being lazy right now.

 

[Kurly K]

I promised myself no heat or straightening for 1 year, not because I'm afraid of the damage. I just wanted to be free from blow-dryer / curling iron / heat for a year. When I have my nappy anniversary I'm going to get my hair straightened. It's going to be fun to see where I end up.

lol i wish i had the strength and patience!! big ups to u

 

[Kurly K]

I haven't fully straigtened my hair since 1/5/08. Everytime I start, I chicken out and give up. When my hair is blowdried it gets very big an intimidating... I'm not really interested in seeing my hair straight anyways. I figure I will wait until my one year anniversary to straighten..

lol mine was really easy to do i think that adds to the temptation

 

[vlucious]

honestly, i dont like straight hair. ive seen some beautiful heads here, but its played out. everyone has straight hair, everywhere i go. i dont blend in the crowd and i like it. plus, i dont want any heat damage. i know that pinkskates does it without heat damage you might want to check her out. later later i might (emphasis on might) straighten it to check the length, but thats it.

 

[JustKiya]

honestly, i don't like straight hair. i've seen some beautiful heads here, but it's played out. everyone has straight hair, everywhere i go. i don't blend in the crowd and i like it. plus, i don't want any heat damage. i know that pinkskates does it without heat damage you might want to check her out. later later i might (emphasis on might) straighten it to check the length, but thats it.

Co-signing 112% with the bolded.....

Also, I don't own any straightening items - that makes it REAL easy to avoid, as I'm for SURE not strolling my nappy head into a salon and asking them to put heat on it.

 

[Fine 4s]

I promised myself no heat or straightening for 1 year, not because I'm afraid of the damage. I just wanted to be free from blow-dryer / curling iron / heat for a year. When I have my nappy anniversary I'm going to get my hair straightened. It's going to be fun to see where I end up.

That was my goal at first. Actually no, my goal was 6 mos, then it grew to 1 yr and now 1.5, then it was if Obama wins, now I'm thinking of blowdrying next summer...lol

 

[clever]

I'm no longer "affraid" of straightening my natural hair.I've found the tools and techniques necessary to avoid damaged hair.I've straightened up to two and three times a month with no trouble.I feel the only way I could get heat damage now is from using grease/oil,flat ironing over damp hair,or taking LARGE sections(for me the larger the section the more times your going to accidently re-straighten what was already straight and damage the hair).

 

[brownsugarflyygirl]

Looking at your current length, I would surmise that you are a fairly new natural. I think the first year or two being natural you should focus on getting to know your curl pattern, learning styles with your naturalness, and just embracing the process. If you straighten too much, then you dont have the opportunity to explore, gain styling skills, and fall in love with your coils.

I think that once you reach your goal length AND you have spent time learning, exploring, and loving your naturalness....you should THEN incorporate straight hair as much as you want while maintaining healthy hair.

My first two years natural, I only straightened about 2-3 times a year. It has helped me to learn how to deal with my coils and has helped me retain length. Sometimes I was tempted to straighten more often, but I just thought about my length goals and how much better straight hair would be once it was long and flowing to my brastrap.

So yea...thats just my opinion on all this...stay focused on the goal and the reasons that motivated you to go natural in the first place and the temptation should pass.

 

[ImFree27]

I straight my hair once a month and its fine, as long as you do a good dc, and use a heat protacant you should be fine...My curls are still poppin, no heat damage or breakage, nothing is wrong with heat if you do it right...

 

[CenteredGirl]

Like you I only straighten to check length about 1X/2 months. I'm not inclined to do more til I get to WSL.

I figure at that lenth, I can just bantu and wear natural and it will be BSL!
I'm all about patience girl. It's been hard to develop but well worth my hair's while....

 

[Lucky's Mom]

Like you I only straighten to check length about 1X/2 months. I'm not inclined to do more til I get to WSL.

I figure at that lenth, I can just bantu and wear natural and it will be BSL!
I'm all about patience girl. It's been hard to develop but well worth my hair's while....

Patience is KEY!!!!!

 

[PerplexingComplex]

I don't use heat at all, because I feel as though any style I can do with straight hair I can do with my natural hair (except have it be straight) so there's no need to straighten it. I use to straighten it in order to see my real length, but then too many people would comment on how pretty my hair was. My response, "I know right, I need to wash it so it can be gorgeous."

 

[ScandalousBeauty]

I'd love to straighten my hair more, but it looks a terrible mess when I do it. So, I need to go to a stylist. But the more I get it done, the more my curl pattern loosens, and before you know it I will have permanent straight ends which will piss me the hell off!!!

 

[blkbeauty]

Kieva,

I had started a post a couple of days ago on being puzzled on my recent hair growth, which I think heat has somewhat aid into the growth.

For whatever reasons I did not receive a lot of feedback from that post. But I can tell you if you are taking care of your hair daily and you use heat protectant and yuo are deep conditioning your hair, it shouldn't be a problem with you straightening your natural hair.

 

[Kurly K]

thanx for all of the feedback i think i am going to straighten and just take the precautions...but still no more than twice a month if i dont c the same growth then ill go back to my wash n go...but i jus cant deal with the lack of styling options, the top of my hair is pretty much str8 when wet and does not coil, its not long enuff to twists nor will they stay so that cancels those out and headbands and clips r getting old and while its str8 it at least has length....i love my curls but the shrinkage and lack of styling options kills me .....mayb ill hide it in a weave for a month or sumthing

 

[naturalgurl]

I FEEL YOUR PAIN GIRL! I want to straighten so bad but my hair is thriving so well now. I must admit, I'm anal when it comes to doing things by the book. I went drastic. I do no heat, no anything. But my hair is growing and growing. I have yet to stretch it out with heat so I really don't have any idea how long my hair really is. I've pulled a coil or two and got BSL but who really know? That might have just been that one coil. *SIGH* Thank goodness I have corn rows right now. The way I feel, I could just go home and flat iron a couple of pieces for the hell of it. I too am afraid I will ruin all of this progress with heat damage. I often think about how will I handle my hair once I start straightening it.

 

[MonPetite]

I'm just a big scardy cat to be honest. That and even at 4" I need help because my hair is THAT thick. I don't trust whoever does it will have the four hours in them it takes to do it WELL AND SAFELY so...I just don't bother.

If I ever do...I would have to do my hair. I don't trust anyone else. I would blow dry it out first with Aveda's hang straight, use their silicone products for protection and flat iron on 275 degrees F.

Real specific for such someone so scared to do it, no?

 

[Cichelle]

I haven't straightened my hair in years...even before the big chop. But I used to blow dry me DRY hair every morning. Yes, that's right. It wasn't wet but I'd use the blow dryer anyway. I wanted it straight and didn't know about flat irons. How did I stop? Cold turkey. It worked for me. I also had some encouragement from the man in my life at the time.

At this point, I'm not interested in wearing it straight...but it would be neat to see how long it looks straightened. However, my curiosity to see that does not reach a high enough level to overcome the fear of damaging my hair. I don't tell myself I'll never straighten it. I just keep putting it off.

 

[vlucious]

Co-signing 112% with the bolded.....

Also, I don't own any straightening items - that makes it REAL easy to avoid, as I'm for SURE not strolling my nappy head into a salon and asking them to put heat on it.

yeah, i dont either, i gave them to my sister

 

[Ediese]

I'm planning to wear my hair straight when I'm through with my transition.

I can't really answer your question, but I just wanted to add that your hair is really cute straight. It looks like you have a relaxer. I've never been able to get mine as straight with a flat iron.

 

[Ediese]

I FEEL YOUR PAIN GIRL! I want to straighten so bad but my hair is thriving so well now. I must admit, I'm anal when it comes to doing things by the book. I went drastic. I do no heat, no anything. But my hair is growing and growing. I have yet to stretch it out with heat so I really don't have any idea how long my hair really is. I've pulled a coil or two and got BSL but who really know? That might have just been that one coil. *SIGH* Thank goodness I have corn rows right now. The way I feel, I could just go home and flat iron a couple of pieces for the hell of it. I too am afraid I will ruin all of this progress with heat damage. I often think about how will I handle my hair once I start straightening it.

I'm loving the cornrows! You're in Houston, right? Could you please pm me stylist info? Thanks!

 

[lilsparkle825]

to play devil's advocate...i like your hair straightened, it's hot on you. yeah i was up in your fotki. i would go for it, just read the naturals who straighten threads to make sure your hair is properly moisturized, for product suggestions and more.

 

[AsTheCurlzTurns]

First, both the straightened and the curly styles looks so beautiful on you.

As for me, I couldn't see myself straightening my hair at all right now at the stage I'm at. I vowed to myself, that I wouldn't straighten my hair until I'm at least shoulder length UNSTRETCHED! It's just my preference, for I'd like to be surprised at how far I've come. But it'll more than likely be a one time deal just to check for length, and then go wash it out and be right back curly again.

If you feel you can benefit from straightening, then GREAT!! Just be careful though!

 

[mscocoface]

I challenged myself with no heat for a year. That was back in Dec. 05. I still have not used a blow dryer or pressing heat on my head.

I guess I remember what it would take to get my hair straight and that was at least a 4-5 hour process. My shrinkage is so tough that I takes months just to get it to not kink up once it has been pressed.

At this time I don't have the patience or stamina to handle this. I know I would have to do this myself and I have to admit it would be a little interesting considering I have never had hair this long before.

For these reasons, I have chosen to go heat free for now.

My suggestion for you is for you to do you. Check the advice all the ladies on the board have for handling natural hair and heat to be sure you keep your strands protected and not damaged.

Best wishes to you in whatever you decide.