In the past, people had to learn to love the locks they were born with. Over the years, however, new beauty developments and techniques have allowed people to change their hair, from its cut, to color, texture and style. As a result, people are exposing their hair to more chemicals and heat appliances, which can leave their hair dry, brittle and dull. 

If you want to straighten your hair, there are ways of doing it that will ensure it is the safest on your hair as possible. People used to use anything they could to straighten their hair, from irons to any other appliance decades ago, but more and more hair safe techniques are being introduced that allow you to straighten your hair while protecting your hair from over-styling. You can choose to straighten your hair temporarily by using styling tools or have it chemically straightened to prolong the effects. 

Depending on how curly your hair is to start could determine how difficult it might be to straighten. If your hair has loose curls or just a little wave, you can straighten your hair using just a blow dryer, and may not want to have it chemically straightened so that you can wear it wavy and straight. If choosing to straighten your hair with styling tools, there are several ways of achieving the look.

After blotting your hair dry, apply a heat safe spray to protect your hair and a little straightening serum or other product that will keep your hair from appearing frizzy and add shine. Section off your hair and blow-dry each piece as you follow a hairbrush along the length of the hair. Make sure to point the nozzle downward so that it will not blow up little pieces of hair and create frizzy, unruly pieces. 

If your hair blow dryer has a cool blast capability, cooling the hair of at the end can help “lock” in the style. For any flyaway hairs at the end, a little additional pomade can help tame them down. For more persistent hair, the use of a hair straightener can be a great styling aid.  If you can spend a little extra money, there have been great additions to the flat iron market, with better products effectively straightening your hair while locking in the moisture. 

If interested in more permanently straightening your hair with a chemical process, you should first talk to a professional hair stylist. Everyday styling and coloring or highlighting may have already weakened your strands, and any additional treatments could lead to lackluster hair, breakage and other undesirable results. 

Learning to straighten your hair while protecting it can help produce desirable results without suffering lasting damage. It can be fun to experiment with different looks and styles, but learning to play up your unique features can also be extremely rewarding.  Even with the numerous ways to manipulate your natural hair to look differently, people with straight hair are often unable to achieve the look of naturally curly hair. 

Embrace what you’ve been given!