How to Relax Your Hair

While a head of curly hair can be a desired trait, it can be nice to have a flexible look and style your hair in different ways. There are a variety of ways you can relax your curls in order to free them up to be styled differently. The main decision you will need to make is whether you want them chemically relaxed or naturally relaxed.

Natural relaxers can provide you with a temporary relaxing of your curls. Depending on the tightness of your curls, relaxing can straighten your hair or give you a wavy look that is more manageable for other styling options. There are shampoos and conditioners as well as other products available that can slightly relax your curls. Anti-frizz and smoothing products can help as well. Putting your damp hair in soft rollers at night can help relax your curls. After a night’s sleep, your hair may fall in gentle waves as opposed to the tighter curls. You can then style accordingly. There is also the flat iron method of relaxing as well. With natural relaxing methods, a lot depends on the type of curls you have. If you have really tight curls, a flat iron may not be the best option, as it will take a very long time to relax your curls to the point you want them.

If you are looking for a long-term curl relaxer, you might want to explore chemical options. Natural relaxers are only temporary and will need to be a regular part of your hair care regimen in order to consistently have your curls relaxed. Chemical relaxers, on the other hand, can have a more long-term effect. The best way to get a chemical relaxer is to go to your salon. It is possible to severely damage your hair and scalp using chemical relaxers improperly and it is best to have a licensed technician chemically relax your curls. The chemical relaxers will soften your curls for a longer period of time than the natural relaxers. There is also the more drastic step of getting your hair chemically straightened. While relaxing your curls might straighten your hair, this is not true for all kinds of curls. Chemically straightening your hair should also be performed by your hairdresser. Another option for chemically relaxing your hair is to get a soft perm. This may relax your curls enough to the point where you can style them as you want later. As with all chemical relaxing options, it is best to consult your hairdresser and see which chemical relaxer option would work best with your hair type and the tightness of your curls.

There are chemical kits that you can use at home to relax your hair. While this is not as optimal as having it done in a salon, it is still an option. When relaxing your curls chemically it is best to relax only non-chemically colored hair. If your hair is colored wait several weeks before relaxing to make sure the hair dye did not damage your hair. Clean hair is not the best for relaxing as well. Wait a couple days after shampooing and conditioning before you go about relaxing it. Finally, always follow the instructions on the kit. There will be specific instructions on how to handle and apply the chemicals. This is very important as improper mixing or overlapping of the chemicals could damage your hair, scalp, or skin.

Relaxing your curls can seem like a challenge but there are options. You can pursue a more natural route, making use of those shampoo and conditioning products as well as various serums that relax your curls to some degree on a daily basis. Putting your hair in rollers the night before works well in relaxing curls as well. For short-term results, natural relaxers can accomplish what you are looking for. The chemical relaxers are also an option. While there are home relaxer kits, it is best to go to your hairdresser to get a consultation on what the best method of chemical relaxer would be for your hair type. Whether it be a chemical relaxer or a soft perm, you can accomplish the long term look you desire.