Straight Is Latest Hot Hair Look

Over the past few seasons, we've seen hair of every texture, from big and curly to sleek and wavy on some of our favorite celebrities. But these days, there's one trend it seems every female celebrity in Hollywood is embracing: straight, silky, long, sleek, glossy tresses.

How can you get this hair at home without a world of frustration?

The Early Show"s stylist to the stars, David Evangelista, offered a primer Monday.

He says you can get it in your bathroom, with your own tools.

"All it takes," Evangelista remarks, "is a little muscle and a GREAT attitude!"

The first step in getting sleek, straight hair is to "prep" it properly. In order to prep, you're going to need a few key items that will help things go smoothly. They are:

Styling products: "Pick products that say 'smoothing' and 'straightening,' " Evangelista advises. "These are targeted to smooth the cuticle while blow-drying or ironing, and also help in creating shine. I love Phyto Defrisant. Also, shine sprays are great to use after the blow dry, or as you're ironing your hair after you blow-dry."

He advises, "If your hair is curly, unruly, and/or super thick, you might want to think about creating a 'hair care cocktail' by combining two products: the smoothing and straightening products. This can also be done with hair that's not thick/curly or unruly; just use a much smaller amount.

Detangling comb: "I love using this after I put product in hair to help distribute through the cuticle," Evangelista says.

Sectioning clips: "These are going to help 'organize' your hair into sections to promote an even blow-dry or flat iron," Evangelista says. A key as to the amount of hair you should work on each straightening pass: If the heat can't penetrate the entire cuticle, then your hair won't get completely smooth. So the thicker and curlier your hair, the smaller section you should straighten at once.

Once you're ready to style, you have to choose your method: either a hair dryer or a flat iron.

"Straight, sleek, shiny hair can be achieved by either using a blow dryer and /or the right flat iron," Evangelista says. "These tools are imperative to getting 'the look.' If you're going with a blow dryer, choose one that is 1300 watts or more; it will give you the power to whip through your blow dry with power and authority. And, make sure you save and use the nozzle that comes with your blow-dryer. This gives you much more focused control with the air streaming out of the dryer, which will be a huge factor in getting hair perfectly straight as you blow dry."

"Choosing the right flat iron is just as important," Evangelista continues. "If you want perfectly pin-straight hair, you're going to have to use a flat iron. Look for an iron that is both ionic and ceramic, especially if you're going to use the new wet-to-dry irons that are out on the market today. The ionic charges are negative, whereas, in the past, they were positive and sucked all the moisture out of the hair. The negative charges actually seal in the moisture and give that shine, and the iron's ceramic plates protect and smooth the cuticle."

Evangelista demonstrated both procedures, on two models, describing how to section hair and blow-dry it straight, and how to flat-iron hair straight in a way that it doesn't fry.

Blow-drying tips:

Using the nozzle on your hair dryer, direct the dryer straight down the hair shaft on each section. This will prevent hair from frizzing and curling. Use a ceramic round brush to help dry hair straight; it will help hair dry quickly without frizzing.

Once each section of hair is straightened, blast quickly with a shot of "cool" air on the hair dryer; this will lock the cuticle in place and prevent frizzing/curling

Flat-Iron tips:

NEVER flat-iron wet or damp hair UNLESS you're using a wet-to-dry flat iron, which is specifically designed to take hair from wet to dry. If you use a basic flat iron on wet or damp hair, it will fry the cuticle and often cause breakage that is basically irreparable.

When ironing hair, clamp the iron at the root of the hair, and in a smooth, sweeping action, run the iron straight down the cuticle. Don't stop or jerk iron through hair; make each ironing action as long and smooth as possible. Repeat ironing on each section if necessary.

To iron the the back of your hair, make a middle back part and flop each side over your shoulders. You'll be able to see what you're doing, and you'll be more able to control the iron by pulling hair from the back of your head to the side of the front instead of trying to run an iron down the back of your head.

If you have an adjustable temp iron, don't max out the heat. If you have fine hair, 250 degrees is all you need, if your hair is coarser or curlier, you could pump up the heat a little more.