I am a man with extremely tight curls. Individual hairs look like corkscrews and are flat rather than round. African hair forms flat spirals, which is not like mine - I know, I had an African flatmate once. I have no African ancestors but this runs in the family. A cousin who has identical hair had hers straightened on a hot humid day and the treatment only lasted a few hours. Neither I, my mother nor two of my cousins have ever had a decent hairstyle because of this and it looks as if it's going into the next generation. Help?