First of all, it must be made abundantly clear that the hair straightening can never be permanent. To elaborate, if you straighten your hair today; it will take a straight shape from the point of your hair touching the scalp till the end of the hair follicle or strand.

A common misconception amongst people who choose to straighten their hair is that when they are told the straightening would be permanent; they expect it to remain that way forever. However, there is no fault to that as the word “permanent” conveys that message. However, hair straightening can never be permanent.

To elaborate, the average human hair will grow at a rate of about ½ an inch per month which equates to 6 inches in a year. When you permanently straighten hair, only the portion above the scalp will retain the new feature. Any new hair growing from the roots will grow with the natural texture of the hair. Hence, while the hair grows in the newer regions of the follicle the ones closer to the scalp may not be straight.

Over time the hair will continue to grow and a combination of the hair growing further from the roots and haircuts taking care of the permanently straightened hair, your hair will gradually return to its original texture.

So if a person originally had curly hair, the new part of the hair follicle will carry those traits and hence, when it grows even more, the hair will slowly but surely start to take its original shape once more.

Original texture of hair can be determined by a number of factors. Any combination of variables including a person’s diet, genetics, frequent use and type of hair care products can all have an independent or collective effect on the type of hair one has. Also, genetics can never be understated in this characteristic. So, even if you have performed a “permanent” hair straightening, that doesn’t mean that, your hair will remain straight forever.

HOW OFTEN STRAIGHTEN HAIR

Once your hair has lost its straight effect, you can always have it straightened again. However, you must make sure that you never overdo it, as this could lead to irreparable damage in the hair.

If you straighten your hair once in 3 or 4 months, we would strongly recommend that you continue with this frequency as it is very practical.

Some individuals choose to straighten their hair as often as once a week with a straightening iron. This method happens to put the hair under a huge amount of strain as well as a lot of heat and, if care is not taken, the hair could get burnt or very badly damaged.

When choosing to straighten your hair permanently, you should also make sure that you choose a professional keratin treatment.

Also, make sure you take care of your hair, eat the right foods and increase your fluid intake as this will help maintain your hair.

STRAIGHT HAIR VS REBONDING

Rebonding is a new age “quick – fix” solution to a hair problem.

Just like most other quick fixes, this method can do a lot more damage to your hair than good. The hair is made up of bonds along the hair follicle, which help it retain its shape.

In rebonding, these bonds are broken down, re-arranged in the required style and bonded back together permanently using a selection of very strong chemicals. As a result of the procedure and chemical as well as mechanical products used, rebonding can be one of the most conceivably damaging thing you can do to your hair.

If straight hair is what you crave, then normal straightening of the hair is a better choice when compared to rebonding. If performed with care, hair straightening can be a much safer and better option, however, it would need to be performed periodically.

With the amount of hair care products and hair specialists around, though, it would be quite hard to go wrong. When choosing to straighten your hair, you must make sure that you do not overdo it, as the intense heat and stress applied on the hair will damage it to a certain extent. Some people go as far as straightening it every week which is actually harmful to the hair.