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Post by AF Beauty

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Beauty, as you all know is not just about the goo that you apply to your face and body. It covers everything from the tips of your toes to the top of your head. In this post I’m going north to my locks.

Like most people, I wish for the hair I’ve not got. I am lucky in some respects, I have a full head of hair on my head that isn’t in too bad condition. (a particularly impressive outcome since I’ve been dying my hair since about 1988) BUT, it is neither curly nor straight. I have a forehead that could display widescreen movies. I am, underneath many layers of dye, grey, revealing my age to anyone (un)lucky enough to see a grey hair, or million, reflecting in the sunlight.

Keratin Hair Straightening

*Hair*way to Heaven

I am probably my hairdresser’s worst customer. He diligently and reliably colours and cuts my hair every couple of months or so. I leave looking like wonder woman (in the hair department at least), until I turn the corner from his street and tie my hair up, out of sight, where he won’t see his beautiful blow dry wasted! This is where it stays, save washing, until I walk back into the hairdresser 8 weeks later. In an effort to persuade me to let my locks loose, he has been talking up keratin treatments at the cost of a small mortgage, promising easy to care for, smooth, quick drying hair that would be easy to manage and I could wear loose. Also known as Brazilian Blow Dry, Permanent Blow Dry and Keratin Hair Straightening.
Eventually, after reading a random beauty article which mentioned “permanent blow dry” and how evangelical this person was about it, a big call when celebs could easily call out botox or fillers as their best beauty treatment. I gave in and called the hairdresser to get the treatment.

YouTube

The keratin treatment process is: Wash Hair, Apply Keratin Product, Apply Clingwrap, leave for period of time, remove Clingwrap, dry hair (with product still on), straighten hair with extra hot hair straighteners to embed product, part with small fortune, wait three days without tying back hair or washing it, straighten twice a day, wash after 72 hours and reveal smoothed and gorgeous hair.

Pixabay

Broadly, this is how it happened for me. The 72 hours of having claggy dirty (with product, not dirt) hair for three days that I couldn’t tie back was my own special hell. That first wash was heaven. Now, having had the treatment in for two weeks I can tell you, it is smoother than it used to be. And I do think it dries slightly quicker, but I’ve never been the type of person to religiously dry my hair, so the benefit (to me) is small.

Is it worth the small fortune I paid…? Right now, probably not. Being wavy curly, keratin did not straighten my hair – and I did know that in advance, but when blow dried, it is straighter than usual, and less frizzy, which is good.

Flickr

The treatment is due to last between 3-6 months depending on washing frequency and aftercare – I have to avoid certain activities (swimming in salty water) and must use certain (sulphate free) shampoo products. I will update you more in a few months time.