Controlling/ taming poofy but straight (not frizzy hair)

jenniewb

Ziggazee wrote: »

jenniewb......great advice, but the pic in the original post is not the OP :-D

Thanks!
Was a bit taken-a-back when I saw an MSE-r had posted a piccy- most of us just don't do that sort of thing! (British way perhaps:cool:) am hoping the advice is still of some use though.

Ziggazee

I found your advice helpful anyway....my hair is an absolute nightmare! :-)

GemJar_2

Shanelle wrote: »

Could it be the strraighters I'm trying. Firstly I tried total cheapie argos ones, which I found lying about in the house. I then went for my other Babyliss pro 230 ones and they all produced the same puffy effect. Havent really tried serum so thanks for the suggestion though I've tried that other spray in stuff to prevent heat damage. Deciding on this look for a few special occasions, so its only a temp solution.

I have a friend and she has HUGE hair, its beautiful and she really does make the most of it but she fancied a change so I straightened it for her. Heres some tips;

1) Get rid of the babyliss straighters, they're a bit rubbish(sorry!) and barely straighten my hair (thick, curlyish but generally straightenable), either try NickyClarke REDemption ones (usually around £45 if you can find it on a half price offer, Boots and Argos tend to take turns at whose offering them for half price this week), I've had those and GHD's and I have to say I prefer them to the GHD's. What you need is something that goes to around 230degrees with 'floating plates' so that you don't trap wayward hairs and end up with it looking even more frizzy.

2) Put straightening balm on your hair while its damp. Also, put a heat protecting product on it!

3) Help yourself by blowdrying it as straight as possible!

4) Section your hair off starting from the bottom into very thin sections and count to 10 as you're straightening each section of each section (if that makes sense), starting as close to the roots as possible and working your way down. This takes a long time- be patient! Go through your whole head like this, then turn the heat down a little for the areas around your ears and face.

5) When hair is as straight as it will possibly go, put on a little more straitening balm to the ends only to keep them down, don't go too close to the roots as it will make your hair looks a bit greasy.

6) Finally, spray a little hairspray onto a comb and before it dries, quickly go over the roots on the top of your head to keep any stray hairs down.

On my friend this took 3.5 hours- a long time but her hair stayed perfectly straight for about a week afterwards (she was using dry shampoo towards the end though!

On the other hand, you could embrace you're beautiful hair! Spray some dry shampoo on your roots underneath the top of your head (if that makes sense?) and work your way down a little to give it more volume and stop it sticking as close to your head and looking too 'weighed down', I adore this look and wish I could do it on my own hair. When I speak to my friend tomorrow I'll ask her permission to post her before and after pics up to show you what I mean. Hope this helps xx

bedpotato_2

Plait or bun your hair after washing it and let it dry like that.

Using heat (straighteners, curlers, hair dryers) on your hair may be a quick fix in the short term but will damage it in the long term and only aggravate the problem even more. Do not use heat.

The same goes for damaging chemicals, such as dye, perms, straightening treatments, etc. All of these will dry and frazzle your hair.

For tips for healthy hair, see https://www.longhaircommunity.com or https://www.untamedtresses.com

jenniewb

Oh and one other thing- be careful with serums. Its easy to overuse and your hair can become damaged as a result.

Hair is dead once it grows about 2cm from the root below your scalp. Once dead the best way to keep it looking good is with oils from your own scalp. These do a fantastic job of moisturising your hair BUT can equally go the wrong way and without washing can and do create lank hair. (Or can just do this through hormonal issues such as the menopause or even TOTM or thyriod issues...the list is long!) We tend to put serums on out hair as the ends which tend to be naturally drier (they're further away from ther roots) but if you were to leave it and brush through your hair eventually the oils would reach the rest of the strand and it would be better.
Serums tend to mean things are better straight away- or even easier to manage then normal standards could ever reach which is why we tend to use it in products like conditioners, leave-ins and even some hair sprays.

Once coated in serum your hair will find it hard- or even impossible to absorb the natural oils from the scalp meaning its got no moisture, just a coating. Once or twice this is fine but too much will cause your hair to dry out and things like split ends and frizz will be all the more common.