Can Curly Hair Become Straight Naturally?

If you hate your waves, you should probably know plenty of straight-haired people would kill for them. Still, we all want the hair we don’t have, don’t we?

For those with natural waves, you might iron them out or have your processed to squelch your hair’s natural urge to curl and wave.

Maybe you even pine away as you stare in the mirror, hoping one day you’ll wake up with smooth, sleek, straight hair without having to go to the salon. Is it wishful thinking? Can wavy hair become straight naturally?

Wavy or curly hair can become straight naturally, without using chemicals or heat, by opting for the right hair regimen, hydration, and wrapping it up after the shower, as wavy and curly hair is more fragile and hence more prone to damage via heat than other hair types.

Even with all this work you’ll need to do to get your waves to go straight naturally, you should also know that your hair will be straighter but it might not be pin-straight.

This might work for you though if you want to wear your hair in a sleeker style here and there. We’ll talk about how to straighten things out just a bit further down.

However, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, so be careful what you wish for. You may realize that you miss those waves and curls you once had. Though the opposite could be true too.

If you had straight hair before you went through puberty and your hair kicked into waves or curls as your hormones changed, you might have been dreaming this whole time to get that straight hair back.

Can Curly Hair Become Straight Naturally?

For some people, their hair changes texture and shape on its own, going from curly hair to straight and vice versa, scientists surmise that it’s a combination involving genetics, hormones and the body chemistry factor impacting all of them.

Curly hair patterns are the result of genetics, hormones, and environmental factors, but your hair care routine also plays a major role in it.

As mentioned, puberty is often the time where we first see changes in our hair and skin. If you have had a baby, you may have experienced changes with your hair too. And down the line when menopause comes into play, it will most certainly impact our hair and skin, probably not in any ways we’ll be excited about either.

Anyway, you’re here now because you want to know more about how you can naturally make your wavy hair straight. So keep reading and you’ll be ready to show off your new straighter style!

The right hair regimen can make your wavy hair straight naturally

One of the biggest mistakes we all make when we’re trying to get that straight hair is to constantly inflict it with damaging heat or use chemical straighteners on it. These damage our hair over time. You can still achieve straightness by coaxing your hair into a straighter style.

Straight hair is a great style for winter because you don’t have to wash it so much and you don’t have the humidity to contend with. So, you pull out your flat iron and start working to smooth things over. Or you head to the salon for a chemical straightening, or even try to do it at home (one word: don’t!).

When you do these things often, they dry out your hair, leaving it brittle and prone to split ends. Then you have dry, witch-like hair that’s straight but not at all like those shampoo commercials where the model’s hair swishes and sways and looks like silk.

It’s not a lost cause though!

There are other ways you can get those waves or curls to straighten out on their own without resorting to heat torture or stinky chemicals. You might not get that perfectly straight ironed look, but your hair will be healthier, look vibrant and hydrated, and have more volume.

Excessive heat damage will only leave you with frizz. If you’re eyeing your hair in the mirror now and see frizzy half-straightened tresses staring back at you, don’t cry.

You’ll be able to fix that and have the kind of hair you’ve been wishing for. Plus, you won’t completely kill your natural waves or curls, which means in summer when it’s hot and you don’t want to lift a finger, you can let your hair do its thing. It’s really the best of both worlds.

Keep reading and you’ll be on your way to healthier, straighter hair!

Hydration begins even before the shower

One of the things that make curls and waves different is that the hair shaft is different. The shape is not flat like straight hair. So why are we washing, conditioning, and styling it like it’s naturally straight? Good question!

Those curls and waves make it so much harder for the natural oils of your hair to glide along and thoroughly coat the strands. This is why curly and wavy hair is drier. Now that you know, you can use that to your advantage to revive your hair.

Instead of just hopping into the shower to shampoo, condition, and rinse your hair prior to styling, start before that. You should infuse your hair with something nourishing to help it along.

Mixing up rosemary oil with black castor and letting it sit on your head for 45 minutes to an hour can nourish a scalp that is thirsty for love.

Hot/warm oil is another way to go about it. Though “hot” is really a misnomer here. You definitely don’t want to pour hot oil onto your head. The oil should be heated though and a comfortable temperature.

It makes it easier for the oil to saturate your strands plus it will relax the hair. Try using coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, or sesame oil. Any of these will do the trick.

Once you’ve selected an oil, heat it up for around 20 seconds in the microwave. That should be plenty to get it to a good temperature without scalding yourself.

Apply it to your hair from top to bottom, taking extra care to massage your scalp. This step should take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes.

Next, take a comb (wide-toothed is best) and comb the oil through to distribute the oil and prevent breakage during the next washing. And now, the fun part!

Go grab a good book or get ready to do chores (or text your bestie) while you sit with a warm, wet towel atop all that oily goodness for about 30 to 40 minutes. Once that’s done, you’ll wash it out in the shower with a good shampoo, one that doesn’t have sulfates, parabens, or other nasty things. Smile! You’re on your way to more beautiful hair!

Hydrate your hair in the shower too

After that pre-cleanse hydration, it’s time to hop into the shower for cleansing with a hydrating shampoo followed by conditioning.

Always use a shampoo and conditioner that’s free of sulfates, like WOW’s Apple Cider Vinegar Set (Amazon link), which increases gloss and shine while hydrating your scalp and let’s face it the 9000+ positive reviews on Amazon speak for themselves! Sulfates are so bad for your hair.

They strip it of its natural oils that keep it soft, shiny and moist. When you use products with sulfates, your hair will be dull and frizzy, especially if you’ve got waves or curls.

You’ll also want to take the same care with a conditioner. You want one that will seal moisture into your strands to keep your hair hydrated.

But don’t stop there! Get a leave-in conditioner too with keratin. This will detangle your hair and keep it manageable while protecting it from any heat styling you do after you get out of the shower.

Keratin is a protein that’s found naturally in your hair. When it’s properly produced, it strengthens your hair shaft while keeping your hair smooth, frizz-free, shiny, and manageable.

This is a must for your wavy or curly hair! When you choose smoothing serums and use spray-on conditioners with keratin, it gives more natural weight to your hair which helps relax waves and curls.

Invest in a good quality blow dryer

Have you ever gone on a trip and used the seemingly-handy hair dryer that’s available in your room? It’s bare-bones and only has a high and low setting, maybe a medium one if you’re lucky.

You probably cursed yourself for not just bringing your good hairdryer along. It’s worth it.

You’ve likely grabbed a cheapo hairdryer before too, haven’t you? We all have! We go for that low price and with worse hair than ever before.

The key to making wavy or curly hair look good when you style it straight is choosing a quality blow dryer. You don’t have to go broke, but do choose one that features ionic technology like Dyson’s supersonic goodness of a blow dryer (Amazon link).

The best thing, wait for it! It is powered by science… no, seriously though, the ionic molecules break down molecules of water which we can’t say about a standard hairdryer. Instead of causing the water to evaporate, it leaves moisture behind in your hair which is the best thing that can happen.

It also cuts down on how long it takes to dry your hair. Ionic hair dryers will leave your hair in a smoother, shinier and better condition which is ideal if you want to style your hair straight making it the best investment you can make for your hair.

Then you’ve only got to master your technique. You should always use the nozzle to aim at sections of your hair.

It seems like a pain, and well, it is, but if you want your hair to look good, you’ve got to take the time to style it right. A large round brush will help you smooth your hair and make it full of shine.

Blow-dry your hair with cold air if possible

Another important tip for making wavy hair straight naturally is to use cold air blasts from your new high-quality hairdryer. That cold-blast button will be your new BFF now!

Simply let your hair air dry almost fully. Then divide your hair up into sections like you would for any blowout.

Instead of using heat though, use the cool setting and move your blow dryer along your hair from the roots to the tips. Even though it’s cool, you should still keep it roughly 6 inches away from your hair.

This won’t take much longer than the usual way of blowing out your hair. You might be disappointed though if you don’t use a straightening serum or leave-in conditioning spray when fly-away hairs pop up.

These products will help you craft the perfect sleek style and with the cool setting, you’ll cause less damage to your hair.

Roll your wet hair

Not going anywhere for a while? You can use large hair rollers to get that straight look. They should be really big though, like soda cans (or you can even use soda cans if you don’t have rollers).

This requires plenty of patience though because you’ve got to roll your wet hair up, secure the rollers tight to your head and let your hair dry completely. If you take them out before your hair dries, your waves or curls will return.

To do this, section off hair straight out from your head, comb it with a wide-toothed comb and then secure it with a roller. Roll that roller all the way to your scalp.

You’ll repeat this process until all of your hair is rolled up. It takes practice but you’ve got to make sure you do every section the exact same way so your hair will lay straight when you take the rollers out.

You can speed things along with a hairdryer while you have your hair in the rollers, or you can let it air dry. But if you do use your hairdryer, make sure you use a low setting or cool air to keep from damaging your hair.

Once you’re sure it’s fully dry, unclip your rollers and let your hair down. You’ll find yourself with gorgeous, glossy, straight and smooth hair! Yay!

The jumbo size plastic rollers that are at least 1 ¾-inch diameter or even bigger, you can get a little wave with major volume and gloss.

This is great if you still want to have a bit of those enviable waves without the frizz and mess. For this technique, put damp hair into medium-sized sections, roll them up and go to bed. Or do it at least 4 hours before your big date night.

Pro tip: if you’ve never used rollers before, it might be best to experiment with this technique when you’re just sitting at home. This way, if you don’t get it just right, you won’t be panicking before Mr. Hottie comes to pick you up for that hot date.

The warp wet hair method could be a game-changer for you

Now, here’s another method for you to get straight hair naturally. If your hair is lengthy enough, say at least to your shoulders, you can wash it, condition it, and then add your leave-in straightening conditioner. Then, wrap your hair tightly around your head. They call this ‘wet hair wrapping.’

This has been around for quite some time, as in before the hairdryer was invented. While it’s very effective, this is another one that’s going to take you some practice to master but it’s worth it.

Simply take your wet hair and comb it. You want to divide it right down the middle. Then you’ll comb the left side all the way to the right and wrap it at the back of your head. Keep it in place with bobby pins.

Do the same thing in the opposite direction with the right side. Then, patiently wait for it to air dry. Wrapping it in a silken scarf and going to sleep will also keep frizz from arising.

Once your hair is fully dry, you can take the pins out, brush your hair, and enjoy the straightness. Don’t forget some smoothing serum to seal in moisture and help keep any humidity at bay.

The best one so far is made by Vitamins Hair Cosmetics (Amazon link) and it ticks all the boxes, where most smoothing serums have formaldehyde, paraben, and sulfate this one is, according to the manufacturer free from any nasty chemicals.

Proceed with caution when using your flat iron

Flat irons are a wonderful way to get your hair fully straight. The downside is that they can cause major damage. It’s definitely time-consuming, but if you want to do it right, you have to obey the hair rules.

Take your hair into small sections about one-inch in size. This keeps you from going over the same pieces and overexposing them to the heat too. Always make sure you have a flat iron with adjustable heat settings and use the right one for you.

If you have fine hair, it should be set on a low heat. If your hair is thick and coarse, you should choose a medium-high setting.

Still not sure? Use a stylist trick to make sure you don’t burn your hair. Grab a tissue and test the temperature. If the tissue gets burnt, it’s set too high for your hair.

Another pro tip with flat irons is that you should never use one without a heat protection product applied to your hair first. Apply it to each section as you work for the ultimate protection.

Apply essential oils to your hair

Essential oils are big news these days, and for good reason. They’re great for your skin, hair, and health. In particular, some of them are really outstanding for taming hair.

Things like argan oil, coconut oil, macadamia oil, and almond oil are ideal because they can penetrate into your hair and seal it to heal the cells inside of the strands.

Choose your hair method above from rolling, wrapping, or cold blowing with your blow dryer. Then add one of these essential oils to your hair. You’ll want to rub it between your palms to warm it up. This makes it easier to spread evenly into your hair.

Put the focus on your ends. With oils, remember that less is more. Only a dime-sized amount is necessary to give your hair a lovely natural scent and a beautiful natural shine. Plus, the oil is weighty which will also help it stay straight.

Make your own natural straightening treatment

Your hair is totally in your hands with DIY techniques you can master for deep-conditioned, shinier, and straighter hair. A hair mask is important once or twice a week to restore the protein to your hair.

With wavy or curly hair, it’s a step you should never skip for it helps relax your hair naturally while giving it a healthy appearance.

There are many DIY hair masks out there with raw eggs, avocados, and manuka honey, for example. We like using a cup of coconut milk with one tablespoon of raw organic honey.

Mix it together and let your hair and scalp soak that nourishment in for an hour before washing as guided earlier in this article.

You can also use two cups of milk and one egg. You’ll want to soak your hair in it for roughly 10 minutes. Then you’ll gently wring it out without rinsing.

Wrap your head with a plastic shower cap and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then follow with the washing and conditioning guidelines mentioned above.

If you really want to see relaxed tresses naturally, mix 1 cup of coconut milk with about 5 to 6 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Heat it on low, stirring the mixture until it’s smooth. Once it’s cool, apply it to your hair. Doing this twice a week for 2 months will give you glorious hair.

Hot oil is also great, as we mentioned earlier. That warmth and nourishment will help your hair relax very naturally. Ideally, if you choose hot oil, you should also use coconut milk in your hair masks when you do them.

This helps saturate your hair for more radiance, plus it’s antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial which helps restore the scalp.

Amazingly, much of what you need for your getting your hair straight and beautiful is likely in your home already. On a rainy day or perhaps when you’re binge-watching your favorite shows, you can try them out and decide which natural remedies work best for smoothing your waves or curls.

With more use of these methods, you’ll find your hair feels more nourished and looks better than ever before without frying it out or drying it out!

Conclusion

Those of us with curls or waves feel like it’s the biggest curse. We just want to parade around with smooth, straight, and shiny hair. So we fry it with chemicals and heat styling tools until we look like a frizz ball.

You can end this cycle right now and still get what you want out of your hair.

You don’t have to use chemicals to get the hair you want, but you will have to make time to work with it to get the results you desire. Ultimately, it’s your decision on how you want to wear your hair.

You can think about cutting it shorter to cut down on curl formation and then use proper heat styling techniques. But you must be willing to take the time to section off your hair. It can be hard on those days when we’re feeling a bit lazy.

This might not be ideal for you if you don’t want to cut your hair short, but do know that when you cut wavy, curly, and naturally textured hair to a shorter length, it can be a bit easier to handle.

The other way to go about it is to let your hair grow out as long as it can. Length weighs down hair strands and helps it appear straighter. This can take time though. Trying the methods above for styling and nourishing your hair can help it grow healthier.

Really, it’s your choice for what is best for you. Everything is going to take time to do. Ideally, the more natural you are with your hair, the healthier it’s going to be.

Try doing these natural styling tips to help your hair get healthy. Minimize the heat you throw at it, and when you do, make sure you’re supplying ample hydration for your hair to look its best.