<p>Hi. Does anyone have any experience or advice about chinese hair straightening? D will turn 16 in March and desperately wants this. She has very fine hair, but lots of it. It is extremely curly, better described as kinky, along with lots of friz. Picture Don King.</p>
<p>I don’t mind her doing it, but have concerns about the chemicals. I would appreciate any advice if anyone has done this or is familiar with it. Thanks.</p>
<p>Ironic–so many asians get permanents to have their hair have “body & curl.” Sorry, everyone I Know is trying to get curl INTO their hair. :)</p>
<p>I know lots of people who have had done it. I have one good friend who has done it regularly for the past 5 years. It does begin to take its toll. It is very expensive and depending on the length of your hair can take hours.
An alternative gift would be one of the ceramic straightening irons. Not the one you buy from the drugstore but the one they use in the salons. Go to a beauty supply or my D bought one on Ebay. Expect to pay over 100 dollars. They work amazingly well.</p>
<p>My daughter’s hair is also frizzy/curly - She swears by her Chi brand ceramic iron . The brand of iron makes HUGE difference, and her hairdresser rightly recommended Chi. It makes her hair very silky-straight. I’d recommend trying that before chemical processes.</p>
<p>^^^ The CHI or CHI Turbo really works.</p>
<p>Try a straightening iron (along with a good heat protecting serum or spray…it’s essential) before going all out with something as expensive and drastic as a chemical treatment. Invest in good ceramic plates and some Biosilk serum (keeps hair from frying into oblivion while you straighten) first</p>
<p>I’d go with the straightening iron before trying that (japanese I thought it was?) straightening. A girl I know does that and I think you’re only allowed to wash your hair every so often or something so her hair always looks really greasy. If your daughter’s hair is fine as it is, it’d probably be tough to go too long without washing.</p>
<p>Thanks all! She has a Chi ceramic staightener, but it doesn’t help much. I guess her hair is just too kinky; “kinks” are about 1/8" long each. It was gorgeous when she was young and I had it all the way down her back. The weight of the length helped pull out the curls, I guess.</p>
<p>Her hair is not at all oily (nor her skin, lucky duck). She could probably go a week between shampoos and no one could tell. Her hair is shoulder length and I treated her to a salon straightening it for the Homecoming dance. It took them four hours.</p>
<p>Oh well, I guess we’ll research it some more. Thanks again.</p>
<p>This might seem like a silly question, but what do the Chinese (or Japanese, for that matter) know about straightening hair? They all have such naturally stick straight hair, you would think straightening it would’nt even be on their radar. </p>
<p>Your D has a real dilemna, given that you categorize her hair as “fine”. I would be very wary of the chemicals necessary to straighten hair coming in contact with her hair, especially if it is extremely fine. They could destroy the hair shaft in short order, I would think. How did her first salon strightening go?</p>
<p>The book “Curly Girl” changed my daughters’ lives. I know she wants it straight, but for the same price a trip to a salon that specializes in curly hair (we’re partial to Devashaun in NYC) would have a longer term impact in making what she has beautiful.</p>
<p>But I know, when they want it straight, they want it straight!</p>
<p>I’ve done a little research about Japanese hair straightening (thermal reconditioning). My d was interested in it as a time saver. Her hair is already straight, but she wanted a wash and wear style…and we thought straightening might let her hair dry smooth naturally. </p>
<p>The only issue with washing is that you can’t wash it for 24-48 hours after the initial processing. You should make sure you use an experienced person and the chemicals are true thermal reconditioning chemicals and not just chemical relaxers. I think Liscio is the best brand of chemicals, but there are several others. The treatment takes hours and it is expensive. If you get a quote for under $400, you need to be suspicious and ask questions about experience, technique and chemicals. Also, not everyone is a candidate…some color treated hair cannot be thermal reconditioned.</p>
<p>Touchups should be the roots only and are less expensive…so the real investment is in the initial treatment.</p>
<p>This is a pretty good link…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.peterlouissalon.com/japanesestraightening.htm[/url]”>http://www.peterlouissalon.com/japanesestraightening.htm</a></p>
<p>I have several friends who own a coloring salon…they insist flat irons (chi and phi included) are not intended for long-term daily use, even with product. Thermal reconditioning is supposed to be much less harsh on the hair than flat-irons.</p>
<p>One more good site with before and after pics…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.thermalreconditioning.com/pictures.html[/url]”>http://www.thermalreconditioning.com/pictures.html</a></p>
<p>This site says touchups will cost as much as initial treatment, but the few Liscio salons I called here in Houston have told me otherwise.</p>
<p>My D has fine frizzy hair, tried all sorts of straightening tools, always hated her hair, until she turned 16, and started to get compliments…now she uses products like curl boosters etc., and lets it airdry to stay more curly:)</p>
<p>As the mother of two curly tops, I would agree to stick with the flat iron. My oldest daughter (course frizz–kink and curls) straightened her hair from 6th grade through 11th grade, when curls came “in”. At one point, our stylist wanted to use her as a model for Chinese straightening. The timing didn’t work out (I was relieved). Now that she has perfected taming her hair, she realizes how versatile it is. She has even cut it jaw line legnth to look more professional (doing internships) and she manages it beautifully. It took a lot of patience on her part to figure it out, but success! (Well, even at this point, I received a paniced call that a stylist had not cut it “right” and it was difficult to manage, even with the flat iron…enter the old hot rollers! Crisis averted 
)</p>
<p>My younger daughter (fine, no frizz–just curls) feels that curly hair is part of her personality (I have to agree). She uses a curl booster and lets it dry naturally. Occasionally she will flat iron it, just to see…</p>
<p>Believe me, I understand the emotions that go along with dealing with the curls, kink and frizz…and when they want it straight…they want it straight! Good lick!</p>
<p>this winter I met a girl who had it done. She loves it. remember that you’ll have to straighten the top hair as it grows in, and to return to curly you’d have to be straightening the top till it really grew out.
Her solution to the cost is that she, with mom, went to a high class beauty school and the students straighten it under supervision. Instead of the 700-900 price around here she pays 70 dollars a treatment! They’re in upstate NY, I think Albany area.</p>
<p>I looked at the before and after pictures and wondered why the women bothered to change their hair. Their hair was beautiful before, too.
I am black and when I was young had my hair straightened. It was a lot of work and expense. In my late teens, I went natural, and have found it incredibly liberating, and also get lots of complements. I’m convinced that for most people, their natural hair texture is the texture that also looks best on them – if they embrace it and allow it to be in its glory.</p>
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<p>Buy that book today op! And go to their web site also, please. They have a message board and stuff.</p>
<p>Here is the web site, sweetheart op…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.naturallycurly.com/[/url]”>http://www.naturallycurly.com/</a></p>
<p>I don’t have curly hair although when I worked on hair ( and am planning on getting back into it I think) I did alot of African American clients ( Asians too actually)
at the time AAs generally let their hair go natural- AA hair is very delicate and while I did straighten a few( the same chemical actually that you use to take hair off your legs- it is very drying), the grow out process can be difficult to manage- which I imagine hasn’t changed even if the process has improved</p>
<p>One of Ds friends had her hair straightened- she looks very different, I really thought she looked better before - but considering the things I used to do to my hair when I was a teenager?
At least hair grows out.
Asian hair is quite different from AA hair.
Asian hair has a tight cuticle and is almost like horsehair in its strength- I have gotten slivers under my skin from it.
Of course at the time, the Farrah was very popular, so all the Asian girls wanted their hair layered, which meant big time permanents to give them some wave.) this was almost 30 years ago)</p>
<p>BUt back to the question- the first important thing is to make sure the hair is moisturized- this will help to eliminate frizz and turn it to curl.
moisture is not the same as adding oil.</p>
<p>I would also try a very good quality henna treatment- henna doesn’t have to add color- but it strenghtens hair and coats it, making it shiner and smoother.</p>
<p>light mountain henna is a very good brand- doesn’t add chemicals and you can get a neutral color</p>
<p>NSM - I’m with you. </p>
<p>I love curls and waves. I have straight hair and spent the entire '80s perming my hair trying to get natural looking curls. Frankly, permed hair looks like permed hair. I finally gave up and learned to love what I have. Well, except for the full head of silvery gray hair that I suspect is under my brunette color with blonde highlights. (Gray isn’t going to happen…I’m sorry. I’m wearing granny glasses now because contacts don’t cut it anymore, so I’m NOT going gray too. The glasses aren’t too bad, but I’m tired of people telling me I look just like Diane Keaton in that Loreal aging skin product commercial…argh.)</p>
<p>Regarding my d’s hair, straightening would only enhance what she already has. Her hair is already straight, heavy (her Native American ancestry peeking through I do believe), but it’s a pain to dry and style. Thermal reconditioning would give her a bit of her life back by cutting back on the styling time. She’s not sure she wants to do it though…still thinking about it.</p>
<p>I have been considering this for myself as well. I have wavy hair which seems ideal in theory but it just never waves the right way and ends up looking like i have curly hair that i tried to straighten or straight hair that i tried to curl…
so i straighten my hair every single day which has got to be awful for it but my mom won’t let me get the chinese thing and i’m also a little afraid of letting my hair grow back in and the challenges with that.
although that would be tough for me i imagine for the OP’s daughter letting her curls grow back while straightening the top would be incredibly tedious</p>