Chemical Hair Straightening...

Has anyone done chemical straightening? I am right lazy when it comes to my hair... I get it colored and cut every 4 months or so (foils) and my daily routine is wash and go. I have shoulder length hair...

But I have it straightened for events, and love it.

I was wondering about getting it chemically done... Does anyone know much about this?

Like is it exy? can I still colour with it? How long does it last, and how often do you have to redo it? Does it take much maintenance? How much damage will it do?

And is it worth it, for hair that is just naturally a bit kinky and not really curly... TIA!!!

The best way to do it without causing as much damage would be the keratin complex... Chemical straightening is really damaging and you cannot colour your hair with it.. The only sort of colour you could do would be semi-permanents...

I refuse to do chemical straightening at my salon due to the damage it causes to the hair.. HTH

My mum had it done. it was several years ago, maybe 5 years, so perhaps the technique has improved since then? Anyway, the result was not what we expected, which was soft, silky dead straight hair! It was certainly straighter, but she still needed to blow dry/run the straighteners over her hair to get a really straight and NOT frizzy result. Left to dry naturally her hair was quite frizzy even after the chemical straightening. But the worst thing was the damage it did to her hair, which was dry, brittle and snapping off underneath! And, yes, she did go to a reputable, upmarket (and expensive) salon. They warned her that it might dry her hair SLIGHTLY, but not to the degree she experienced.

So... I wouldn't have it done, but again, perhaps that technique has improved over the past few years!

To the best of my knowledge, chemical straightening is much the same as perming, but in reverse - instead of breaking the structure of straight hair to create curl, it's breaking the structure of naturally wavy/curly hair to achieve straighter hair. Unfortunately I don't know anybody who's ever had it done, so I can't share any personal stories, but I imagine it would be a bit like getting a perm in terms of caring for hair afterwards, the rules about colouring etc, itms. Maybe you could call around a couple of local salons and ask their opinions and prices? Sorry I'm not much help!!

Thanks girls, From what I have been reading, you still need to blow dry / straighten to get a nice straight look, so I am thinking it might not be as easy as it sounds.... I might just have to invest in a straightener, and get up earlier to do my hair..... Dang it, I wish I wasn't so hair lazy... hehe.....

yep it only relaxes the hair it doesn't make it perfect though the keratin complex one does make it silky smooth cause it adds the keratin back to the hair repairing it whilst straightening it :)

I was just posting to say exactly that - you still have to touch it up all the time to get it right.

I used to get it done, but was never completely happy with it. I see why Julia Gillard married her hairdresser!!

Oh for the days when perming was in.... that was easy.... well after the 6hrs in the salon.... and with mum paying for them... hehehe

rufalina, I have hair which is not curly/not straight and I have owned several different straighteners over the years. I resisted GHD because of the price but a couple of years ago I bought them. They are worth EVERY cent. I find they are faster and easier to use and don't seem to dry my hair out like some others. I LOVE them. If you are going to buy straighteners, I highly recommend GHD.