Are you tired of frizzy hair or curls that won’t behave? You don’t have to keep your hair tied back to keep it under control; you have another option. Straightening your hair smooths frizz and relaxes curls leaving you with manageable locks. It sounds great, but how do you know which types of hair straightening methods are best for you? What about potential pros and cons?

Ready to straighten your hair but don’t know where to start? Here’s everything you need to know about straightening hair.

Types of Hair Straightening Methods

Each hair straightening method has its best uses, and here’s what you need to know.

Hair Rebonding

The bonds in your hair determine its shape, whether it is straight, wavy or curly. Rebonding uses chemicals and heat to relax and break the bonds down, allowing you to restructure your hair.

It’s a multiple-step process that takes anywhere from three to eight hours for hair rebonding. Longer, thicker hair will take several hours to restructure.

1. Shampoo and dry your hair. Conditioner is not applied during this step.
2. Your hair is divided and sectioned off to ensure each strand is chemically coated.
3. The chemical relaxer is applied and left on for 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Your hair is steamed for 10 to 45 minutes. Thicker hair is steamed longer than shorter styles.
5. The relaxer is shampooed out, and a deep conditioner is applied.
6. Your hair is straightened with a flat iron.
7. A chemical neutralizer is applied to secure the bonds and left on for thirty minutes before rinsing out with cold water.
8. Your hair is dried and re-straightened with a flat iron.

Hair rebonding typically lasts six to seven months. Women with fast-growing hair may need to get their roots touched up every four to six weeks.

Hair Relaxing

Hair relaxing is less expensive than rebonding, and the process only takes one or two hours.