Authored by Anita Saran in Hair Care 
Published on 11-01-2009

While some women love their curls and will not straighten them for the world, others are plagued by frizzy hair, or just want a sleek new look. This article explains how to straighten curly hair.

For the straightening process, you’ll need a good straightening cream like Wellastrate Straight System or L’Oreal Studio Line Heat Seeker Cream (which aids in straightening while it protects hair from heat styling damage), a hair dryer, a good quality straightening iron and some hair gloss.

Straightening Curly Hair: Steps

1. Shampoo and condition your hair.
2. Towel-dry your hair, comb through with a wide-toothed comb. This will get rid of tangles and allow hair to absorb the straightening cream better.
3. Cover your damp hair generously with the straightening cream. Make sure the cream is distributed evenly through your hair.
4. Section your hair into three divisions. Clip the top part separately from the middle and the bottom sections.
5. Clip together the top and middle sections, leaving the bottom free.
6. Pick out three inch sections from the bottom part of your hair and begin to dry them with the roll brush attached to your hair dryer.
7. Separate each dried section of hair with a clip
8. Now apply the straightening iron to each section of hair. Press only an inch width of hair with the iron, beginning from the root end and progressing to the tip.
9. After you have finished ironing out all the sections, squeeze out a small amount of gloss, rub it between your palms and coat your hair with it.

There! You have it. Sleek, straight, shining locks.

Straightening Curls Without Straightening Cream

Some women choose to straighten frizzy hair with a good ceramic curling iron like the Revlon Perfect Heat Ceramic Professional Styling Iron. You’ll also need a strong hair dryer of a minimum 1875 watts, and a 3″ round brush.

1. After washing and conditioning your hair, blow dry until your hair is almost dry.
2. Section the hair and beginning from the root, wrap the hair tightly around the round brush, holding the head of the brush away from the scalp.
3. Dry the section, holding the brush in position throughout.
4. Then very slowly, unwind the section of hair from the brush. This step is repeated until the entire head is covered. Make sure that the hair is completely dry before you take out the brush.

Although straightening curly hair involves some effort, it’s worth it for the new look you want. And your straight hair will remain sleek until you decide to shampoo again. The only drawback is that hair gloss usually attracts grime and your hair could soon begin to look greasy, especially if you travel a lot. The alternative is to get high shine without the gloss with a ceramic hair straightening iron.

Tips

• You’ll find it easier to straighten curly hair if you shampoo your hair the night before. The natural oils from your scalp will make your hair easier to manage the following morning.
• To avoid damaging your hair, don’t linger too long on one section of the hair while ironing.
• Look for the new ceramic hair straighteners. These are gentler on the hair with their far-infrared heat and extra negative ions. They also give hair more shine, so you don’t need gloss.
• You could try the wet2straight straightening iron which works on wet hair. This means you can do away with the initial drying process. But make sure you use a heat-proof straightening cream with this flat iron.