Any compulsive hair straighteners out there?

So I got a lotta crazy, curly, frizzy hair. I've noticed that while I get compliments from the friends and the occasional boy when I leave my hair curly, it makes me look a little less polished in professional and/or formal settings. I've never actually straightened my hair at home, but I would like to start, as I think it would complete my "I've got it all together, yes, you want to hire me" look on job interviews and such. I know, it's not fair on us curly girls, but straight hair makes you look more sensible than curly (but still sexy) hair. I also have a bit of a babyface and I want to look as grown up as possible.

So, tips? Recommended tools? Products? I'm a straightening virgin, remember.

Thanks! 

I used to straighten daily. However, I stopped pretty quickly since hair straighteners are very damaging to your hair and can make it dry and fall out.

I wouldn't recommend it to you, but maybe a pro could help some other way.

Get a good straightener... I have a CHI, it's awesome.

Oh, don't get one of those straighteners that take you from wet to dry right away, those are even worse for your hair than regular straighteners.

Also get a good protecting cream, I have one that I use by Kerastase. It's nice and light, and smells really good.

My typical hair straightening process is this:
- let hair air dry for a bit
- put in protecting cream
- seperate hair into sections and straighten with a blowdryer and a big round brush
- go through with flat iron just on parts that need it

I'm in the same boat, hence the name.  While in High School, I NEVER wore my hair curly.  In fact, my lovely husband told me that if I had worn my hair curly the day we met, he would have never gone out with me.  I look like a completely differant person with curly hair.  I pretty much do the same thing that babyd suggested, only I dont use a protective cream.  I probably should though.

Hairstlist here...

I totally recommend super skinny serum products by Paul Mitchell... In combination with a flat iron (made by hot tools) you'll have beautifully straight hair without too much fuss! 

Oh yeah and the best product that I've found for wearing your hair curly is Curls Rock...

Just some of my suggestions (which I should probably add that my hair is also curly/wavy frizzy mess that my hubby says to me every morning that I really need to do something with the mop- trust me that's no exaggeration when I wake up haha)

babyd is 100% right...

Get the CHI... it's the greatest thing I ever invested in.  I've been using CHI's since 2000 (especially since they have a lifetime warranty - just keep the box/receipt and they'll replace your old one for free).

And yes the wet-to-dry things are terrible. You'll end up getting cramps in your hands and arms before you even see any sign of straigtness. Its just not worth the time/effort.

I have oily hair, so I don't use any protecting cream - just good conditioners.  Another way to save your hair is to not straighten your hair 3 inches from the roots (if you can). This will help keep your hair healthy.  I have more of a funky natural wave thing going on.

i also have curly hair and i straighten it daily. my hair is very fine so it dries quickly. i used to use a straightener i bought at a drugstore. i would pay about $40 for them. my daughter was with a friend getting her hair cut and called me and begged me to let her get a CHI. i asked how much and she said $149. i said NO WAY. then she is telling me how great it is and i have her put the sales person on the line and they tell me i can try it and if i don't think it is worth it, i can bring it back. i said ok. she brings it home and i used it. i straightened my hair in 1/4 of the time i used to! i love that thing and when she would visit her dad and take it with her leaving me with the old one, there was no comparison. so i went out and bought my own.

hope this helps.

Kat

Paul Mitchell super skinny, screwed my hair up royally. It's dried it out and then it left a nasty film on my hair. I have hairstylists recommend it to me all the time and I've never heard anything but complaints about it from anyone I know who's used it.

I have naturally curly hair, and I do not think it makes me look unprofessional or less "sensible".  You have to really take care of curly hair to have it look nice. Maybe you just need a new hairstylist who works with curly hair.

Honestly, a lot of the people that go for the super super straight look end up looking like they have really greasy hair.  (I suppose it depends on the person and the product, so it's just an observation)

I sraighten mine everyday because its short so if it's not styled I look fairly rediculas. I use GHD's and everyone I know who uses them agrees they rock.

btw GHDs may be a british thing, not sure though. I've never heard of CHI.

This is what I do...


Wash your hair with shampoo and a heavy conditioner.
Apply Bumble and Bumble Straight(around 30 buck but lasts for ever and no build ups) on damp hair.
Wait till your hair is half dried and then hair dry your hair with a clamp brush(For some reason, I cant use a round brush and a clamp one makes the process so much easier and faster. You can find clamp brush on amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NJE14E&n bsp;   ; )

After your hair is dried... apple a little bit of Frederick Fekkai(sp?) Glossing cream and use Chi hair straightner on it.

i have straightened my hair every day for the past 2-3 years, minus a couple of lazy curly days (: my hair is naturally SPIRAL frizzy ringlets but is easy to work with because it's fine. i wash & condition with sunsilk straighten up, de-frizz with garnier fructis antifrizz serum (works wonders), blow dry with a paddle brush, and then straighten it in 3 or so layers. my hair is in perfect condition and not at all damaged, even after 50+ dye jobs. a word of advice regarding straighteners: you don't have to have a CHI to have great straight hair. they're very good, don't get me wrong, but they're way overrated. there are tons of great straighteners out there that cost about 40-50 dollars that are just as good. you should go to sally's beauty supply and ask the salesperson there.

So can I buy a CHI at any salon?

I honestly don't think you should straighten it for professional purposes. Curly hair is quite pretty and far from "unpolished". I would recommend that you find a hairdresser or salon that specializes in curly or "natural" hair, and let them cut your hair and show you how to keep it looking its best. Specifically ask if they can deal with curly hair, because I've had my share of stylists who had no clue how to cut curly hair and didn't say so until they were in the middle of my damn haircut. Then said something like, "To be honest, I'm not really good with curly hair." What?! Now you tell me?! 

Personally, I'd been straightening my hair most of my life because my hair is so curly (tight ringlets/spirals) that it was just easier to deal with it straight. I got a chemical straightener, but even with that I had to blow my hair out, flat-iron it and use all these different products to keep it from frizzing and reverting back to curls. It's a pain in the butt, and if you haven't done it yet, I don't recommend it. My hair was always breaking off and looked dull (I took care of it, and deep conditioned it regularly, but all the styling and straightening takes its toll after years and years of it).

Recently I got to the point where I was tired of having to take so much time trying to get and keep it straight, and I grew it out some and cut off the straightened parts so I could wear it curly again (my picture hasn't been updated - that's still me with straight hair). So now it's pretty short and curly - and darn cute, actually.

My sister-in-law is a hair dresser and gave me a couple of products from a brand called Miss Jessie's; she gave me Curly Pudding and Curly Buttercream.  It costs like $50 a jar (big jars, but still), so she gave me sample sizes in separate cups. I have to say, if I'd had this stuff in the first place I'd have never straightened my hair, ever. I get no frizz, my hair has nicely defined curls or waves (depending on how I style it when it's wet), it's super soft and the curls aren't crispy or dry. I'm trying to figure out at this point how to get more without blowing a ton of cash on it, but I guess since the jars are so big it'll probably last me for a while.

If you are going to straighten it, don't use chemicals because if you want to go back to your virgin curls you'll have to cut all your hair off. I'd recommend a blow out followed by a flat iron for smoothing and a polished finish. Use heat activated conditioners and products that will protect your hair while you're heat-treating it, and try a silicon-based serum to highlight shine and seal out humidity that might make your hair frizz and curl. Be careful on the ends of your hair - they're the oldest part and the most fragile.

Whatever you decide, I hope it turns out well.

Why fight nature? Embrace the curl! My long dark naturally curly hair is the one part of my body that has ALWAYS got compliments.  So it looks a bit wild-and-wooly if you let it fly free and hang in your face - that's why god invented hair clips and barettes. :P

Nobody's going to refuse to hire you just because you have curly hair sweety... if it's clean and well-cared for, and not hanging in lank greasy strings around your face, it's beautiful.  

Original Post by missy81:

So can I buy a CHI at any salon?

Most Ulta's carry Chi's. 

You can find some great specials online.

Here is a website that has them as low as $79.99 (original model).

Folica.com

Or if you really feel like spending some money, you can always get this $1,000,000 CHI straightner! 

"6,800 Flawless Diamonds - The ''Million Dollar Diamond CHI™ Ceramic Flat Iron'' was created to bring awareness to victims of conflict diamonds. Blue N' White Diamonds, Inc. designed this one of a kind tool, containing over 6,800, 3pt. flawless non-conflict diamonds! Each diamond is individually set on an 18 karat gold casing. The ''Million Dollar Diamond CHI™ Ceramic Flat Iron'' is a fully working styling tool weighing an amazing 5lbs!

The ''Million Dollar Diamond CHI™ Ceramic Flat Iron'' will tour selected cities and events to create awareness. Afterwards, this one of a kind styling tool will be sold with a portion of the proceeds going towards the victims of conflict diamonds. "

Thanks for the link undertherainbow! And yeah I'll pass on the $1,000,000 one LOL

I got my CHi Turbo from ebay for about $80....

I agree with the comment about GHD straighteners, amazing ionic, infra red, super dooper wonderful straighteners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep, they are British, as are ST8 straighteners, also very good. Check out EBAY!!

 

 

I just wanted to say thanks for all your suggestions! I'm going to shop around for all the straighteners you've suggested (as far as I know they're all available in Canada) and hopefully one of them will call out to me. In the meantime I'll see what I can do with my round brush and awesome hair dryer... might take me half a day but I gotta learn sometime, right?

Hair dryer and brush is better than nothing but in my experience it doesn't work nearly as well as a straightener (at least for my hair). I just have a Conair one, I found it worked pretty good. Then when I went to Europe my converter broke, so I couldn't use it. I didn't find any straighteners in Finland that I liked, or they were too expensive (Finland is pretty expensive country) so I went about 1.5 months without one (what a nightmare lol), until I went to Germany and found a decent one and cheaper. Now that I'm back home and using my old Conair...wow what a difference, it sucks compared to the other one I bought lol. I almost want to buy a converter so I can use it here!

I'm interested in these Chi ones I see everyone mention. There seems to be quite a few models though, which one is best?