Do you mean Chemically straigten? If you do, what type of hair do you have? Do you want to go with Thio, or Sodium Hydroxide?

Or are you talking about mechanically straigten (flat iron etc)?

Ok, that makes it easier to answer your question. Chemicall relaxers can have different straitening agents. First are the Sodium Hydroxise (lye) relaxers. Then you have the "no lye" relaxers. These would be the ones that use an alternative straigtening agent: Lithium, Potassium, Calcium hydroxide or Guanidine Carbonate. The degree of damage even though they are different chemicalls, is the same. It is just a way to fool the uninformed into thinking that the relaxer is less damaging because is a "no Lye" relaxer.

Then you have the Thioglycate ralaxers (or Thio). Thio is a milder chemicall which if applied correctly produces exellent results.

So how do you know whick kind to use?. Well the first ones mentioned above are for extremely course, kinky or nappy hair. These are the ingredients found on most african american hair relaxers. That's no to say that they can't be used on curly hair, however the degree of damage is a little more severe.

Thio relaxers are not designed for nappy or kinky hair. They have no effect on these types of hair. They are designed for curly or wavy hair. From my personal experience I have tried them both, and can tell you the difference is from morning to night. When I relaxed my hair with a regular relaxer (Sodium Hydroxide) I was able to make my hair straighter when I blowed dried. However I still had problems with frizz, and I just couldn't get the smoothness I was looking for. Plus it was really drying to my hair, ( and I had it professionally done). My hair is very curly and frizzie. And it turns into a big puff with the first sign of humidity. I Read about Rusk Radical Anticurl on a magazine once, and decided to give it a try. Rusk is a thio based relaxer. OMG, what a difference. My hair was totally straight, shiny and frizz free, in humidity, rainy days, or any other cruelty mother nature could throw my way. It was super soft and just plain amazing. And the most amazing thing was that if I wanted to wear my hair curly I could do that too. However the curl would be looser, smoother and frizz free. So I was hooked.

Now a warning about it. You must follow directions properly. The product should never touch your scalp. That is for any relaxer but specially for thio ones. That could cause bends in the hair and end up in breakage. It can also cause scalp irritation and damage to the hair bulb itself (again that is with any relaxer). I always recomend to have a professional do it. However you must make sure the professional is an expert on chemicalls, otherwise you might as well do it yourself, because all he/she is going to do, is follow the directions just as you would. Meaning you might end up with the same results. The advantage though to having it professionally done, is that it is easier for someone else to apply the product without touching your scalp, than it would be for you. Also you must use a wide tooth come to come the product through your hair. Make sure it is a good come (such as a mason pearson or a bone come). They don't have those ridges between the teeth, which most people don't know, are terribly damaging to your hair, specially when applying chemicalls. Those ridges rip away the scales that cover your hair strands, making hair very week, causing major breakage, and leaving it unable to hold on to color or deep conditioning or protein treatments. If your hair is wavy, Rusk or any thio relaxer (Redken Vertical, loreal x-tenso etc)would be the best choice for you, and will give you the best results. The only one I have been able to buy over the counter though is Rusk. If you can't find it at your local beauty supply, you can find it on Ebay. It costs about $17 dollars plus shipping. Also you can find it at Diamondbeauty.com. It comes in 3 different formulas #1 for regular non resistant hair. #2 for high lighted or high lift tinted hair. And #3 for course or resistant hair. One thing I found out through alot of reaseach is that even though the instructions say no to exceed 20 min, that is just a precausion by the manufacturer to avoid less experienced stylists overprocessing hair. The problem with that is, that other people end up with underprocessed hair. That is why you hear people complaining that they used Rusk and don't see much difference. For example my hair takes about 40 minutes to process. I didn't know that before, so even though I was getting good results, they werent as wonderfull as they  are now. Your hair is wavy, so the 20 min rule should apply to you. Just use caution if you decide to do it yourself. Try to have someone else apply it for you if you don't know how to.

And last but not least, Sodium Hydroxide or it's comparable partners, are not compatible with Thio. So I you have any hair that has been relaxed with regular over the counter relaxers (the ones that cotain the chemicalls mentioned before) you can not relax that hair with Rusk because it will cause severe damage.

If you want a great hair regimen which will give you beautifull straight and frizz free hair, read my post on the straight talk forum, under "the fight against humidity". It works great, as the original poster can tell you.

Well I hope the information has been helpfull. I am sorry it took so long but I want you to make an educated decision, and avoid you a bad hair experience. I wish you good luck and beautifull hair.

P.S. For great information about this topic you can visit Verticalsinhair.com. It is great.

Well, hair grows at a rate of about 1/2" per month. That means you only have about 3 inches of new growth. It is not recomended that you do it, because the formulas always overlap a little, and that could result in damage and breakage. So you have two choices: You can wait until your hair gets longer, cut off the previously relaxed hair, and may be get a medium lenght bob (which is what I did) and then there is no risk of the formulas overlaping. While you wait for the hair to grow, you can follow the straighting regimen that I posted on "the fight against humidity" and since you have just wavy hair, I promised you it will be super straight. It is a little more work but you only have to do it twice a week. You can do it more if you like, but my hair stays straight the whole time, so I only do it twice a week to keep my hair healthy.

If you simply can not wait, or just refuse to cut your hair, then you have to go with a non thio relaxer. Just make sure you get a good one. Paul Mitchell The Relaxer (that is what is called) is actually pretty good and very gentle. Or you can go with Phytospecific hair relaxer, which is made of natural ingredients, and it is compatible with the non thio relaxers. It is considered to be the best relaxer ever. And if done right will give you optimal results. However the price is out of this world. It is $60 a kit, and the application takes a long time.

Personally I would wait, and then get a hair cut so I could go with the Thio. That is what I did. I had hair half way down my back and did not want to cut it. However, I decided it was time for a change and I cut it into a mid length layered bob. Wow! what a change, and I couldn't be happier. I never got so many compliments. So I gave myself a make over, and ended up loving it. My hair looks healthier, and full of life. So, if you can grow the confidence for a new look, go for the first option. You will be surprised what it can do for your spirit. If not, then you can always go with the second option. Just make sure to go with a superior product, such as PM The Relaxer, which is about $15-$20 (You can find it on ebay) or with the phytospecific if you can afford it or are willing to pay that much. I feel you shouldn't have to since you only have wavy hair.

Whatever decision you make, remember to  use protein treatments, and to always deep condition after the protein treatments. Otherwise your hair will fell like straw.

Let me know what you decide, and what kind of results you get.

Best of luck! I wish you health and beautifull hair.

 My daughter is wearing her hair natural, but in two low pony puffs now. I have not used the easystraight yet, we are going to do it today. I am worried because of the terrible things I have read. The cause of damage is most likely from timing issues, and incompatible relaxers, but may also be because the easystraight contains two relaxer products, thio, and I think the other is amonium hydroxide, I will have to check the box. I think fine hair can not handle the two relaxer products. I may be wrong, I am no expert, but I do not think the other thio brands have a hydroxide ingredient. My daughter has odd hair, it is like hair form one hundred people. It is fine as baby white hair, and other strands are thick like typical african hair, some strands coil to a 1/2 inch, others are wavy to almost straight, makes it really hard to find a product that is gentle and strong. That is why I hope the easystraight will work for her.

 I am going to flat iron her hair before I apply the easystraight. The instuctions say to wash and dry hair first, my daughter's hair frizzes when dried with a blow dryer, so I am going to use the flat iron, and then let her hair chill for about 20 minutes before I apply the relaxer, because it is heat activated, and I do not want to cause root damage. Flat and straight hair will be easier to apply the relaxer quickly, and will provide straighter results. I am also going to be careful to apply to the curliest and thickest sections first. I am going to leave the relaxer on for only about 10 minutes after applying it, or total about 15 minutes. The maximum time recommended for her hair is about 30 minutes, but I am not going to risk it.

 I will document the easystraight results with before and after pics.  and post them, or a link to them. It is 2:30 pm eastern. it will be about 4:30pm eastern before I will get the relaxer on. Anyone who is interested should check the boards about about 6pm eastern tonight for an update. My daughter wants her face shielded, so don't be surprised if you just see hair and no face in the pics, the hair is real, and the results will be real.