Since going natural I have learned that there is a great debate going on – To straighten or not to straighten natural hair.

I had to try it for myself to find out what all the fuss was about.

The first time I went to a Dominican salon. They used high heat blow drying and a flat iron and my hair was “laid for the gods” BUT it also had a burnt smell that took me a week to get rid of. About 6 months later I tried again, this time going to a salon that was recommended to me by a friend. At the salon, the stylist used a hot comb and a flat iron. Again, my hair was very straight but again had a slight burnt smell. Each time, my hair reverted right back to my “4Z” coily pattern – so no damage was done to my hair.

I vowed I was not going to straighten my hair again just due to the smell alone, but one thing made me try again – my fiance’ loves it when I straighten my hair – so…..this time I decided I would flat iron it myself, and get the best flat iron so that I would not have that nasty burnt smell in my hair. I went out and bought the Babyliss Nano Titanium flat iron that many people on social media sites raved about.

OH THE PROCESS….. yall have NO IDEA! It is the most tedious, time consuming process ever! The first time I tried it, my hair was straight, bouncing and behaving but again that doggone burnt smell again – EWWWW! I tried it again with the flat iron on a lower setting but that did not get my hair straight at all.

At this point, I am throwing in the towel… I will do it again, maybe once a year but I cannot go through this process of small, tiny sections and using heat protectants, and trying to figure out which heat setting to use all for the style to last 2 days – nope, no thank you!

So the answer for me is – NO STRAIGHTENING! I have come to love my “4Z” coily texture and learned many hair styles to rock so that is what I am going to continue to do – but I will straighten it for him once a year.

What is your process for getting your natural hair straight? What products do you use? Do tell!