I want to grow my hair out to waist length.  It's at about mid-back right now.  The problem is, my hair has enough body to it to make it kind of wrinkly, with a couple of big waves.  In other words, in it's natural washed, air-dried state, it looks ratty.  I've been using Conair's steam straightener because the steam is supposed to make it gentler, right?  I just read on the ultimate guide to growing long hair that you shouldn't use any kind of straightener.  So what should I do to straighten my hair?  I'm hoping as it gets longer, I won't need to straighten at all; it'll have enough weight to weigh down any waves.

I have noticed that I have quite a lot of broken hairs at my part, and all down my hair.  What can I use to make my hair straight and stronger?

~April

I agree, the waves won't be as pronounced when your hair is longer. My hair is wavy too and I just brush it a lot and the annoying waves go away - I'm left with soft waves. The rattiness could be because of a conditioner, you might not be using one strong enough causing the hair to look dry. Try not using a straightener though! Be happy with what you have!  ;D

Yup, it will get straighter as your hair gets longer.  In the meantime, if you have an occasion for which you want really straight hair you can do what we did in the 70's... roll your hair on really huge rollers.  We even used soup cans, just make sure there are no sharp edges to harm your hair!  When you take your hair down it will be straight as a board with a gentle wave at the ends.

Haha how did you know that? Your hair is straight as a board anyway!

Yeah, but when I was growing up my best friend's hair wasn't.  This was how we made it straight :)

Oh ok, I think I might try that, because for PE I have to tie my hair up in a tight ponytail and when I take it down there's a huge bump where I tied it! I'm hoping that if I spray it with water to make it a bit damp and putting rollers in will get rid of that bump so it doesn't look odd when I leave it down!

I get those lumps too if I use a ponytail holder.  Try using a scrunchie instead, they are less likely to leave marks.

My hair is too thick to put into a pony tail holder! I have huge black scrunchies which I get from Bangkok, they are the only thing that hold my hair in a ponytail, but that also leaves a bump. I found out last night that if I braid my hair and then undo the braid, the bump goes away!

Just as a warning, the weight of your hair doesn't always straighten it that much - I kept telling myself that when I was in middle school and high school and I decided to grow my hair out - but the curl got tighter in high school and basically has not changed since - it's still pretty curly - but another friend of mine who had hair about as curly as mine now has waves since she's grown hers out - it has to do with your texture as well I think...

And another way to avoid the ponytail bump is to use a claw clip instead of a ponytail holder (if that's allowed) that way you can twist your hair a bit and avoid most of the bump...though not getting the bump is one reason I now enjoy my curls!

In my case, my hair does get straighter when it's longer, but I don't like that much! I'm still trying to find an effective way to curl it since the sock curls *still* don't work  :'(!

I will try the claw clip; I just hope it doesn't fall off when I'm running! Also, if I wrap the scrunchie around twice instead of three times it pulls less on my scalp and is less likely to leave a bump  :)

Leia;
Braiding your hair while it is damp then letting it dry will give you more waves.  The more braids, the tighter the waves.  Twisted ropes will give you more of a spiral curl.  

Yay, it works! Haha  ;D finally a way to get the curls. They don't last long though, and I have to make sure I finger comb them. What do you do to make the curls last longer?

I have used aloe vera (make sure it does not have any alcohol listed in the ingredients) as a setting gel.  This protects my hair from the sun and helps hold the curls.  I have also found that when I oil my hair before braiding or rolling it, that the curls will last longer.  Finger combing is a must if you don't want to pull the curls out.

Have you tried any homemade gels?

No, I have not tried any homemade gels.  I don't usually put anything in my hair other than the oil.  Most store products seem to contain alcohol, which is very drying.

Oh ok - on the longlocks site there was a page of natural recipes for the hair - I wasn't sure if the hair gel would work and I wanted to get someone else's opinion. I was thinking (from former experience with store-bought hair gel) that if I put some gel in while it's damp and braid it, and unbraid it when it's dry, it might last longer. I can't believe why all the curly heads I know want straight hair! I love curls!!

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.   :-/

Haha that's very true; as for the curls, I found this thing at a beauty salon which seems to work. It's a little plastic stick with dents all along the side, and what they did was put it into dry hair, spray it and take it out. What I do is put it into damp hair and not use spray at all, and it gives wonderful spiral curls!

Do the curls last?  How long can your hair be?  Some of those don't work with waist length hair.

Haha I just realized - this is a post for straightening long hair and we're talking about curls!

Hehe never mind. Anyway my hair is naturally wavy so the curls last all day, or until I try to comb it or brush it. They are usually gone by the next morning because the single braid I do at night leaves me with just waves in the morning. The first time I tried it my hair was waist-length so I am sure it will work unless your hair is like Ginny's and never curls! I also found that the longer I left it in, the longer the curls stayed and the more pronounced they were   :).

the grass is aways greener....you all are trying to figure out how to get your hair straighter and I would give anything for curls every now and then a few waves would be nice...my hair won't curl, won't hold a curl or even think about curls....

I hope you find a way my friends with curls use soda cans to straighten their hair...

ginny

For the ponytail-pantyhose method, do you find that it works better with your hair in a high ponytail or a low one? And which do you guys recommend; a scrunchie or a ponytail holder?

Also, my bangs were cut too short, and they are kind of straight with a little wave at the end. I'd like to straighten them so they don't look so short, and I've tried rollers but that wave won't go away. Does anyone have any ideas on straightening my bangs?

I remember friends using medical tape to tape their bangs straight.  I don't think their bangs were as long as yours however.  You could use a round brush to try to straighten them.

When I have used the nylons on my ponytails, I have used a low ponytail to minimize the "line" caused by the scrunchie I used to hold the nylon on.

Ouch - wouldn't the tape rip off your hair?

The medical tape is a very light tape.  The adhesive is similar to that which is used on post-it notes; it releases very easily without ripping the hair or skin.  It could be found at drug stores where they sell the bandages.  It was manufactured by 3M.

Heh heh - the grass is especially often greener on the other side if you don't know how to take care of what you've got - I wasn't as appreciative of my curls when I was younger either until I learned how to properly care for them!  Now I love them, and I hardly ever try to wear my hair in an other than naturally dried way (for special occasions I use old curlers from the 50s when my mom was a girl to make my curls smoother and more defined - and more ringlet-like instead of spirally - and I hardly ever try to straighten anymore as it takes an extremely long time to do and is awful to the ends of my hair - especially since I'm trying to grow it out!)

You have such nice curls, it is nice that you have learned to love them and work with them instead of against them.  It sounds like you are taking good care of your hair and curls so that you can grow it longer, which I know is not the easiest for curly hair.  Good luck with your growth.

I've only just started taking care of my hair. When it was hip-length, I didn't even know what "long hair" was... I thought hair was just hair. It was only in good condition because of my mother. When I cut it and decided that I wanted to grow it back, I started taking extra special care of it and IT DOES NOT SEEM TO GROW PAST MID-BACK!!  :'( I think it's time to make a sacrifice to the hair gods!

Leia

When I was growing my hair out this time it took a 2 year break at about mid back and then it started to grow again...your hair may just be taking its break at about the same point mine did...I find my hair does this every few years and then it starts to grow again...it has been on a 1 year break just above my knees...it is my guess that it will start really growing again in 6 months or so.

I hate to say it but patience....

ginny

I hope it's not taking its break ... every day it *feels* longer. But you know what? When I bring it to the front it still doesn't go below my bra, it's so sad  :'(! Ok, I will be patient, I just wish I could tie my hair up every day for the next few years and one day open it and it will be lovely and long!

Try wearing it up in a bun most of the time.  When you finally wear it down, you may be surprised at your new length.

I think I'd like to try that. As I was getting dressed I noticed that my hair is a little below BSL! I'm so happy! It's growing, slowly but surely. The only thing about keeping in a bun ... it gives me split ends, whether I tuck the ends in the bun or not  :-/. I will have to alternate on days, maybe between a bun and a ponytail or a braid.