Straightening hair.

• Straightening: A strong chemical, usually sodium hydroxide, is applied tot he hair and combed through. The hair is forced to remain straight with the wait of the chemical and the combing. The hair is then rinsed of its straightener and neutralized to maintain its desired shape - straight. My brother does this. hehe Don't tell him I told you.
• Relaxing/Relaxer: Normally people think of a relaxer as a straightener but there is a difference. A relaxer can be used to straighten, reduce frizz or for smoothing out curls. It doesn't necessarily mean to completely straighten the hair.
• Texturizing/Chemical Blowout: A relaxer is comb through the hair and left in briefly to loosen the curl pattern. The hair is straightened slightly which makes it appear longer and improves manageability.
• Soft Curl Perm: This is a two-part styling process using a thio-type relaxer to reshape the hairs natural curl. The relaxer is applied and the hair is combed straight making it flexible and more manageable. Then the hair is rinsed and rolled onto perm rods to create a new curl pattern. The thio relaxer is reapplied and and the hair rinsed yet again and neutralized allowing the hair to assume the shape of the rods. Thus, creating a new curl.