Hair Smoothening and Straightening: Benefits, Risks, and Results

Tired of frizzy hair? Confused about which one is better, hair smoothening or hair straightening? 

Don’t you worry because we’ve got you!

In this article, we will be discussing the various benefits, risks, and results of hair smoothening and hair straightening. Read on to know which one is the right choice for you!

What Is Hair Straightening?

Hair straightening is the process of giving your hair a sleek and shiny look, it is of two types- temporary and permanent. Temporary hair straightening includes a do-at-home solution for frizzy hair where you straighten your hair with a hair straightener easily available on the market. You must apply a heat protectant, a hair serum, to your hair before exposing it to he

Looking for the perfect hair protectant? Keratin discipline- Spray Fluidissime by Envi is the perfect choice for you and here’s how. It contains the Morpho-Keratine formula which leaves your hair frizz-free. It has dual advantages which include superior frizz control and heat protection. 

If you don’t have a hair straightener at home, you can also get temporary hair straightening done from the salon at a low price depending on the various price lists offered by various salons. When you straighten your hair temporarily, it will go back to its normal structure after you’ve washed it a couple of times. 

Permanent hair straightening includes using various chemicals to break the natural bonds of your hair and form new bonds which are sealed with the help of heat. These bonds are fixed in the end by applying more chemicals. Here a different straightener is used from the one you use to straighten your hair temporarily. These alkaline straighteners are used that contain calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and lithium hydroxide. 

The objective of permanent hair straightening is to relax the natural bonds of your hair to make it manageable for you by decreasing the frizz and split ends. There are several treatments that you can get to straighten your hair permanently, these include keratin treatment, cysteine treatment, and olaplex. 

Keratin treatment is the most popular treatment nowadays. This is because where the other treatment takes away keratin from your hair, this one basically supplies your hair with keratin but still uses the same process that is used in the other treatments.  

Pro-Keratin Treatment by Envi Salon is exactly suited to your needs if you are someone who is thinking of going for permanent hair straightening. It is a luxurious experience that will leave your silky smooth and straight. Their cutting-edge method with the use of premium keratin by their trained stylists will give you your glorious hair back. 

All of these treatments that have been mentioned above keep your hair straightened for a longer period ranging from a few weeks to 3-5 months depending on the method you choose. The pricing of these treatments also goes on the expensive side as it starts from 3000 and goes up to 10,000 at least, depending on the various salons and their price lists. 

Hair Straightening Benefits

There are various benefits of hair straightening whether it is temporary or permanent.

When you get temporary hair straightening done, it doesn’t last that long, which means you can go back to your natural hairstyle after 2-3 days. It goes back to that after a hair wash or two. Temporary hair straightening has less damaging effects on your hair than permanent hair straightening.

You need to be cautious though, with temporary hair straightening, apply a heat protectant because no matter in what form heat does damage your hair to a certain extent. This is also a very fast-track method to fix the frizz, you can get done with it within 30 minutes to one hour depending on the density of your hair. 

With Permanent hair straightening you get the advantage of fixing your hair and forgetting about any further efforts to do it for 3-5 months. This is mostly opted by people who have curly hair or extremely frizzy hair. You have to take care of your hair a bit differently after you get any of the treatments done to give your hair the strength back. 

No matter what your hair type is you can straighten your hair or get it straightened as you like. 

Risks of Hair Straightening

• Hair straightening treatments do cause damage to your scalp since they you certain chemicals that can burn your scalp if not used properly, it can even damage your hair if used incorrectly.
  
• There is a risk of exposure to carcinogenic gases which all hair straighteners pose. These gases might be inhaled while you get your hair straightened. 
  
• There are certain cautions that you might have to keep in mind if you have got your hair straightened, like not using water or tying ponytails for the first three days.
  
• These treatments are not suitable for people who have damaged or super thin hair because then these treatments might cause hair thinning, damage, split ends, and other hair nightmares that you were afraid might come true. 
  
• There is a risk of your hair not returning to the original condition after the effect of these treatments washes out, they might be more prone to hair damage than ever after the effect wares out.
  
• Another con of getting a treatment done is that you can’t undo it once, you have already gone through it, and you will have to live with it for at least a few months now. 

What is Hair Smoothening?

Hair smoothening is a temporary procedure that you can go through to make your frizz-free. A solution is applied to your hair which saturates it and eventually leaves it straight and frizz-free. This procedure uses formaldehyde, which breaks the already existing bonds of your hair. This breaks the hydrogen bonds of keratin molecules in your hair. 

The objective of hair smoothening is to soften your hair and make it more manageable for you, leaving it frizz-free, similar to hair straightening. Unlike hair straightening, hair smoothening focuses on improving overall hair health and bringing shine to your hair. After all of this, it still maintains the natural movement and volume of your hair to a certain extent. 

Hair smoothening occurs in four steps- firstly when you visit a salon for your hair smoothening the hair stylist will first wash your hair with a deep cleansing shampoo, then apply a straightening solution to your hair, after that, the hair stylist will blow dry your hair, along with rigorously straightening it. Then they create a waterproof seal in your hair that looks the straightened hair for 3-5 months. 

When the heat is applied to your hair, it rearranges the keratin in your hair, and that is what keeps your hair straight and shiny. Even though chemicals are applied to your scalp during hair smoothening, they are not as harsh as the ones used in hair straightening which makes it a better alternative for hair straightening. You should only begin with this procedure if your hair is wavy or frizzy. 

Envi offers you a luxurious experience with its Cysteine Complex Intense Smoothening. This treatment is for those who are seeking a profound transformation. During this treatment, each strand of your hair is infused with potent nutrients and cysteine complex. This treatment strengthens your hair and makes them look smooth and shiny. So if you are someone who is looking to get your hair a smooth and shiny look, this is your way to go.

Hair Smoothening Benefits

Hair smoothening causes less damage to your hair than hair straightening. It can help in the restoration of your damaged hair. If you are someone who has gotten your hair colored or straightened a lot recently and you are noticing hair damage without repair, you can get your hair smoothened. It helps you get back that shine which I now lost because of the other procedures. 

Smoothening does require chemicals to your hair, but these chemicals seal the broken ends of your hair and smoothen your cuticle. Then the very obvious benefit of hair smoothening is getting manageable and smooth hair for a long period. You’ll be able to produce smooth, sleek, and shiny hairstyles any time of the day without worrying about frizz. 

Your hair will also get an appearance of being smooth and healthy, which is again an advantage of hair smoothening. But to maintain your smoothened hair and avoid damaged hair scalp you have to take care of certain things. You should not expose your hair to any amount of heat, secondly, you should not over-wash your hair, this would deprive your hair of the natural oils and ultimately leave it very dry and frizzy. It is also extremely important to maintain the moisture in your hair by applying a conditioner or a hair serum. Both of these products are applied at the lengths of your hair and not your roots because then it would make your roots greasy. 

Risks of Hair Smoothening

• Hair smoothening can cause increased hair fall. Applying chemicals directly to your scalp can cause the weakening of your hair follicles which will ultimately result in the detaching of your hair from your scalp. It can be a sign of deteriorating hair health as well. 
  
• This procedure can also cause skin damage. This is because of the chemicals used in the procedure, their contact with your skin can cause blisters and rashes on your face, neck, and even the scalp. Formaldehyde can cause itchiness, coarseness, and redness on your skin. 
  
• Because of the same chemicals, the natural texture of your hair might be lost. Once the effect of the procedure wears out, your hair might not return to its original texture. The already existing bonds in your hair of amino acids and disulfide bonds are broken and then new bonds are formed to make your hair look sleek and shiny but the old ones are nowhere to be seen now. 
  
• After you’ve washed your hair a few times, you might start experiencing dryness in your hair because the chemicals used change the hair texture from the roots to the tip of your hair, it can also cause flaky scalp again because of the contact with the chemicals. It can make your hair brittle as well but you can improve that by oiling your hair regularly. 
  
• Because of the exposure to high temperatures, your hair can get split ends. The heat extracts moisture from your hair and weakens it. 
  
• Dandruff is also another side effect of the hair smoothening process. After you have gone through the process, some residue of the chemicals remains after it has ended and this residue comes together to cause dandruff and flaky skin on the scalp. This can cause itchiness, greasiness, and hair fall as well. 

All of these side effects are subjective to the type of your hair. If you have extremely thin hair, you should avoid exposing it to heat. This was the basic information regarding the risks involved in going through hair smoothening. If you are someone looking for more details and our planning to get your hair smoothened you can look through our site Envi Salon and book an appointment now!

Hair Smoothening And Hair Straightening

So how do you choose between hair straightening and hair smoothening? Hair smoothening is a milder treatment that will help you reduce the frizz in your hair and leave your hair shiny and straight while on the other hand hair straightening is an intense process that includes a lot more chemicals than hair smoothening. In the end, the choice between these two is yours, if you have fine and thin hair, you should go ahead with hair smoothening since it causes less damage and your hair is already weak. On the other hand, if you have thick or curly hair, you can go ahead with hair straightening because your hair will be able to bear it.

Wrapping it Up!

In conclusion, only you know what would suit your hair the best, and looking for new styles for your hair causes no harm. Now it is for you to decide, hair straightening vs hair smoothening, which one do you think would pass the hair care test? 

There are a few frequently asked questions answered below:

Is smoothening healthy for hair?

Hair smoothening is less damaging for your hair than hair straightening. However, overdoing the keratin treatment or a lack of post-treatment hair care can make your hair frizzier after the treatment. The best feature of this treatment is that it can be done on already chemically retreated hair.

Which hair treatment is best?

Protein-based hair treatment is good for hair that is dry and prone to hair fall because it helps strengthen your hair. On the other hand, hair treatments are moisturizing, and hydrating hair treatments are good for hair that has dry ends and also for people who color their hair regularly.

Can I oil my hair after smoothening? 

Do not oil your hair after hair smoothening for at least 10-12 days. But after that start oiling your hair regularly to provide the hair with the moisture that it lost during the treatment. You can apply any oil such as almond oil, tea tree oil, onion, or coconut oil. It will also provide the hair with the protein that it lost. 

What not to do after hair smoothening?

Some things can ruin your treatment faster than it is meant to. These things include salt water, sulfates, excessive sweating which causes salt to settle in hair, hair coloring, or bleaching. For maintaining the same shine of your hair for as long as possible you must be cautious after the treatment.

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