How straight is straight?

Hi,
Last weekend I had a Rusk Anti-Curl treatment & wasn't very pleased. I didn't want my hair to be completely straight, but it looks exactly the same as when I first went in. However, the stylist blowdried my hair straight before I left the salon and I loved it.

So here's my question: is there any chemical straightening that will actually leave me with straight hair? I am the laziest person in the world when it comes to my hair and don't want to have to blowdry it or iron it to make it straight. Is my dream of effortless straight hair at all realistic? Oh, and just so you know what I'm starting with, I have fine frizzy/curly white girl hair.

Thanks for any advice!
Bettymouse

I have tried all the different brands at different salons.  I finally sucked it up and did the CHI straightening system.  I have actually had it done twice now.  I love the results!  My hair is naturally coarse, wavy, frizzy, thick hair.  With the CHI, it is not frizzy and is very soft.  It is expensive but to me, fighting with my hair that I had done for sooooo long, it was definitely worth it.  My hair is chemically colored and highlighted, and it does just fine!  I also just purchased the SEDU flat iron, as I had previously had the CHI flat iron.  I LOVE the SEDU so far.  I used it just to smooth my hair--takes about 5 minutes.  By the way, my hair is half way down my back.  I also use Redken Smooth Down shampoo and Butter Treat for a conditioner. 

liwarren - by the chi system, do you mean that you flat iron everyday, or is there another process?

There is only one hair treatment that makes hair straight, and keeps it straight, and that is a lye based product. I advise you to go to a salon, and have them do a test strip to see the amount of time it needs to stay on your hair. Lye relaxers will make your hair straight, even after shampooing, your hair is as straight as the first day it was relaxed. Lye relaxed hair does not revert. It tangles less, because the straight is permanent. Do not do it yourself, and make sure the stylist protects the previously relaxed hair when you get a lye touch up. Lye only needs to be applied to hair once, and it will break if you overlap. It is the best and most dangerous relaxer. libertea4all38475.7032060185

Bettymouse, The only treatments that leave hair permanently straight are the thermal reconditioning treatments ( which are very expensive). I have had both the Rusk and the Bioionic thermal reconditioning treatments done. The thermal reconditioning was great at the begining. However after about a month my hair started to break and fall off. For what I have read, I must to had it done incorrectly,because that is not supposed to happen. I am latina, and have very curly, frizzie hair. So even after the thermal reconditioning, I still needed to blow dry my hair straight. however, it would stay super straight and totally frizz free, even in the most humid conditions. However, the damage and amount of hair lost, was not worth it. I don't know if thermal reconditioning would work better for you. You have a different hair texture. Maybe with your type of hair, you will just be able to let it air dry and it will be straight. If you do decide to have it done, make sure you get a profesional who specializes in thermal reconditioning, and who has a lot of experience. Not just someone who had a sales person go to their salon and do a quick training. The stylist who did my hair has a certificate hanging on the wall, that states she has been trained to provide the service. I thought that was enough; I was wrong. She is a great stylist, but for thermal reconditoning you have to go to the pro's. I now use Artec texture smooth # 2. Which works great and does not damage my hair. I can either blow dry my hair and then just smooth it with a flat iron; or I can let it dry naturally and then flat iron it straight. However the first option produces much more beautiful results that last until my next shampoo. I also, like liwarren, use the Sedu flat iron, which is wonderfull. And I also use the Redken smooth down shampoo and butter treatment. They work great. Also Biosilk silk therapy is great to blow dry and to flat iron hair. I would strongly advise you against using lye based relaxers. I have also try them in the past. I had them done at a salon, and was never happy with the resulsts. My hair was dry and damaged and the frizz was still there. At least for me, the Artec works great. My hair looks super straight and soft. It is very shiny and natural looking. Also keep in mind that if you already used Rusk, which is Thio based, you can not use a lye relaxer. It would destroy your hair (litterally). You would have to grow out all the hair that was treated with the thio based relaxer. And then after it has been cut off, you could used a lye based relaxer.

Thanks a lot to everyone who replied. I really appreciate all of your responses & advice. I'm still in limbo--not sure if I'll pursue straightening after all. I did try a flat iron (Sedu) & had pretty good results. I think I'll try again with some of the styling products that you all have recommended.
Thanks a million, curlygirls!
Bettymouse

Bettymouse,

Don't give up. My hair is 10 times more difficult than yours and I have managed to make it look naturally straight. I don't know why the Rusk didn't work for you. Maybe they didn't use the right formula. It comes in 3 different ones. Or may be they didn't leave it in long enough. I have used Rusk at home, and the results were great. I know switch to the Artec texturesmooth because It makes it even straighter. Artec is really supposed to be done by a professional, but I have had good results doing it myself. Find a Salon that does Artec and explain your problem to them, if you don't want to risk doing it on your own. Most likely you still won't be able to just hop out of the shower, but styling will take a lot less time and last much longer. Once I do my hair, it stays straight until my next shampoo. Try not to shampoo every day. I shampoo every 3 days. If you have frizzie hair, shampooing too often doesn't help it. Try using Lanza strait-line smoother, along with a little biosilk before you blow dry. You don't have blow dry perfect. You can even just use a come attachment on you dryer and then flat iron straight. It takes me about 20 minutes. Also using a flat iron smoothing spray does wonders. I like Matrix iron smoothing spray, but there are others out there. Also, when was the last time you got a hair cut?. A good hair cut will remove alot of old hair. Your hair will look much better and healthier, and it will be easy to style. I just cut mine about 5 weeks ago. I went from hair that was half way down my back, to a layer bob. I had to, since I still had hair that was thermally reconditioned left. You don't have to cut whole 12 inches of hair like I did. But I love the results, and I have never gotten so many compliments. And styling is a breeze. Hang in there girl, you can get straight hair.

Sharyg1138479.4449074074

Shary, when you use matrix iron smoother do you spray it on all your hair at once and then section and flat iron? Or do you section your hair and spray it on each section right before you flat iron? I stopped using it because it made my hair too wet and when I ran the flat iron through it would sizzle. Now I'm using biosilk silk therapy. But I really want to make the matrix work.

I know exactly what you are saying, because I made the same mistake when I first got it. I section the hair first and spray it on each individual section right before I flat iron. The trick is to hold the bottle several inches away and just mist the hair with it. That will make the whole difference. You can even use a little biosilk first, and then follow the steps above. It might take some trial and error, but you will master it. Let me know how it works out. Sharyg1138479.9130555556

I got the Matrix Opti-Smooth done about a month ago and I'm absolutely thrilled with the results.

I also had the Matrix OptiSmooth done at a salon, about two months ago, and I loved the results.  My hair is really healthy and shiny, and I also color it.  My stylist said it's more gentle on hair, although it's more effective, than a lot of other straightening processes.  I've previously had the Rusk Anti-Curl and ArTec processes done, but wasn't as happy with either, especially Rusk - it seemed like it made my hair revert back the second time I had it done! 

I have thick, wavy hair. I'm currently growing out my hair (I want it be like John Glover's). Would I need to get it straightened?