Thermal Straightening on Naturally Kinky Hair

February 24th marked 4 years since my natural journey began. I can’t believe it’s been that long! I never would have thought that I would one day chop all my relaxed hair off but I’m so glad I did. My relaxed hair was pretty, but it’s something about being natural that I just love. My natural hair is beautiful, versatile and gives me that unique look that I like. Yes, there are a ton of women who wear their hair in its natural state, but I feel like even though many of us may wear the same styles every now and then, everyone’s hair is still unique to them.

Since being natural, I have never had my hair straightened. It’s not that I didn’t want to have my hair straightened; it’s just that I’d heard so many stories about heat damage that I was afraid to do it. My fears suddenly dissipated when a few weeks ago, I decided on a whim, to schedule an appointment for a thermal straightening, just in time for Easter Sunday.

I got my hair straightened at Salon Crie. My experience at Salon Crie was great, as it always is. My hair was washed, conditioned, blown out and flat ironed. After all of that, I received a (much needed) trim and a few curls to add to my final look. Overall, I was very pleased with my hair. It was so straight that one might think I had a relaxer. Although it was beautiful, it did feel very odd wearing straight hair. Immediately, when I left the salon, the wind started blowing very hard, and my hair was all over the place and all in my face. I’m definitely used to wearing my hair in its kinky state that can withstand a moderate amount of wind blowing without blocking my vision.

I wore my hair straight for 2.5 days before accidentally getting it wet in the shower. I put on a scarf and a shower cap and somehow still managed to get my hair wet…ugh! Between the steam from the shower and my edges getting wet, parts of my hair quickly began to revert back. I hoped that when it dried I’d still be able to wear it straight, but to no avail. I didn’t want to put any more heat on it (and really didn’t have time if I wanted to), so I quickly slicked it back into a bun so that I could meet my BFF in time for dinner. When I got home from dinner, I decided to dampen the parts of my hair that were straight so that it would blend with the parts of my hair that had reverted back to kinky. I twisted my hair (as I do each night) and wore it in a twist out for the next few days.

All in all, I enjoyed wearing my hair straight for that short period of time. I will say that I really don’t miss wearing straight hair; I’d rather stick to rocking my kinks.

Are you natural? How has your experience been wearing your hair straight as opposed to kinky or curly? Let me know in the comments below!

* Photos by Salon Crie *