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After experimenting with several straightening "balms", I found some degree of success with the X-Treme Style Straightening and Smoothing gel. It can be found at most drug stores, has a pink hue, and comes in a narrow bottle.
One criteria I had among all that I tried was whether they made straightening claims *WITHOUT* the application of heat. Most of these say to pull the hair tight and apply a little heat. Oddly enough, this gel says that on the back, but I found it worked better just leaving it in. My goop routine is simply Infusium 23 leave-in (moisturizing type) then a bit of this stuff. The only downside is that putting too much in leaves an awful greasy feeling. It doesn't look greasy, but just feels lousy. An added benefit, if you have darker hair, is that it seems to make it look even darker, and the effect doesn't go away when the hair dries, so it definitely has some things that are weighing the hair down.
Note that I'm not talking about straightening major curls here. Just some slight waves in the back. My hair is about neck length, and wants to "wing out" in back, looking like an embryonic mullet. This pink straightening gel makes it fall straight down. Not sure why its working when the others didn't, but I ain't complaining!
R2