Thick Curly Hair

Q: I have extremely thick, curly hair. I am going to the hair salon soon and want to get something done to my hair that will control it. I was thinking about two options: 1) getting my hair thinned or 2) getting it "permanently straightened". Please explain to me what would be the best option and the pros and cons of both. Thank you.

A: Well, choosing the best option for you between getting the hair thinned and having it permanently straightened is more a matter of personal preference and depends largely on what you want to have as a result.

Thinning the hair is only going to reduce the amount of volume in the hair, which will help it to look more manageable and will make it easier to style in many ways. It won't, however, do anything to change the hair's texture or wave pattern.

On the plus side, thinning the hair will make it easier to blow-dry and flat-iron straighten, but will also allow you the versatility of styling allowing you to wear the hair curly if you want. On the downside, the hair can and should only be thinned every third haircut, and after a number of thinning services, you may find that the ends of the hair begin to appear stringy.

As for cost, since thinning the hair is usually done as part of a haircut, the cost is usually no more than that for the haircut itself.

If your goal is to have straight hair, then having a permanent straightening service is going to help you achieve that goal. Straightening the hair will also reduce the amount of volume in the hair, since the hairs will lie more smoothly together. On the plus side, straightening the hair can make the hair feel very smooth and silky, and will make it easy to style. Certain of the straightening processes even allow you to add curl at times when you want them, but the hair's "normal" state will be straight.

The downside is that many women don't realize how much they rely on versatility in styling their hair. They get their hair straightened and find that they dislike their hair being straight all the time. And even when they can add curl after a straightening service, doing so generally takes more time and effort than simply straightening curly hair in a styling process.

The cost of a straightening service can vary widely, depending on the type of straightening service you want. Thio-based straightening can cost between $35 and $100 or more depending on where you live, while Japanese Straightening services can run between $300 and $1,000 or more depending on the length of the hair and where you live.

So, you need to decide what you want out of the procedure - versatility and manageability or ease of styling and low maintenance - then make your choice based on those criteria.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

How to style hair

Hair straightening

How to thin out hair

Permanent hair straightening