Straightening African American hair without a perm 10 pts?

[Alexis]

Is there a way I can straighten my hair without a lot of heat? Have you ever experienced a new way to straighten your hair that doesn't damage it that much? Thanks!

[Teekie]

I don't know how "kinky" your hair is naturally, but if it isn't extremely corse you can wash it, condition it very well, put a leave in conditioner in and blow dry it as if your were straightening it, you know, in sections with a round brush, and then after that you can go over it with a flat iron. Blow drying it will straighten it enough so that you won't have to apply so much high heat from the flat iron. If you don't want to use the leave in conditioner, you could use a heat protector spray/cream.
If/when you do flat iron it, just make sure to really get your roots, no matter how straight the ends are, its not going to look as good with kinky roots.
Hope I helped some

[Yoshii]

Instead of blowing out your hair to stretch it you can cornrow it in 10 cornrows and get the same effect. Be sure you leave the cornrows in for at least a day or a couple of hours. Take them down and detangle them then add your heat protectant and begin to flat iron. This method has worked for me in the past. Less heat since your not blow drying. Give it a try and see if it works

[Nia May]

Get plastic rollers that have a diameter of at least 1 inch. Use them on your damp, tangle free hair. You can air or blow dry. After this you can flat iron, but I never have had to.

[laina]

In my opinion, quite a few people make the incorrect assumption that heat is extremely damaging to your hair. It's only damaging, if your hair isn't properly cared for. I have kinky hair and I straighten my hair weekly with 420-450 degrees of heat. To prevent damage, I trim my ends every 4-6 weeks and make certain that my hair maintains moisture. Moisture makes a big difference! You want to refrain from using shampoos and conditioners with sulfates and parabens, as they dry out your hair. To increase moisture, try doing a steam treatment.

Here's my regimen:
*Shampoo - The least expensive hydrating, paraben-free, and sulfate-free shampoo that I can find is the Laila Ali Intensive Hydrating Shampoo (available at Walmart)
*Conditioner - The least expensive hydrating, paraben-free, and sulfate-free conditioner that I can find is the Laila Ali Intensive Hydrating Conditioner (available at Walmart).
*If my hair needs moisture, I place conditioner on my hair, and then cover my head with a steamy towel (I wet a towel, ring it out and place it in the microwave for 2 minutes) for 10 minutes and then rinse out the conditioner.
*Before blow drying my hair, I use L'Oreal Artec Kiwi Colorflector Blow Serum as a heat protecter. My budget-friendly back-up for a heat protectant is the 4 Naturals Irontastic Leave-In Thermal Protection Spray (available at Walmart)
*Blow Dryer - H2Pro Titanium Blow Dryer with comb attachment (It's expensive, but it works)
*After blowdrying my hair, I use DesignLine Silk Drops and then run the blow dryer through my hair once again. My budget-friendly back-up for this step is the Generic Silk Treatment (available at Sally's)
*Flat Iron - H2Pro Vivace (it's expensive, but it gets the job done. If you live in a humid area, I'd pump up the heat. I'd suggest consulting your hair stylist to discover what temperatures are appropriate for your hair type)
*If I want volume I use Nioxin Volumizing Reflectives Niospray Power Hold before flat ironing my hair.
*I use Matrix Total Results Sleek before flat ironing my hair if I want it really straight and sleek. Be careful not to use too much.
*If you want something in the middle, use both the Nioxin and Matrix.
*My final step is to rub a small amount of the silk drops through my hair and wrap it with a silk scarf.

My hair lasts for about a week. This regimen works for transitioning your hair, you'll just want to use a higher heat for the natural hair and lower heat for the permed hair.

Checkout my photo above, this is my hair about two months after I began flat ironing my hair myself (as opposed to going to the salon). You'll want to stick with this for at least 2 months so that you can train your hair to behave.

Tweet me if you have any questions: https://twitter.com/laina_marie