Hair Straightening and the Re-Growth Effect
Q: I am Latin with rather stubborn hair. I have lots of very fine and nappy hair, not to mention frizzy! I have gone natural for 1 ½ years and since it grows rather quickly, I am very tired of blowing it out and using the flat iron to get the “relaxed look”. I would prefer to have loose curls with less frizz than the straight hair because I think it’s a more natural look for me.
Not only that, it would be great to soften the kinks to enable me to comb my hair every day rather than each two or three days! I wish to find a product that would allow me to “wash, comb and go”, if that’s at all possible. I spend 1 whole hour in the shower washing my hair because it’s that difficult to comb thru. I’m pretty tired of it. I’ve seen it natural; it could be managed, but I simply don’t have the time!
I read about EasyStraight and Oglivie products and I wonder if you think this would be appropriate for my hair type. I’m very afraid to succumb to the relaxers because one thing I hated the most about my old dependency is the re-growth. I looked rather silly with very straight hair and very nappy hair growth. Also, my hair used to break and fall out very easily. I have read some awful reviews about EasyStraight, but have not seen enough on Ogilvie.
My questions to you are: 1) Based on my hair descriptions, do you think either one of these products would work? 2) Which one do you think is gentler? I would like to keep my hair as “chemical-free” as possible (if there is such thing.) 3) which one of these would not give me the “re-growth” look? And 4) Does it wash out? Or is your hair permanently straightened (permanently chemically processed). Help! I need something to soften it, but I don’t want to have the re-growth effect, nor do I want to damage my hair after all the effort I put into bringing it back to life! Thank you!
A word of warning: be aware that the “relaxers” that are currently available (the ones that are listed as containing various hydroxides) are all not only permanent, but are irreversible. These relaxers break the chemical side bonds so completely that they cannot be reformed.
Products like the Ogilvie system and Easy Straight can be reversed if you dislike the results and will eventually begin to “wear off” after a period of time. This typically comes when the product is due for re-application. You can also reverse the straightening done using thio-straightening processes, too. Reversing these processes simply involves getting the hair permed using rods small enough to emulate the hair natural wave pattern.
From your initial description of your hair and my subsequent investigation into the Easy Straight product, I think Easy Straight "might" be something you would like to try. Just be careful and read the directions thoroughly BEFORE doing anything. Also, be sure to perform a strand test as directed in the packaging before applying the product to the main body of your hair.
You did mention above that you would like to have "loose curls" that can be combed through. Because of this I would actually suggest that you consider getting a perm using large rods for bigger curls. I think this might actually be something you will enjoy more than simply getting a straightening procedure.
©Hairfinder.com
See also:
Hair straightening
Perms and perming hair
