- Your hair will return to normal within 2 to 6 months after straightening.
- This will depend on the type of straightening you’ve done (permanent or progressive).
- It will also depend on the amount of straightening you’ve done over the last year.
- Incidentally, straightened hair will take longer to go back to normal if you take care of it with the right products.
- Also, having fine or thick hair means that the straightened hair will return to its natural shape either sooner or later.
Have you had your hair straightened and would like your hair to stay this beautiful forever?
Maybe you were wondering when you should have it done again so you can plan your next hair salon visit.
Or perhaps you don’t like the way it looks and can’t wait for your straightened hair to go back to normal.
Like everything in life, nothing lasts forever.
And this famous saying certainly applies to straightening.
The effect lasts between 2 and 6 months and then goes back to normal.In this article, I’ll tell you in detail how long it takes for progressive straightening and permanent straightening to go back to normal. We’ll also see what other factors influence how long your hair takes to return to its natural state.
Progressive straightening: your hair goes back to normal after 3 to 4 months
As I said before, progressive straightening “progressively smoothes” your hair without damaging the inner layer.
Each treatment you have creates an outer layer on each strand, so after 3 or 4 months the hair recovers its structure and goes back to normal.
But that’s not the whole story.
If you do progressive straightening for years, it won’t be so easy to get your hair back to its natural state. Why? Because the straightening will have created thousands and thousands of layers. Just imagine!
What if I want it to go back to normal?
In this case, if you want your hair to go back to normal, you may need to cut the straightened hair little by little.
And don’t forget to incorporate moisturizing, nourishing, and repairing treatments.
Permanent straightening: your hair will only return to normal if you cut it
Permanent straightening is not a recommended treatment. In fact, I don’t even do it in my hair salon.
Permanent straightening straightens by breaking the chemical bonds that give the hair its structure and make it “permanent”. In other words, the hair never goes back to normal. Never?
Never. And if that wasn’t bad enough, once the straightening effect wears off, the hair will become dull, lifeless, dry, and straw-like. It can even start to break, so I don’t see the point of doing that treatment. Do you?
Well, if you’ve already chosen to get a permanent straightening, the only way to get your hair back to its natural state is to cut it and let it grow out.
What factors cause straightened hair to take a longer or shorter time to go back to normal?
- Straightening for several years makes the hair take longer to return to normal.
- Using a shampoo with sulfates makes the straightening last for less or return to its natural state faster, because the sulfates “sweep” the product away.
- Having very fine hair means going back to your natural hair after straightening won’t be easy.
3 tips to get your straightened hair back to normal faster
If you really can’t wait to get your straightened hair back to normal, here are some tips to speed up the process (only for progressive straightening):
- Washing your hair with shampoo that contains sulfates is a good option to sweep away the treatment faster, although this isn’t the healthiest option.
Anyway, fear not, shampoos with sulfates aren’t that bad.
- Water isn’t an ally of smoothing, especially seawater and water with a lot of chlorine content, such as pool water.
So, if you’re near the sea or a pool, go for a swim! This will help your straightened hair get back to normal quicker .
- The straighteners are thermo-active treatments, meaning that they’re activated by heat . So if you don’t apply heat to your hair (with a hair dryer or straightener) the treatment will soon lose its effect.
It’s essential during this transition that you take care of your hair’s health so it won’t break and will continue to look shiny and silky. How can you achieve this?
With moisturizing, nourishing, and repairing treatments.
For instance, you can use coconut oil before going to bed and cut your ends every month.
Conclusion: it won’t be fast, but your straightened hair will go back to normal
As we’ve seen, the time needed for your hair to go back to normal after straightening is not exact. It will depend on all the factors I told you about in this article.
Either way, be patient and you’ll get your hair back to its natural shape , which, in my opinion, is always best.
