damage

Hi,

The thing about curly hair is that it needs lots of moisture. The way that the cuticle is shaped means that the curl is like a corkscrew that never completely closes. So lots of things can make curly hair frizzy. You mentioned that you straightened it. Did you temporarily straighten it with a product like Flat Out or ARTec Smoothing Serum? Or did you have it chemically straighened. There can be a difference in the impact to your hair.

If you want to get it shiny and soft again I would suggest a series of deep conditioning treatments. While I personally think that ARTec's Moisture Pak is awesome as a deep conditioner, it is not the only product that you can use with good results.

If you prefer, a good, low cost alternative is hot olive oil treatments. The downside is that this can be a messy process. Be sure to do the treatments in a bathroom where you can contain the oil.

Buy some extra virgin olive oil from the store. Pour enough to staturate your damaged areas into a bowl and then microwave until WARM not HOT. Use your fingers or a cotton ball to apply the olive oil to your damaged hair areas. Keep the oil about 1 inch from your scalp. Applying oil directly to the scalp area is not recommended and may present a future potential oiliness problem for your hair and/or skin.

You can apply the oil to either slightly damp or dry hair.

Wrap the hair up in a shower cap and then let sit for about 30-45 minutes. The longer the better.

Shampoo out the oil using a good moisturizing shampoo. You may need to shampoo more than one time. Apply a rinse-out moisturizer. Rinse out well. Do a final rinse with cool/cold hair to seal the shaft as much as possible.

After this, towel dry your hair and apply a good leave in conditioner. Until your hair recovers from the damage you may want to let your hair go natural while you get it back in shape. If you do hot oil or deep conditioning treatments about 1-2x a week for a few weeks, you will notice a slow improvement in the shininess and softness of your hair.

Eventually when your hair is healthier you can get your hair straight...but you should only straighten your hair on an irregular basis, using temporary defrizzers and straighteners like ARTec smoothing or Phyto Defrissant or similar products. Using a paddle brush and a blow dryer you can get a straight look for your hair.

The question is whether you want to focus on soft and shiny or straight. To get the soft and shiny do the conditioning. To get the straightness do the temporary straightening.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Karen Shelton
Hair Boutique