How do I straighten DD's hair

[Katymac]

I'm in the process of putting pictures up on my profile; but it's taken me 2.5 hrs and isn't massively successful

So what am I doing wrong?

How old is she? How long is the hair? How thick? How curly?

17

Ridiculously thick & curly

I never managed to straighten mine & hers is way curlier than I ever was- it's an afro!

The photos should be visible now

Not an expert on mixed race hair, mine is v curly (but i'm white so different curly) I straighten mine with round brush and hair dryer followed by hottest straighteners possible. Looking at your dds pic i think you might need professional help

Damn - I thought so

I'm managed to resist for so long as I think her curly hair is beautiful but peer pressure has hit "Let's just see what it looks like mum..."

Teenage girls are better experts than their parents at this sort of thing...does she have friends who can sort it? All DD's most elaborate hairstyles are courtesy of her mates and they can more easily spare 2.5 hrs than an adult can too!

Her hair is beautiful, I see lots of black girls now wearing their hair really curly & big and it looks amazing - maybe try convincing her that more wild big curly hair is the way to go.
I think your DD lives in a place beginning with W? If she does there will be lots of hairdressers in the area that will know how to do her hair

She is home from college and all her friends here aren't really into hair

Loads of the products she is being recommended have silicones in & we have avoided them for years

No Nancy -she got funding for the college she is at - so she is staying put!

I think big & curly is the way to go but I'm only her mother !!

I love it like in the third picture

Have you looked on Youtube? there are tutorials for everything - that is probably better than advice on here because it comes with a video so you can see if you are doing it right

[https://www.pinterest.com/pin/116882552806272593/this] is the kind of big style i mean - lots of girls wearing it now and it looks a little more grown up - but agree I am probably a geriatric to your dds age group - what do i know

www.pinterest.com/pin/116882552806272593/this
hate links

aaargh!! www.pinterest.com/pin/116882552806272593/

That's lovely

She wears it up most of the time for dancing - often in a bun; so wanted to practise something a bit different

I wish I was better at hair - her dad is much better at the curly stuff than me

You need a specialist heat protector spray. My dd is mixed race and has similar hair to your dd. This product is a godsend. I order 3 bottles at a time online. You need to use a lot and it smokes and steams quite alarmingly but it's fine.

Also when I wash dd's hair I cover it in a really intense conditioner and then wrap it in cling film for a couple of hours before rinsing out it makes it much easier to straighten.

Yes nancy, there are some great You tube videos about hair straightening.

Do you wash out the coconut oil? (I'm allergic to it so she might be on her own for that one!)

That looks good, Thornrose -where do you get it from?

Erm i cant see the photo, but what about going to a salon to get it relaxed? A lot of my friends with very curly hair or that had a mixed or african heritage used to relax it them selves then it was easier straightened and you can get the kits from quite a few different places. However its pretty heavy duty chemicals. I also second what nancy said that link is vey trendy i say embrace her no doubt gorgeous hair!

Erm i cant see the photo, but what about going to a salon to get it relaxed? A lot of my friends with very curly hair or that had a mixed or african heritage used to relax it them selves then it was easier straightened and you can get the kits from quite a few different places. However its pretty heavy duty chemicals. I also second what nancy said that link is vey trendy i say embrace her no doubt gorgeous hair!

Thanks Chillyegg - I'm sorry you can't see DD's photos on my profile - I wonder what's gone wrong.

I don't really want her to straighten it permanently I think it's great curly; but I sympathise with her wanting to wear it differently sometime & at 17 she can do what she likes but I'm not paying for it

I order it on Amazon now Katy, when I lived in London it was very easy to get.

I have done a lot of research into no Lye relaxers, Brazilian blow dry etc, I concluded that they are all really toxic and terrible for fragile mixed race hair.

I do a really good straightening with GHDs and it lasts 2 weeks. After a few days dd accepts that her hair starts to get curly around the hairline. Then she uses oil to slick it back and has a pony tail or a bun.

Mixed race hair is beautiful in my eyes but it's very simplistic to say embrace the curl. In reality teenage girls straighten and dye their hair. Paint on ridiculous eye brows and wear totally inappropriate clothes. It's no different from that.

I know - I'm not imposing my views I'm supporting her choices (2.5 hrs worth!!)

It's hard as I do think it look amazing curly - but that is high maintenance too!

Eyebrows haven't hit yet apart from neatening & fortunately coloured hair=temporary extensions here (I'll buy them so she doesn't dye it!!

Oh Katymac I wasn't addressing you about the embracing the curl etc.