The other posts on straightening have grown too long, so I m launching a new one! What I have to say is going to be quite long anyways!

ok how do i start describing my hair?? Its fine and fairly thin. Its slightly wavy, which is the worst kind of hair u cud have.. it looks like its coming out of a bad perm! And its frizzy like hell.. And it just about touches my shoulders, where its beginnin to curl up untidily in very odd ways.. I have been wanting long hair, but it grows so slowly that I run out of patience by the time it gets to where it is now, and then just have it cut short. U know, basically the kind of hair that seems to have no identity of its own!

I have had problems with falling n brittle hair in the past, but with a good routine of warm oil massages and shampooing n conditioning every other day, I ve managed to get past those now . I now think I can afford to try and style my hair. Except that...

1. I stay in Bombay in India, and we dont get most of the products that u read about on this forum (SLS-free shampoos are unheard of here!)

2. Though I take good care of it, I cant style my hair everday. It still kinda tends to break easily, so I have to avoid overprocessing it.

3. We live in a humid and really polluted environment, and most anti-frizz products dont work with my kind of hair after a while, though they help to some extent. In case u r wondering, I use Loreal Osmose Smoothening shampoo and conditioner, and Loreal liss control..

Now I think permanent straightening is the only solution to this, and would make it look much better. A few questions I have about the procedure:
1. We have saloons that do Loreal Xtenso and Schwarzkopf. Xtenso's more popular here.. but which one would be better for fine hair?

2. I havent heard of anyone doing strand tests. Can someone tell me how its done? Maybe I could ask the stylist to do one just for me.

3. Will chemical straightening affect hair growth? My plan is to essentially maintian some kind of style so I can let my hair grow, and break this vicious cycle for once. I dont mind if it comes back to its natural state once its longer..

4. I had my hair ironed two weeks back (loved the look, though it actually luked a bit frizzier than ever after I washed it off). How long should I wait now before I go in for the permanent procedure?

Essentially the only thing I m worried about is that I will end up with falling or brittle hair again, this time for good!

Long hair and chemical straightening don't mix very well. Neither do long hair and heat styling, long hair and perms, or long hair and dyes. Definitely think twice about permanent straightening.. and do take into consideration that the straightness will not be permanent - but the damage will be.  

Your hair routine sounds relatively hair-friendly otherwise. However, the breakage could be from mineral buildup or product residue buildup.. it will help to http://anaissatin.freespaces.com/clarifying.html - clarify your hair if you don't do so already. If you also go to the search function in Hair Talk, search for "vinegar rinse" in the topic subject, it will turn up more information on clarifying.

Maybe consider an alternative to managing frizz. I manage my frizz with a specialized http://anaissatin.freespaces.com/cleansingmethods.html - wash routine .

Hope this helps

Hugs
Anais

Woww.. thats pretty discouraging. I guess I was hoping for something that said.. 'Dont worry, ur hair ll luk great as long as u condition it' kinda reply :-)

Thanks, I have decided to reconsider the idea.. probably postpone it till I have tried out ur suggestions.. ll probably talk to the stylist again. In the meantime, I am going to look for a clarifying shampoo (dont think i ll find apple cider vinegar here)

But is there anyone out ther with fine hair who has tried Xtenso? And are the results similar to ironed hair, or does it make it look kinda flat??

Well, I must admit I was luking forward to having the sleek straight look :-(