straightening will u give u some wicked spikes..

not sure if u live in the uk, but boots are selling a few thin plated ceramic striaghteners which have extremely slim plats ideal for short hair..

those are the opposite of what i suggested..they are very wide plates...

ull need the thin plated ones if u wanna straighten ur hair..

spiking is a science....for those with wavy curly hair.

Try this first:

(washing my hair with bar soap seems to help) natural vegtable soaps/pure castile  find at health food stores chamberlains, whole foods, ect

Loreal melting gel (apply evenly first) lubricates hair so that wax spreads evenly also finishes unwaxed parts very nicely with a smooth matte hold

beyond zone stiff head "instant texture" styling wax this product comes in a stick similar to some deoderants.... have tried others but beyond zone seems to be the best....primarily i like the way it smells  pears (sally's beauty supply)

the wax/pomade must come in a stick package seems to be only way that works because of the randomness in the application.

take stick and swirl

counter clockwise on right side crown clockwise on left side crown

when doing right side start on the back of your crown on the left side cross to right, come down right side crown and cross the crown on your forhead  invert for the left....a little more is needed usually on the very front of your hairline and all around the top of the head.

now for more relaxed spikes take a little more melting gel OR for tougher "spikier" spikes take some matte glue

smooth everything all the way back at this point you will have the greaser look all smoothed back.  now with one firm swipe use both hands to pull from the back of your crown all the way to the front....reversing the direction of all the hair but  it will be sticking straight up.   will be a little rough around the edges....then fix everything with your fingers.... so everything is symetrical and smoothed where it needs to be. grabbing between fingers and palms works well for shaping/directing the spikes

I like a good straight up block type symetric crown...but this will rely heavily on your barber/stylists ability to fade properly and texturize on the sides....God i wish i could cut my own hair....!

Your hair will still proably be loopy and have those little whips every now and then.....  then you gotta pull out the big guns and relax it. i am assuming all wavy hair is very thick like mine so jsut use the relaxer!  I use fabulax has (black girls on the front) this gives a slightly darker appearance.....and sometimes can make your hair look very thin! the only conditioner i found to safe bring back some body with out the curl and wave is the "Aussie three minute miracle conditioner"

all of these things i get from the grocery stores....availability is a big issue...some times ill find a product....but wont see it again... i swear im gonna flip out when stiff head gets discontinued... i have seen stylist with other waxes in a stick package....but this is the only one i can find in my area.  

otherwise definately get a matte glue; spiker "ice hair" seems to work best but i can only find it at super cuts. Loreal also makes a texture gel called grad from the same studio line that the melting gel is in.  grab has alittle less grip but it has some stuff in it that makes your hair really shine ...this sounds really lame but they are little sparkles it magnifies the sh*t out of what ever color your hair is though.

Glue is where its at though for wavy curly hair people....and i like the plyable feel from the wax.....i cant stand stiff spikes that feel like they glue your scalp too.  plus with the wax chicks and moms can still run their fingers through your hair...but they will smell like pears!

i know this sh*t is long....but it took years of research and litterally hundreds of dollars... hopefully you can get some use

OH! and watch out with fabulax or any straightener... it can burn the sh*t out of your scalp...any straightener/relaxer that doesn't have that potential....is worthless...will only last for maybe a week....then curls and wave come back   dont get mild either, waste of money....get regular or extra strength.  good for 7 minutes no more no less.....thats for actual skin contact if you can manage to let it sit in your hair with out lettin it touch the skin let it sit for about 5 minutes then you have to start combing the sh*t out of it....and you will see the hair forms very straight.....comb it and comb it for only 7 minutes though either straight forward or straight back....then wash the stuff out with the pH nuetralizing soap provided. also for the first day try to let your hair chill with minumal product... maybe a light gel...because your hair will be very plyable....and will keep the general shape....i.e.  wearing a hat would be a huge NONO on the first day after you relax. cause your hair will take that shape and stay. the oil provided will help as well with conditioning your hair and gettin it well healthy again.

thought i needed to add this incase anybody reads that advice on relaxing, its not that accurate.

As for you Adam 19 if u ever want straight hair u can spike u are gonna need to get it relaxed. The thing is even if u grow it so u can straighten it with heated tongs it will still go curly again as soon as u get any water or product in it. Notice how girls with (tong) straightened hair run for cover when it starts to rain?

As far as putting non-haircare products like butter and oil and bars of soap in your hair, please forget it.

As for relaxing, you can have it done with 2 products that I have used. I would imagine other products are variants or similar to these. The first is extenso (spelling?) and its a chemical straightener that i dont want to talk about anymore, it wears out of your hair and doesnt really work. But there is this other stuff called something like Dark & Lovely, also a chemical straightener, I think its meant for black people's hair but I have it done and i'm white but naturally my hair is kinda afro, outta control curly fluffball mess. Anyway this stuff makes it perfectly straight but i would only recommend having it done in a professional salon cos it can be a bit dangerous. It basically burns the hair straight! What will happen is you go to a salon (I go to Toni + Guy) without washing your hair for 3 days (to protect your scalp) and they'll put in on your hair, leave it for about 20 minutes and wash it out with neutralising shampoo. Then you cant wash your hair for about 72 hours after and it doesnt matter if u wear a hat in this time, your hair will take to the shape of the hat but only because the setting agent is working, once you was it you can do whatever especially after blow-drying. It's also not true that it wears off (maybe if u leave it in for 5 minutes) it lasts permanently, but you will need to have the re-growth done after about 4 weeks if you are spiking it up cos the curly roots will pull the hair over. Yeah so thats the best solution, best to check with a salon if your hair can handle the dark and lovely stuff, maybe if your hair is less curly then Extenso would be fine? As for cost my hair costs about £50 to get done originally (1 1/2 inches) and then about £40 everytime i have the regrowth done. Its expensive, burns your skin if u dont have barrier cream and your hair needs constant loving care, but its worth it. (The process for applying dark and lovely and extenso is exactly the same, apart from with extenso you wash your hair right before and you dont need barrier cream around your hairline)

fabulax is 6 dollars at the grocery store vs. £50 at a salon

apples and oranges

i think im going to try not washing my hair for 72 hours after it is relaxed that actually sounds like good advice.

and what are you saying its not true that it wears off? Seriously have you tried any of the products I mentioned? thats just kind of offesive, i have used fabulax, precise, no frizz, proclaim, ect.... all done in house, hands on. 

You spend £50 at a salon and suddenly you are an expert who can comment on the accuracy of another person's experience?

no, its just PROBABLY the reason it is wearing off is because you said you are only leaving it in for 5-7 minutes cos of the burning whereas for it to take full effect it should be in your hair for about 20 minutes. The reason its burning is cos you have no natural protective grease on your scalp to protect it so you need to leave it 3 days unwashed before application.

I admit the extenso stuff did wear off but i think thats cos my hair is so coarse normally, but as I said the dark 'n' lovely stuff doesnt seem to ever wear out.

Anyway no need to get mad, I kinda miss-read your post a bit too cos of the way you type...........it.............like.........that in places so no worries.

As for the not washing for 72 hours after thing, thats deffo essential cos the stuff has a setting agent in it, I think the product actually says 48 hours but my hair is intense so I like to be sure

Much Love, X