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Does anyone use a curling iron to straighten their hair? I've heard a curling iron can be used that way, and I'm wondering how well it works.
Doug
Not all that well, in my experience. I get better results using a blowdryer for a heat source, even on dry or very slightly damp hair.
Conair makes a blowdryer in the shape of a 1 1/4" brush and once you practice a little, I can make my hair perfectly straight from a fairly wavy variety. It is availabloe all over in my area near Philadelphia. JL
That's about what I do now. Except that I use just about any blow dryer with either a round or flat brush. I can get my hair stick straight, but it only stays that way if the weather is perfect.
I've got the kind of hair that will form a single, perfect, tubular ringlet, hanging 8" down from my scrunchie, with only the slightest encouragement. Cute, but not what I'm looking for.
I have a gadget that I sometimes iron my hair with. It wasn't originally meant for hair at all. I think it was for heat sealing plastic film over ID cards. It is a small, handheld thing, about the size and shape of a big clam shell. About 3 inches across. The inside surfaces are non-stick coated metal. When plugged in, it gets about as hot as a curling iron. I tested it first with some shed hair from my brush. It doesn't get hot enough to scortch hair, no matter how long I hold it closed. I've seen "crimping tongs" that also have interchangeable flat plates, for sale at Sally's Beauty Supply. They look a lot like my gadget, but not nearly as compact.
I use it with something like L'Oreal Studio Lines "Hot Pumping Curls"
I mist, then iron. This treatment gives about the longest lasting straight look I can get. It works best when you keep the iron moving.
I get best results with several quick passes, rather than one slow pass down the length of each section.
Doug-
Conair is also running an ad on TV currently that includes a product made especially for straightening hair. It is called a "Straight Styels Steam Straightener". See it at
http://www.conair.com/curling.html -- linked below.
I have an older product that was non-steam and worked well. It als came with wavy inserts to "crimp" hair--give it that wavy look over the whole length, a style popular in the 80's when I used it and now perhaps returning along with a general increase in popular hair lengths.
I think you will find these work fairly well.
the other suggestions will work well to straighten hair, but be advised that heat styling of any kind will, in the long run, damage your hair. with short hair, damage gets cut off frequently. If you want it longer and longer, you have to take better care of it and avoid damage whenever possible or you'll wind up with dry, dull hair, split ends, and lots of tangles. just food for thought.