Frizzing Hair and Straightening

Hair with frizz — Photo: Vladimir Kulebyakin/Shutterstock

Q: I had my hair straightened last March. It was not Japanese straightening although they did flat iron it. Now six months later my re-growth is making it hard for me to blow dry it straight and I do have some frizz. My hair is baby fine and colored. The salon where I had it done is saying I can re straighten the new growth and that will help the frizz. They are going to use a new product which is gentler for fine hair and they will not be flat ironing it.

I did not deep condition it a lot after the first time it was straightened. But lately I have been deep conditioning. I have been to the salon, and the girl says my hair is in good shape and will do fine with the process. But I am getting conflicting advice from the salon where I get my hair colored.

They are telling me I have breakage and not to straighten it. Although the breakage is underneath and seems to me to be from wearing ponytails a lot this summer with an elastic band, I am just confused about what to do. I would like to get it straightened again but I am worried it will further damage my hair. I am thinking the frizz I am experiencing is from the chemical processes I do, so is adding another one the right thing to do? They are saying the straightening will help the frizz.

A: You are taking a smart tack with your approach to this situation. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you whether or not the breakage you have is a result of damage from chemical processes, or is caused by the physical stresses of wearing your hair in a ponytail often over the summer.

Odds are it is a combination of both. And frizzing hair is a sign that the cuticle layer is raised, which is a sign of chemical damage to the hair. Basically, your instincts are right to wait until you are sure about having additional chemical procedures performed on your hair.

You may want to consider having a toning glaze applied to your hair to make a subtle shift in the color(s) - depending of course on what you dislike about the color results you have. A glazing process would be much gentler on the hair and would help you prevent doing any extra damage.

As for the conflicting opinions from the separate stylists you have been seeing, whom you choose to listen to should boil down to a matter of credibility. Whose opinion do you trust more? Take into consideration factors like experience and training, when deciding who may have the better take on your hair's condition.

You may also want to consider who has more to gain from advising you one way or the other. If your colorist is advising you against having any more chemical processes, she is obviously not going to benefit from that advice, while the stylist who does the straightening does stand to make money if you get the straightening service.

This isn't to imply that the straightening stylist is misleading you, she may be completely correct and you may do just fine with the process. However, that is a matter you must decide on, because at the bottom line, we are each responsible for what we choose to have done to our hair.

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See also:

Hair straightening

Permanent hair straightening

How to see the difference between broken hairs and new growth