With many of the hair straighteners in toady's market, there are ways to make those curls straight. But with all of the varieties of hair straighteners choosing the right one depends on what you are looking for your straightener to do for your hair.

Learning the steps of full hair straightening can help make a better decision in choosing the right one.

How to Straighten Curly Hair

Straightening curly hair can be done in four easy steps.

1. Wash and condition hair thoroughly. Continue by blow drying your hair. During the blow drying stage, try and take as many of the waves out as possible. This can be done by taking a vented hair brush and the drier and blowing through your locks simultaneously. The hair should be completely dry. Any dampness could cause frizzing.

2. Unless you are dealing with short hair, your hair should be divided into at least four different sections, so your hair does not get in the way of each other. Before you start to section your hair, turn on the straightener. It should be ready and hot for optimal performance.

3. Use a light spray for your hair that protects it from heat styling damage. Make sure to use the product enough, but not too much where it makes the hair heavy or greasy looking. This is an important step, especially if hair straightening becomes routine.

4. Begin straightening hair from the bottom sections and working your way up. When working within the sections, the strands of hair should not be too thick, nor should the width be longer than the straightener. When working with the strands start at the base and slowly run the straightener down the strand of hair at a slow even pace. Once the strand has been completed, do not immediately touch the hair as it will be hoot to handle for a few seconds.

Now it is clear in the process of how to straighten hair, it is time to choose a straightener.

The main points of choosing a straightener are material and hair type.

Materials ? Ceramic, Ionic, Tourmaline and Infrared

Ceramic and Tourmaline are the coatings used on the straighteners hot plates. It is important to note both produce negative ions which enables the hair to smooth and relax.

Ionic straighteners go a step further than ceramic and tourmaline coated straighteners. Hair is positively charged, while the ionic straighteners are negatively charged. The ionic straightener cancels the positive charge in hair not only smoothing and relaxing hair, but also repairing hair.

Infrared straighteners do not hold any special advantage over other materials. The claims are all hype.

Hair Type and Length

The recommended plate size is dependent on hair length. Most people with curly hair have course and thick hair, the length helps determine the plate size.

Long ? 1.5? ? 3?

Medium ? 1.5? ? 2?

Short ? 1.25?

If you are tired of curly hair the right straightener and proper direction can make your curly locks beautiful, straight and long lasting.