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Alright. My hair used to be really poofy and curly, and otherwise unmanagible.. I couldn't find a way to make it lay down. So, the other day my mom comes home with this hair relaxer kit, meant for african american hair (it was a childs treatment, she was afraid adult would damage my hair)... I used the stuff out of desperation to get my hair straight..
It's straight now, I left it in a bit too long the second time through (the first time only the back straightened out, and the front was still insane. However, now my hair is extremely knotted... It still gets pretty frizzy, and my hair was so strong with its curl/wave that parts of my hair are still wavy. This morning I showered, washed and conditioned my hair, and then gelled it while it was wet. It was looking good until I messed with it too much. Does anyone know how to get it to lay down now that it's straighter? It's about shoulder length in the back, and almost to my chest in the front (due to a very bad self-trim job the other month).. It'd look really really good if I can get this down to a science before it grows out into the curl again..
As always, your input and assistance is very much valued!!
Drastic times call for drastic measures.
Other than frying about 1/4 inch on the ends, relaxers really don't do too much harm, especially the relaxer designed for African-American kids. It's gentle.
What you do now is buy the gel-like straightening formula that's a leave-in. You apply it to your hair like you would gel, and comb repeatedly. After repeated usage, your hair will get straighter.
There's always the straightening iron too. But use this in moderation.
Despite what some say, I think there are times a relaxer is a good idea.
There's no turning back now, so I might as well give it a go. This morning before I checked the forum, I showered to soak the hair, didn't wash it because I'd end up overwashing it for the week, combed about a zillion knots out of the hair, and then pulled it back into a multiple tie-tail (after gelling with whatever gel I've got.. It's like the next-to-highest DEP or something), blowdried to get it semi-dry.. then went about my business... I just took most of the hairties out, and it's straight as a board.. almost stiff.. I'm assuming THAT is due to TOO MUCH gel, yesterday I used too little.
I'll get it yet, with help from those of you on this forum (I'm sure). Thanks a lot for the help!
Peace,
Shugotenshi
My hair used to be really poofy and curly, and otherwise unmanagible.. I couldn't find a way to make it lay down.
I know how you feel. I have huge, long, frizzy hair that refuses to lay down. About five years ago, I went to a black styling shop and had my hair straightened, because I was afraid I'd screw it up if I did it myself. I was there for FOUR HOURS and it cost me $55. I had wonderfully straight, tangle-free hair for about two days, and then I washed it, and BOOM! It kinks right back up on me. To top it off, it broke off hair in the front, making my hair uneven. To this day I can still see where the chemicals fried my hair. I ended up having to keep my hair in a ponytail for the prom, the main reason I had my hair straightened in the first place.
I'm glad your experience wasn't as nightmarish. If I ever do that again, maybe I'll go the route you went. Now, I still do the ponytail thing, but sometimes I'll have my hair put in cool little braids. :)