Can anyone tell me the difference between simple relaxer/straightener and the thermal relaxer. I want to get my hair straightened with simple relaxer treatment (hair type- medium length coarse/wavy/frizzy hair). How efficient is the simple relaxer treatment because that is what fits into my budget. I am still confused if that makes your hair look straight after simple shampoo and conditioner without any blowdry or styling. How many months will that sustain. Any good or bad experiences you would like to share.
Thanks in advance.
The relaxer method will still require some flat ironing. Thermal straightening makes it "pin" straight...at the cost of about $500! Yowsa. If you can afford thermal, go for it. Get a consult on relaxers--your hair might not be a good candidate.
I dream of thermal straightening....
Hi S.,
I had my hair straightend using the Japanese-style, not sure exactly what that means, but I understand it is quite different from what, not sure the pc term for this is but here goes...black people with very kinky hair use. My sister-in-law is Korean and she says that many Japanese and Koreans do this process. I am part Hawaiian, part Caucasian and have very thick, wavy hair about 4 inches below my shoulder-it takes over an hour to blow-dry and nearly an hour if I use a straightening iron.
I had this process done in Hawaii ( I heard it was much cheaper there, about $180 ) and LOVED it. It lasted nearly 2 years because as my hair grew out, even though I could still feel the wave at the roots, my hair was so long and heavy, it weighted it down and I only supplemented with a straght iron. After having it done, I couldn't wash my hair or put any clips or rubberbands in it for about 24 hours-I don't remember exactly. It is straight wet and then dries straight. Sometimes I would use a straight iron to curve the hair around my face so that it framed my face and didn't just hang straight down, but mostly I wore my hair back or up depending on how hot it was.
Having it straight helped when I wore it down because it didn't tangle, which is normally a problem for me and it had a really nice shine that can't often be seen with wavy hair. I did not find that my hair 'felt' damaged or dry, but actually really silky smooth.
I would love to have it done again and being new to the area, will follow this thread to see what else you find out. I don't know of anyone around here that does this type.
Good luck and by the way, my hair appointment, when I had it done, took about 4 or 5 hours for the whole process. The time and money spent was well worth it because of all the time and money that I actually saved from not having to 'do my hair' every day. I would gladly do it again. :)
Well...I'm caucasian...which *can* be an issue.
I've been getting my hair relaxed for a few years now. There are actually a few more delineations in relaxers than just relaxing v thermal relaxing. For example, a few of my girfriends decided to perm (straighten) my hair with their a few years back, but did a test first (thank god)...because it melted my hair. I've got a SUPER strong, tight curl pattern (nearly ethnic), but not ethnic enough to stand up to the perms they used in their hair. Sigh. That would have essentially been FREE (just the cost of the chemicals)...since they have perm parties all the time.
So I go a step lighter (it gets put in wet...you don't have to not wash your hair for a week...it gets washed right beforehand). It's more gentle, but it only makes my ringlets change from the diameter of my pinky, to an inch. I still have to blowdry with a round brush in sections (and iron) if I want it straight, it still gets frizzy when wet/damp, and I still have to use a giant handful of 'product' if I want to go curly. It just loosened the curls up. I can't wash and go like people with straight hair. It took about 1/4 off the time to blowdry...but that's it as far as time savings.
I SHOULD get it redone every 2 months. I don't. It's too expensive (you have to pay the same amount each and every time...it's not like dying...where it's waaaay less to just get your roots done. You have to shell out bigtime, everytime. Because I'm still curly, though, it blends.
Thermal straightening (or Japanese Straightening) uses the same chemicals I get in my hair, but then the artist uses a straightening iron while the chemicals are still in. This is tricky, because a) the melting of the hair thing...you have to have a really really qualified artist and b) however they straighten it, it STAYS like that. I've seen people with their hair slicked to their skull looking very very strange, and people whose stylist straightened it in a way that gives them a little shape and volume. I've yet to get a definitive answer as to whether or not your hair will dry straight without the whole hairdryer/roundbrush thing. <grinning> So I'm going to follow this thread for awhile. Because if you CAN, I would definitely try it at least once.
I am in bueaty school and a relaxer is defiently something that should be done by a pro. There are many variables that could go wrong. They would know which one to use for your hair type that will get the best results. One thing to consider with certian relaxers it is not recommended to lighten/color your hair because the mix could make your hair extremly damaged or break off. The japanese straighting does work really well but is very costly.
