Hair that's sleek and bone-straight is fall's mane event

Back in the dark ages of beauty, the woman who wanted bone straight hair might have pulled out the iron and ironing board and given her locks a light press to achieve her ideal look. Thankfully, hair straightening has gotten a lot easier since then, with a plethora of products designed to help women play it straight without going to extremes. (And for those of us with naturally curly hair textures, that's no mean feat.) All it takes is the right tools and styling products. With these wonders at your disposal, you can stow your iron and ironing board away for good.

The Straight Story

What makes straight hair look modern now is miles away from the product-laden looks of the past. Rather than using an excessive amount of gunky products that can weigh the hair down and leave it looking limp and greasy, the emphasis today is on keeping the hair clean, healthy and strong. For women with naturally-straight hair, the battle isn't how to achieve the look as much as it is to make it look fresh. The first step in the process is the right cut. Short bobs and shoulder length cuts are the shape of the moment. Hair can be parted on the side or in the middle, depending on the shape of your face. Since volume in tresses is making a comeback, a shampoo and conditioner that add heft to hair so that it doesn't look limp is a good investment.

Don't Have Naturally Straight Hair?

If your hair isn't naturally straight, don't fret. Between hair tools, chemicals and straightening products, sleek hair is only a comb through away. The most direct way to get curls to go straight is the use of chemical relaxers, also known as hair straighteners. Whether you have the relaxer applied by a professional or opt for a kitchen beautician kit, the premise is the same: these smooth operators are designed to release the curl pattern and give the hair a stick straight appearance. Often the chemical relaxers include such strong agents as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide or lithium hydroxide, all of which require kid gloves in the application process. Chemicals can only be left on the hair for a certain length of time and then must be thoroughly and completely rinsed out, followed by a neutralizing shampoo to protect the hair against the chemicals that would impair it if left on too long.

Non-Chemical Route

If you don't want to go the chemical route, there are a number of styling tools and hair products you can use to - temporarily - achieve the sleek styles you desire. The mane ingredient: the application of heating implements. Heat helps to break down the curl pattern and gives a short-lived straight look. The first step is to start with clean hair, free of all product residue. After hair has been washed and towel dried, you should begin by coating it with a heat protectant product that will help prevent it from getting singed by the heat of the blow dryer. Follow the protectant with a light straightening gel applied evenly throughout damp hair; this will make it easier to straighten and smooth. Part the hair into sections and clip it up. Working one section at a time, blow dry the hair, using a thick, round brush (metal ones, sized to suit your hair length, work best) to stretch the hair from roots to ends and a blow dryer of about 1600 watts. Some dryers have a comb attachment that makes straightening the hair that much easier. As the brush is pulled through the hair, the heat from the blow-dryer will help straighten as it dries. Just be sure that you are distributing the heat evenly and not lingering too long in one spot. As you finish one section, unclip another and go through the entire process again until your hair is completely done.

Still Not Straight Enough?

You can follow up the blow dryer with a flat iron styling tool, available in most health and beauty stores, to give your hair extra smoothness. Last but not least, the finishing touch is to use a hair wax, molding mud or laminate gel for shine and continued smoothing.

When you're working with heating instruments, using your discretion is more important than ever. Hair can take the heat, but not on a daily basis, so to prevent burnt out tresses, stagger the use of heating implements to every other day.

With the range of exciting options out there, getting it straight - your hair, that is -will be a snap.

Vanessa Bush has covered the beauty and fashion scene for a host of magazines including Glamour and Honey, and is currently an editor at Essence. Vanessa is a frequent contributor to BeautyWalk. She is the co-author, with supermodel Tyra Banks, of Tyra's Beauty Inside & Out. Vanessa and her family make their home in New Jersey.

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