How To Get Super Straight Hairstyles - 10 Options

How To Get Super Straight Hairstyles - 10 Options

The best way to get bone straight tresses is to be born with them.  When you try to alter your natural hair type from naturally curly, wavy, kinky, coily or a combination to bone straight you usually have to take relatively extreme measures.

Of course with every change you make or attempt to make in your natural hair type there are risks of short or long term damage.

Listed below are the most common methods for creating bone straight strands:

1.  Start With The Best Haircut

Some hair types, not all, will benefit from a haircut which is designed to encourage strands to straighten out naturally.  While hair which is tightly curled, coiled or coiled usually benefits from cuts designed to encourage the curls to nestle together, this is not the case with all hair.

Discuss your hair type and desire for straighter tresses with your professional hairdresser to evaluate your hairstyle options.

2.  Wear Hair Longer

If your hair is naturally wavy or slightly curly, rather than tightly curled and coiled, consider growing hair longer and without layers.

The weight of the waves and light curls will be naturally pressed down if hair is all one length and shoulder length or longer in length.  Waves and curls which are naturally weighed down can easily be worn straight with temporary blowouts utilizing a flat or round brush and a blow dryer.

3.  Blow Outs

Hair which is very wavy and/or curly may be easily straightened with temporary blow outs.  Since the invention of blow dryers people with waves and curls have utilized this method to get flat strands.  Some prefer blow outs over other methods of straightening because different brushes can create a range of results.

When a blow dryer is combined with a paddle brush the hair will be much straighter.  When dried with a round brush the hair will be straight, but with volume and curve.

Chemical Free Advantages

The upside to blow outs is that they are chemical free and less damaging to the hair than chemical treatments, but unless the blow out is also combined with hot irons, the hair is never completely bone straight.

Blow dryers which previously caused heat damage have become less damaging over time.  This is due to the introduction of ionic, ceramic and tourmaline drying technologies which are more protective of hair during the drying process.

The new technologies dramatically cut the drying time.  The continual advancement of straightening balms, serums and related heat protection products have also helped create straighter and less heat damaged strands.

4. Wet-to-Dry Irons

In recent years a combination hair dryer and hair straightener have been introduced into the hair straightening arena.  The goal of this type of combination hot tool is to straighten the hair at the same time that it's being dried.

The wet-to-dry flat irons provide a much straighter finish than when hair is first blow dried and then flat ironed.

Just like with hot blow drying, hair can become damaged from exposure to high or frequent heat.  With proper heat protection products, serums and similar styling products hair experts believe hair can be dried and straightened with less damage than when hair is first dried and than later ironed.

5.  Blow Dry + Flat Iron

In this traditional straightening method hair is blow out straight (with a paddle or round boar bristle brush) and then ironed stick straight with an iron.  The use of combined heat styling tools is thought to greatly increase the potential for heat damage to the hair although this method does promise the straightest possible strands without chemicals.

Flat irons are also using on hair which has been air dried or needs a touch up in-between blow outs.  Flat irons consist of a set of two matching and facing ceramic or metal plates which heat up to a variety of temperatures.   A flat iron when applied to the hair reforms the water bonds in the hair shaft creating a super-straight result.

6.  Wet Set

Before the introduction of blow dryers, hair was smoothed and temporarily straightened through a wet set.  During a wet set the hair is divided into individual sections and then wrapped into large curlers strategically applied throughout the scalp.

After the hair is wrapped around curlers hair is air dried or dried under a bonnet or hood style dryer.

Once hair is 100% dry the rollers are removed.  For a straighter look the hair can be optionally flat ironed.  Or hair can be vigorously brushed to deconstruct curls and waves as well as smooth hair into a sleek finish.   The larger the rollers used, the looser the finished look.  A wet set, minus the flat iron steps, is the best say to take hair from very curly or wavy to straight without major damage or chemicals.

7.  Hair Wrap

Hair wrapping was done long before the invention of the blow dryer.  It is a method of straightening naturally wavy and curly hair by wrapping it, which it's still damp, around the head and tightly clipping it into place.  To avoid an overly flat look one larger roller is generally positioned near the crown to add balance and volume along the top of the hairstyle.

Hair wrapping is 100% chemical and heat free.  It results in hair which is stick straight and flat.  After hair is wrapped into place it is allowed to air dry.  Some will speed up the wrapping process by sitting under a hood or bonnet style dryer for a gentle heat drying method.

Hair is sometime wrapped before sleeping to maintain a fresh new blow-out on hair which has been recently flat ironed.

8.  Chemical Relaxers

A chemical hair relaxer consists of a formulation designed to relax natural waves and curls.  For light waves and curls a chemical relaxer which gradually diminishes over time may help straighten hair.

Tight waves, curls, coils and kinks may be softened, but will not necessarily be straightened and may still require some form of additional straightening.

Chemical relaxers are considered less damaging than chemical straighteners.  Relaxers are considered temporary since the effect of the product only last for a period of weeks and/or months.

9.  Chemical Straighteners & Thermal Reconditioning

Chemical straighteners are much stronger than chemical relaxers and are considered permanent.  Unlike chemical relaxers which gradually wear off over time, chemical straighteners can only be removed by cutting the straightened hair off or when the hair grows out.

Chemical straighteners permanently reform the structure of hair with chemical solutions.  Thermal reconditioning is very similar to chemical straighteners except for the use of an extremely hot flat iron. Thermal reconditioning is better for wavy hair than kinky or curly hair which will have a kinky/curly regrowth line.

Chemical straighteners are considered damaging to hair since it reforms the natural curl pattern.

10.  Brazilian Keratin Treatments

Brazilian Keratin Treatments are similar to chemical straighteners and thermal re-conditioners except for the use of a variety of solutions which may or may not include formaldehyde. 

More Information

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