I'll try to be quick here. I enjoy having long hair and standing out from the crowd of other guys. However, despite being Asian my hair does not grow out nice and straight, but a coarse and wavy mess which really shows when it gets past a few inches. To me, it's enough to be considered unpresentable unless I spent a good deal of time with an inexpensive straightening iron I had then.
My hair actually responded very well to it and didn't suffer long term damage from the heat, and I did it for about 2 years. Every exposure to humidity however just ruined all the work and my hair reverted back to a mess. My hair was all just above the shoulders at a single length at this time, all straightened to my personal standard of "neatness" without the style being complicated. I liked it because I actually got a lot of compliments on it! Something inside me just snapped at some point and I decided I couldn't deal with the upkeep and the evils of humidity anymore, so I cut it all off and never let it get past 2 1/2-3 inches.
Now though, I've decided I wanted to grow my hair out again and try a different style. I wanted to try something like a ponytail mullet, hoping that with less hair to deal with in the front (and with better styling products) I could possibly get away with a "bad hair day" because of my hair's unruly nature.
I now ask, say you're in the same situation I am and want straight locks, but have naturally curly hair or a messy wave. How do you deal?
-Oh... since I can't seem to find a real picture of the style I'm looking for, you'll have to settle for this unrealistic doodle.
No... the spikes aren't meant truly guide
Well I say just stick with how your hair naturally looks! In my opinion your natural hair will always look best with the rest of your body, considering it's how your genetics played out. It might not be what you want (and many people dislike their natural texture) but using chemicals and heat to straighten your hair will, in the long run, damage it. I say embrace what you have!
Peace,
brazjol
You'll likely get a lot of comments saying "just learn to love your natural hair" etc. etc. but i know what it's like when your natural hair texture is not what you want!
It's quite easy to say "just live with it, it's natural", but how many people do things to their hair which is quite the opposite of this?! women (mainly) dye their hair so much that most of the time u can't be certain what their natural colour is.
as far as i'm concerned, unless you do something drastic like die your hair very blonde, it will still look good, and in our case, straightening our hair makes it look better.
i'm currently growing and straightening, but i think when it's a fair bit longet i might get it done chemically - this should stop it getting "ruined" with humidity, and save you all the effort. i don't know the ins and outs of it though so ask the stylist about it, but as i said, worth considering.
Maybe not ruined by humidity, but ruined by chemicals!!
Okay but in all seriousness...
People tend to want what they don't have, as we all know. If you have curly hair, you might want straight hair. Yet plenty of people with straight hair wish they had curly hair!
Well, maybe eventually once your hair is grown out you will realize how great your hair looks on you instead of longing for something you won't get without chemical treatment or hours every day with a straightening iron.
And I'm not just saying this; I really wish I had super curly hair, but I've grown to like my hair and its weird tendencies, and it is in my opinion that whatever nature gives you will undoubtedly look best on your head.
But hey, it's your head and you are free to do as you please. Just my $0.02 from my own experience.
My two cents worth: I got my hair permently straighted using one of the better Japanese methods 8 months ago and then again in Mid February and it is worthwhile doing and afterwards caring for the hair is far less of a hassle. I have no regrets from doing this and only wish I had known about it years earlier.
I did not feel comfortable using Hair Irons to straighten my hair with and discontinued after only 6 uses. I believe the Hair Irons are far more likely to cause major damage to hair through regular use then the former more permanent straightening method where the Hair straightener is used only once at the Hair Salon. There is a bit of damage with this process but only minimal. (mostly on the ends - which can be trimmed)Best to go to a reputable place with well experienced hair dressers who know what they are doing.
As for humidity, it is absolutely no longer a problem at all, just wash and go - no more frizzy hair and stays neat and tidy.