How to Straighten Your Hair at Home

Many people use hair irons to straighten their curly, wavy, or frizzy tresses, but such direct exposure to intense heat can burn the hair, making it rough and dry over repeated use. Plus, the straightening effect starts to wane after some time and is completely gone after you wash your hair.

A more permanent solution is to go for chemical straightening, which lasts months, that is, until the treated hair grows out, but it can be quite expensive.

The chemicals used in this process are highly toxic and dry out and damage the hair, gradually making it frizzier than before. (1) They get absorbed into the scalp and damage the hair follicles, hampering the speed and quality of new hair growth. Moreover, breathing in these chemicals can increase your cancer risk.

Therefore, both these hair straightening techniques are more damaging than helpful in the long run. Fortunately, safer options are available that use natural ingredients instead of heat or chemicals to straighten the hair.

Remedies to Get Straight Hair

Here are some natural ways to straighten your hair:

1. Hot oil treatments

Regularly massaging your hair with warm oil can help make it softer, smoother, shinier, and straighter over time.

Heating the oil makes it thinner, allowing it to permeate much more easily into the hair strands. Plus, the warmth of the oil expands the hair strand so that it can better absorb the oil and its nutrients, nearly 30%–40% percent more than normal oil application without heat.

This simple regimen helps nourish, hydrate, and repair your dry damaged hair. Well-oiled hair absorbs less moisture from the environment, preventing frizz. (2)

Coconut oil, olive oil, almond oil, and sesame oil are the best options for hot oil treatment.

How to use:

1. Warm your preferred oil in a microwave for about 20 seconds.
2. Massage the oil into your scalp and apply it to your hair, from the roots to the tips.
3. Gently run a comb through your hair to undo any knots and evenly distribute the oil all over.
4. Wrap a hot wet towel around your head for 30–40 minutes.
5. Wash your hair and scalp with mild shampoo and plain water.
6. Use a wide-toothed comb to gently detangle your hair while it is still damp (but not soaking wet).
7. Let your hair air-dry.

2. Castor oil and soybean oil

Castor oil is good for frizz control, while soybean oil can naturally straighten your tresses to a certain degree.  

How to use:

1. Mix 2 tablespoons of castor oil with 1 tablespoon of soybean oil.
2. Heat the oil blend in a pan or microwave until it is comfortably warm (safe for application). This will make the oil looser and less viscous, thus easier to apply and be absorbed.
3. Use your fingers to apply the warm oil to your hair and massage it into the scalp. Your hair should get adequately saturated with the oil but without becoming too greasy.
4. Wrap a warm damp towel over your hair and wait for 30 minutes. The gentle heat from the towel will help open up the hair follicles and cuticles for the oil to seep in properly.
5. Rinse out the oil with a mild shampoo and plain water.
6. Gently detangle and straighten your hair with a wide-toothed comb while it is still moist.
7. Let your hair dry on its own rather than using a towel because the friction can make it dry and frizzy.

3. Eggs and olive oil

Eggs are rich in protein, (3) which is the main component of hair. This simple kitchen ingredient can add strength to your hair and help repair the damage it has undergone.

Olive oil is a nourishing emollient for the hair. It contains squalene, oleic acid, and palmitic acid, which form a thick layer over the strands to seal in the moisture and keep your hair soft, smooth, and conditioned for longer. (4)

How to use:

1. Whisk an egg in a bowl.
2. Mix in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Wash your hair with water.
4. Use your fingers to apply the mixture to your hair while it is still wet, working from the roots to the ends.
5. Tie your hair up in a bun and cover it with a shower cap if you want to.
6. Leave the mixture in your hair for about 15–20 minutes.
7. Wash your hair and scalp with your regular shampoo and cool water. 

Tips:

1. Eggs add protein to your hair, but they may not make your hair completely straight.
2. People with dry or brittle hair should only apply egg yolks, whereas those with greasy hair should only use egg whites.
3. Don’t use hot water to wash your hair as it will only dry it out further.
4. Don’t apply an egg hair treatment more than once a month.

4. Coconut milk

Coconut milk is full of fatty acids that not only impart moisture to your dry, frizzy hair but also lock it in. It also contains vitamin E (5) and protein that help strengthen and repair your hair.

All in all, it conditions and nourishes your unruly tresses to render them silkier and straighter than before. However, this remedy only works on slightly wavy hair but not on kinky or very curly hair.

How to use:

1. Pour ½ cup of coconut milk and the same amount of water into an empty spray bottle. If you are out of coconut milk, you can use cow’s milk or almond milk instead.
2. Give the bottle a good shake so that all the ingredients blend well.
3. Add 1 tablespoon of honey into the bottle and shake it again.
4. Spray the solution onto your hair, from the roots to the ends.
5. Use your fingers to massage the solution into your scalp.
6. Comb your hair straight.
7. Leave the solution in your hair for 30 minutes. You can wear a shower cap or put a towel around your shoulders while you wait to prevent the solution from dripping on you.
8. Wash your hair and scalp with cold water.
9. Comb your hair and wait for it to dry on its own. If you are in a hurry, use a blow-dryer, but this is best avoided because the heat can further damage your hair.

5. Fuller’s earth

Fuller’s earth works as a natural conditioner that can help straighten your hair to some extent. It works on both dry and greasy hair.

How to use:

1. Mix 1 cup of fuller’s earth with 5 teaspoons of rice flour.
2. Blend an egg white into the mixture to make a smooth paste.
3. You can also add rose water or glycerin to the mixture for extra hair smoothening, but this is completely optional.
4. Apply the paste to the lengths of your hair.
5. Wait for 5–10 minutes and then slowly comb your hair straight.
6. Leave the mud pack on for 10 minutes or more if you have longer, frizzier, or rougher hair.
7. Rinse the mud pack out of your hair with water (and mild shampoo if needed), but do it gently to avoid breakage.
8. Let your hair air-dry.

6. Celery leaves

Celery leaves help condition the hair, making it straighter than before.

How to use:

1. Wash a bunch of celery leaves and chop them.
2. Blend the chopped leaves along with a little water.
3. Strain the liquid through a muslin cloth.
4. Pour it into a spray bottle and keep it aside for 2 days.
5. Spray the liquid across the length of your hair. Use a wide-toothed comb to spread it all over your hair and scalp.
6. Massage it in for a couple of minutes, and then put on a shower cap to cover your head and avoid dripping.
7. Wait for 30 minutes before washing your hair with mild shampoo and water.
8. Apply conditioner thereafter followed by a final hair wash.
9. Gently detangle and straighten your hair with a comb while it is still moist.
10. Let your hair air-dry.

Final Word

The above-listed remedies are safer and cheaper alternatives to heating tools and chemical treatments that are traditionally used for hair straightening. They will not make your hair very straight, but they will definitely make it smoother, softer, and straighter than before.

The trick is to use them consistently, at least twice or thrice a week to retain the straightening effect for a long time. Using natural ingredients for hair straightening is a win-win.

If nothing else, it ends up nourishing and hydrating your hair to make it healthier. They may take longer to work, but they spare you the hair damage caused by the other methods.