by Ashley Geary

Created on: February 26, 2007   Last Updated: August 07, 2009

I am a 20 year old hairstylist, meaning I straighten peoples hair for a living. What I would recommend for someone with natural curly or wavy hair such as myself is a chemical relaxer or a straightener. You can go to a beauty shop to get either one these done. If you can't afford to go to the beauty shop I will explain to you in a short procedure how you can do this yourself at home. First you need to purchase a perm kit. Instead of rolling your on perm rods you will apply the perm solution onto your entire head making sure that all the hair in completely saturated with solution. Next you will need to take a comb and repetitively comb through the hair. After about 15-20 minutes Your should be ready to rinse the perm solution out but the best way to tell is when you can comb through the hair and it doesn't curl back up. After you have combed and rinsed you will need to apply the neutralizer onto the hair just like you would if you were getting a perm. Let the neutralizer sit for 5 minutes, rinse out and wait 48 hours to shampoo your hair again, rule of thumb for all perms! This will leave your hair so much easier to straighten and of course it works on most hair types but in some cases it doesn't.

With or without a chemical straightener flat ironing will still have to be done. The only thing a chemical straightener will do is cut the time down on flat ironing and your hair will no longer be as curly and wavy. The best flat iron that I have found is the Remington wet to straight. Not only is it affordable but its also ceramic and can be purchased at Wal-mart. I paid 25 dollars for the one that I own and I love it. The wet to straight is also better for the condition of your hair because it steams the wet hair instead of regular flat irons direct heat.

What I usually do each morning after I get out of the shower and have shampooed my hair is to let it air dry while I am putting on make-up and doing other things. Most ceramic flat irons will heat up in seconds, so, when I am ready to flat iron I section off my hair into small sub-sections. I use a flat iron spray on each sub-section because it prevents breakage to the hair that flat irons can cause and it also leaves your silky and sleek instead of frizzy and unmanageable. I usually spend 15-20 minutes flat ironing my hair in the mornings and when I'm finished my hair looks beautiful. So, just follow these simple instructions and you too can have silky, shiny hair that makes everyone wonder how you get your hair to look so gorgeous!

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