Difference Between Hair Straightening And Hair Smoothing

Women love their hair. For most women, hair is an important part of their beauty. Women all over the world like to get beautiful and shiny hair. These days, there is a craze for silky and straight hair. With all women on the internet having silky and smooth hair, everyone wants to have the same hair. But this wish comes with a question about what to choose? Straightening your hair at home or getting hair smoothening done? So what is the difference between hair straightening and hair smoothing? If you know this, choosing will surely become easy.

You are beautiful the way you are. Women with curly hair look good. But, with the going on-craze everyone wants to have that silky and straight hair. The best part about silky and smooth hair is that it looks glossy and it is very easy to maintain.

Curly hair looks beautiful but it needs regular combing, oiling, and proper maintenance. For a busy woman, it can be quite challenging to take care of curly hair.

 

 

Thus, to get silky and smooth hair, two major processes are in fashion these days. These two processes include:

• Hair straightening
• Hair smoothening

Both these processes can be helpful in transforming the structure of your hair. Thus, your hair looks manageable. While both these hair transformations have the same basic purpose, there is a difference between both these processes. In this article, we will try to discover the major difference between both these processes.

Difference Between Hair Straightening and Hair Smoothing

What is hair straightening?

The concept of hair straightening came much before the process of hair smoothening. The first technique of hair straightening was tried on African hair. Initially, the main purpose of hair straightening was to make the coarse hair manageable. But, this process became a major trend all over the world.

There are two major types of hair straightening process:

 

 

• Permanent hair straightening: Permanent hair straightening is a procedure in which the entire structure of your hair and its follicles are altered. Using this process, you will get pin-straight hair. The process makes use of the chemical relaxers. Thus, the process breaks the bond between your hair shaft. Heat is used to restructure your hair. After that additional chemicals are used to seal the new bonds of the hair. The alkaline agent present in the chemical is helpful in breaking the keratin bonds and it straightens and smoothens the hair.

 

• Temporary hair straightening: The temporary hair straightening is done by using simple styling tools and equipment. Thus, hair straightener and straight combing are used to get temporary hair straightening. Under this process, the cohesive and adhesive forces work together to keep the hair fibres parallel. The straight hair you will get this process may last for a day and you will be back to its structure after hair wash.

Benefits of hair straightening

The best part about the hair straightening process is that it can work for people with any hair type. Depending on the texture of the hair, the process may need to be repeated. The only thing that you need to be careful of is to know that the permanent hair straightening process uses hydroxides and thioglycolate and it is not compatible with bleached hair.

Disadvantages of hair straightening

 

 

1. The chemical relaxers used in hair straightening if it touches your skin can burn your scalp. Thus, different precautions are taken before the application of the relaxers.
2. The wrong technique of hair straightening can impact your look and you may not be able to reverse your look in case of permanent straightening.
3. Hair straightening leads to swelling up of hair fibres, Thus, the swelling up of the fibres and the opening of the cuticle can make your hair susceptible to friction. So, the strength, as well as the resistance of your hair, may get harmed/
4. You may also face issues like frizzy hair, dry hair, loss of hair, and split ends because of hair straightening.

Getting clear with the difference between hair straightening and hair smoothening or not?

What is hair smoothening?

 

 

Hair smoothening is a temporary process that may also be considered by people who don’t want straight hair permanently. Under this process, the hair is saturated with formaldehyde solution. After that, it is dried out and a flat iron locks the hair in a straight position. The use of chemicals in the smoothening process is not as harsh as the use of the chemicals in permanent hair straightening. Thus, there are fewer chances of hair damage in this case.

Benefits of hair smoothening

The biggest benefit of hair smoothening is that you don’t have to get stuck with a single hairstyle for all your life. You can change your hairstyle anytime you want. The effect of hair smoothening lasts for a maximum of two to five months. The smoothening process does not alter the structure of your hair too much. You will get the benefit of better alignment for your hair when you use this procedure.

Disadvantages of hair smoothening

 

 

1. When formaldehyde is used in the hair straightening process, it can cause burning off eyes, and string and unbearable smell. But these days, methylene glycol is used for hair straightening. So, you may not face this issue anymore.
2. Formaldehyde releasers have reactions like eye problems and nervous system issues. Thus, it is important to be aware of these issues if you want the hair smoothening procedure for your hair.
3. Excess use of heat for hair smoothening can also damage your hair severely.

The Conclusion

Hopefully, the difference between hair straightening and hair smoothening is clear now. Both these procedures of hair smoothening and hair straightening have lots of pros and cons. And it is important for you to weigh down the pros and cons before you choose the procedure. No matter which procedure you choose, you will have to take care of your hair upkeep. Before making the final judgement, you need to ask yourself a few questions like:

• Do you want straight hair temporarily or on a permanent basis?
• Will you be able to take care of the hair after smoothening
• Do you want pin-straight hair or you want to have a bit natural look?
• Do you want to get rid of frizziness out of your hair or your main goal is to get straight hair.

Straightening of hair is a big step. Thus, make your choice wisely. Let us know if you want to get more details.

Also Read:

• How To Use Banana For Hair Straightening?
• Six Simple & Natural Ways to Straighten Your Hair at Home Effectively