My First Post-Relaxer Blowout

I decided to get a blowout from a Dominican hair salon sometime in November 2013.  At that point, 6 months had past since my last relaxer and my hair was definitely getting to the point where there was a noticeable demarcation of natural and relaxed hair (I had been wearing braids for pretty much the entire 6-month period and felt it was time for my hair to come out and play).

I've heard everywhere that the trick with transitioning versus doing the big chop (BC) is that transitioners have to choose which hair texture they're going to match--curly or straight.  Since the majority of my hair was still straight, I decided to go straight all the way.  Below are the results:

Day 1:

Not bad.  My hair is practically as straight as when I get a relaxer, BUT I can also tell that my roots are a little fuller than a freshly minted relaxed head.  No harm, no foul. I wrapped my hair in a silk scarf overnight wondering what day 2 held in store.

Day 2:

No, my hair didn't break off to chin length lol--my scarf just happens to be sitting over it.  Forgive the bad photography.  Day 2 hair actually looks much better than my Day 1 hair, in my opinion. After sleeping with a silk scarf and adding a little sheen with Organix Olive Oil Sheen Spray, you really can't tell that the first few inches of my hair is not relaxed. Score!

Day 3:

Welp. Even after repeating the same process (silk scarf and sheen) for day 3, it's getting a little obvious that the first two and a half inches of my hair and the rest of it are really different.

In fact, it continued to "poof up" throughout the day. By the time I got home, I knew I would need to flat iron it before wrapping it up for bed.  I had to do this all the way through Day 7, even though it was practically clear by Day 5 that the blowout was done.

So all in all, pretty high maintenance to keep the top part as straight as the relaxed ends. It's also pricey! I live in Virginia and Dominican hair salons are hard to come by. However, the few that are here charge outrageous prices if they have to deal with a scintilla of natural hair.  By the time I was done (wash, condition, blowdry and flat iron), I paid $70!  That's more than I pay for a relaxer!!!! AND it only really lasted 3 days. :(

So...experiment fail.. It's just not worth:
    1) the price considering the length of results,
    2) the amount of heat I have to use on my hair (anyone who's ever been to a Dominican hair salon knows what I mean...plus the flat ironing I had to do on Days 3 - 7),
    3) the amount of time and dedication.

In conclusion, I probably won't be straightening my hair (at least not professionally) for a while.