I can understand your frustration – believe me! But when you say “I am straightening my hair regularly…”, do you mean doing it yourself with a flat iron or do you mean keratin treatments?

I used to straighten my hair daily using just a blow dryer, which was really damaging and I was lucky if it lasted a couple of hours before fluffing up. My results improved dramatically after I finally got a flat iron a few years ago. But in humid-as-all-get-out Florida, I still faced frizz.

That’s why the Brazilian straightener was such a life changer. My hair took a fraction of the time to do and stayed smooth and pretty in humid weather.

But — and I say this in my post — you still have to straighten your hair. For the most part, your hair will still retain a wave; some people will still have curls. However, a quality Brazilian done in salon should cut your style time in at least half if not more. (I went from taking about 45 minutes to straighten my hair to 10-15 minutes after the keratin treatment.)

A do-it-yourself keratin straightener typically will not work as well as a salon job, but I’m pleased with the hair straightener I used on myself a few months ago.

So if you problem is after using a flat iron on untreated curly hair, then you can try applying a hair-straightening thermal protectant before you iron and finish with a mist of anti-humidity hair spray. These will make your effort last longer. You may also have to upgrade your flat iron. There are so many options — ceramic, tourmaline, nano, ionic, infrared, titanium — and maybe the one you are using isn’t optimal for your hair.

Hope that helps!

Hair straightening, either chemical or with a flat iron, can be damaging — especially on weak hair. I would avoid this process for now and work on strengthening your hair and trying to stop the thinning. People have had success with apple cider vinegar and also with neem oil for hair.

Whatever you choose, give it several months. Good luck and let us know how it’s going.

- Olivia