Haircutter to the stars and professional stand-up comedienne LeMaire keeps you on the "cutting edge" of looking your best.
Summertime and my hair is easy? Yeah right! Is it summertime or bummertime for your hair? So, is your hair is acting like a wayward toddler, exhausting you from trying to make it behave? Is your hair teen rebellious, making new life choices like Miley Cyrus in her new music video, claiming, "I can't be tamed"? Your mane can't be tamed, whaaat?
Maybe what you need is to go on a hair quest. But you want to go about it in the "green" way...meaning nothing toxic on the skull or tresses… with no formaldehyde...
I have the answer for you: The Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment!
What exactly is The Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment? When I first heard of getting a "Brazilian Hair Treatment" I thought it was for the other area downstairs, AKA pulling up the carpet, going bald eagle...but I later found out it was for the hair on one's head, the drapes. But then I thought - mmmhhh, not into the “dome is beautiful” look, having my head look like a red Uakari Monkey, yikes!
But you get to keep all your hair; it just straightens it out without harmful, scary, damaging chemicals...whew!
I thought, I need to find a Kougar friend who would go on this hair journey so I could report on it and, ta-da, Nancy the Attorney said she'd do it, for me, for Kougars prowling all over the world looking for a hair haven, a refuge from summertime's nasty word HUMIDITY! It's hard to escape its crippling effects on wavy, curly, or naturally frizzy hair.
In the Summertime, we all want to get our sexy on, but with summer humidity fighting and winning, it's a losing battle trying to have a soft, silky look. The wavy, curly haired Kougars start out looking like they belong in a TRESemmé commercial, but within minutes of humidity contamination, their hair can turn into this Jiffy Pop "don't!"
What the product is...
Brazilian Keratin is a revolutionary treatment for all kinds of hair. This is an intense treatment that leaves hair soft, shiny, and frizz free. These hair products do not use strong chemicals to open and close the hair cuticle in an effort to straighten it, "breaking the bones" of the hair shaft. Keratin is a natural substance which comprises approximately 88% of the hair. Brazilian Keratin penetrates the hair, repairing internal damage, and coats the hair, preventing further damage. The results are soft, shiny, straight hair.
At first Nancy was skeptically resistant. She has been a "Hair Hater" since I have known her. Yes, she hated her own hair…big on wearing hats, buns, and tons of products. Either her hair was frizzy, or flyaway and flat …not a good combo platter. Plus, she claims she is inept when it comes to her own hair.
She would say, "I am Armenian. We have curly hair that takes over our lives...hair without borders.”
Other methods of straightening she tried were time bandits, broken promises, and, to keep it up, she would have to win the lottery. She was left with kinky roots with pin straight, but limp, ends -- like having two different people's hair on her head at war with each other.
I begged her for a year to do it and, after she finally surrendered, it did change the course of her hair, forever. I found a trusty mutual hair person friend who was dating Nancy's colorist to do the deed.
Here are the steps.
Day 1: Her hair was washed with a special clarifying shampoo to open up the pores to allow the product to penetrate every strand deeply. Now, that's a thorough shampoo; however, after two shampoos, her hair felt and looked like a used Brillo pad. We were both stunned. The stylist then was miraculously able to brush though it as she blew Nancy's mangled-looking hair dry. After that procedure, she applied the Keratin recipe. After every single strand was meticulously and carefully coated, Nancy sat with this mysterious product on her head for 20 minutes. I witnessed terror on Nancy's face. The timer went off and Nancy was ushered back to the stylist’s chair, where her hair was then blown dry in sections once again to seal in the treatment. Next, the stylist straightened every strand with a straightening iron. This whole process took around three hours. It was an eternity for us.
At last it was over, and her hair was smooth, silky and STRAIGHT. She started to weep tears of joy. Then came a list of instructions of what Nancy had to do to preserve this new amazing look:
1. Use only a specific type of shampoo that does not contain sodium.
2. Keep the hair absolutely straight until she washed it, meaning no clips, no headbands, no rubber bands, no glasses, no sunglasses, no buns or twisty things, no putting behind her ears. Do nothing that will put a crease or dent in the hair.
3. DON'T get hair wet for four days. That means no rain, no sweating girls... no exercise, probably no sweaty sex (bummer), no showers, mmmhhh, that's a little ripe...
This new look cost her $250, but it can go as low as $150 up to $350.
Day 2: Nancy's hair looked like a shorter version of Demi Moore’s. She fell in love with her hair for the very first time.
Day 3: She called me in a panic and that is so unlike her. She is naturally calm and collected; I mean, she's an attorney for cryin' out loud. Never flustered or nervous, she was upset that her hair was so flat and clinging to her head. Since it had been three days since she washed it, it looked like it was painted on her head. She would not go out, even to the grocery store. She spoke to me through the peephole at her front door until I promised her I wouldn't laugh...I didn't.
Day 4: She felt she looked like a homeless woman. Her hair was oily and more plastered on her head. Since she could not exercise, she started to eat; she could not shower, she started to reek. But her hair was still straight, and that made her forget her present lookage.
Day 5: Finally she was permitted to wash her hair...she was overjoyed! She darted into the shower and washed her whole situation...head to toe...she could not wait to see, after her cleansing, the results of the BKHT. The stylist told her she didn't need a brush, just use a blow dryer. Instead of the hour it normally would take to blow dry her hair -- and most of the time she would sweat while blowing it dry and that made it take twice as long -- it only took 7 minutes. She was beyond hooked for life.
So far, so good. It's only been four weeks, and sometimes she doesn't even blow dry her hair at all. She just washes it, lets it dry, and bingo, it dries perfectly every time. She was told that it lasts about three to four months and, when her roots get frizzy or react to humidity, to come back and have this process done again. This product allows you to use curling tools if ya miss your curls without the frizz, though...
Next time Nancy is going to prepare for the house arrest, with not a lot of food in the fridge, movies to watch, and good books to read. But we have heard of a new way that takes only 25 hours versus the 5 days. It's formulated specifically for damaged, chemically treated, and dry hair to eliminate frizz and out of control hair. We also found out that the stylist and Nancy will be wearing a protective mask because there are traces of chemicals some people have had a slight allergic reaction to.
I want to stress it is important to go to licensed hair care professionals who have been trained and have knowledge of this product and how to apply it. They must be savvy enough to know that the solution must not come in contact with the skin. Always make sure the product they are using is formaldehyde-free. It's your right to inquire what's about to be put on your head. Some of the formaldehyde-free products are...
Simply Smooth Keratin Treatment Global Keratin Brazilian Blowout
These newer products allow you to wash your hair immediately after the process and still get the favorable results. It may not last as long, like 12 weeks, but it is safer. Always ask to read the labels of straightening products to see if you are allergic or want that on your head. There's a lot of black market stuff out there that is sketchy and you don't want to take any chances. Take precautions; you are the steward of your hair. Be really careful if you are pregnant. Duh!
No more summertime blues, but a new you!
*Pictures of hair before and after BKHT c/o straightenmyhair.com