Jul 8, 2007

Long, short, wavy, curly, straight, permed, straightened, crimped, and gelled are but some of the adjectives we could use to describe a person’s hairstyle.

The ‘in’ thing in hair, however, is keeping it long and straight.  Unfortunately not all of us are blessed with naturally straight, silky, shiny, hair and it is here that the numerous beauty treatments come to our rescue!

The methods of hair straightening are many and varied. The choice of permanent straightening or temporary straightening is up to us. Factors such as ease of maintaining the style, the cost of styling and the time involved will ultimately influence our choice.

Temporary hair-straightening would involve blow-drying your hair after every wash or flat-ironing dry hair. However, as these methods involve a lot of time and energy, more and more people tend to opt for permanent means of hair straightening. Here, by permanent I mean getting a touch-up every six months or thereabouts.

Getting a professional to do it is the best way since they can also offer you guidance on which method of straightening best suits the texture of your hair. Japanese hair straightening, also known as thermal reconditioning, is thought to be the best method of straightening hair permanently.

“As professionals, we do a strand test to determine the recommended strength of relaxer to be used. We will also need to evaluate hair texture, porosity, elasticity, and the presence or absence of hair damage. Another thing I have to keep in mind is the brands available in the market.  Different brands have different process type. So, it all depends on hair type and product availability,” says Kunjal Vaithara, a US-based hairstylist. 

The process can take up to five hours depending on the type of hair you have and cost you anywhere between Rs. 5,000 – Rs. 10,000.  Various hair salons in the city - brand name or otherwise - offer this service to clients. Why, you may wonder, would someone go to all these lengths to have her God-given hair altered?

There are two possible answers to this question—convenience or style. Anuradha falls into the former category. A busy mother of two young children, she found it difficult to get just the right look for her waist-length hair all the time. So, she decided to take the plunge and got her hair professionally straightened. “Now, I don’t spend more than five minutes on my hair whenever I need to look my best. It has certainly saved me a lot of time and precious energy without my having to compromise on my looks,” she says.

For Pragati, it was the desire for a whole-new look that made her walk into the salon for straight locks. Having frizzy, curly hair meant very little scope for experimenting with new looks, particularly when rushing to get ready for work every morning. “Having straight hair has made my morning routine quicker and simpler. And anytime I miss my curls, which is not much, I can just style my hair that way and it is definitely faster than trying to make curly hair straight,” says Pragati.  

For all those of you who have been keeping away from experimenting due to the fear of what a chemical process could do to your hair in the long run, here’s what Kunjal Vaithara has to say. “Make sure that your hairstylist performs a strand test before treating the hair. This helps protect the hair. Once your hair has been straightened, make sure you use a good detangling / leave-in conditioning product frequently. Take your time and be very gentle. Conditioners will smooth the damaged outer surface of the hair by coating the hair and by replenishing oils and proteins that are stripped off by chemical processing. When possible, limit the use of hot blow dryers and hot s