(i promise i’ll do an update on my last post soon, but in the meantime, this one has been sitting in my drafts folder for months, so it’s time!)

when i dove back into my twitter stream in december after my little island adventure which was survivor, one of the things people were talking about something called a brazilian blow-out. as you might imagine, “uhm, excuse me?”,  was my first response.

then i started reading the tweets. no, they weren’t talking about  anything pornographic, what  was under discussion, was a relatively new treatment for de-frizzing curly hair without making it lose it’s curl. as someone who’s spent a life-time in pursuit of not always looking like an exploded coir mattress towed backward through a briar patch, my interest was immediately piqued. i googled and tried to get as much information as i could.

in the last decade the ghd hair straightener has been de rigeur in hollywood. that, along with the japanese method of hair straightening which leaves one’s hair irreparably straight could be seen on every second starlet. but i’ve never had a problem with my curl. what i’ve not been a fan of, is the frizz. from my research, it seemed that this new treatment was just the thing for me.

our hairdresser at work put me in touch with kim and sharon from global keratin and they agreed to sponsor a treatment for me.  i can’t say i wasn’t a little apprehensive, but all in all, i was very happy with the final result.

costas at franco hair international in sandton city very graciously hosted us for the day. first my hair was washed and treated and then the product was applied one small section at a time. be warned, it is quite a time-consuming process. once all my hair had been covered in the product which i understand to be formaldehyde free, my hair was blow-dried. then they brought out the big guns – their ionic hair -straightening irons. with one person on each side of my head, they proceeded to painstakingly flat -iron tiny sections of hair, each with at least 10 passes of the iron.

by the time they were done, my hair was stick-straight and felt like glass. i don’t think my hair has ever felt silkier. the hardest part for me actually came next. for the next 3 days, i was not allowed to tie my hair up, put pins in, use rubber bands, or worst of all, sweat. i had this done at the end of january, still height of summer, so that really was a problem. i’m not used to having my hair down all the time, so i found this part rather irritating, but the idea is that the product is left in to work on the hair for 3 days before it is washed out. i went out that night and amazingly, had really minimal frizzing. by the next day my hair had “grown” a bit, but i simply flat-ironed it again. i wound up cancelling my training session at the gym because i knew there was no way i would not sweat.

i was somewhat relieved to wash my hair after the 3 days, i must admit. kim and sharon provided me with sulphate free shampoo and conditioner and my hair felt a lot silkier and the curl seemed more relaxed and as a result my hair seemed longer. the ends did seem a little thinner as a result of all that flat-ironing, but all in all, my hair looked really good. it took a few washes for it to get over the “shock” (did i mention curly hair has a mind of it’s own?!), but it looks really good. i think this treatment is probably especially excellent for people with curly/frizzy hair who still want their curl, but wear it mostly straight.

i rarely wear mine straight, but was more concerned about the frizz which happens when it’s damp out. when i do flat-iron my hair now, i can’t believe a) how much easier it is, b) how much less time it takes c) how long it stays straight and d)how little i have to do to keep it that way. i also find that my curl looks better after i’ve flat-ironed my hair.

i’m looking forward to having my second treatment because i think it will only be more so.

if you’re interested in the treatment, please contact kim and sharon at global keratin south africa.

Sharon Cell: 082 452 9909
Kim Cell: 082 551 2104
Tel: (011) 784-6132
Fax: 0865023942
Email : info@keratinproducts.co.za