Is there no end to the ways I can come up with to spend money on frivolous beauty treatments?   Evidently not.

My newest splurge is not new news.  The Keratin hair smoothing & straightening process replaced the Brazilian Blowout craze, which replaced the Japanese Straightening thing.  Most salons have converted to the Keratin Straightening process as a kinder, gentler alternative to other options on the market.  And you should go to a reputable salon which uses pre-mixed, branded product for your treatment.  All of these straightening processes involve the use of some % of formaldehyde or formaldehyde derivative (no matter what they tell you), and you definitely want to pay for a tested product applied by a certified, trained technician.

(If you only use organic products and don’t believe in using extraneous, unnecessary chemicals of any kind,  I applaud your convictions.  Read no further.  The Keratin straightening process is FDA approved, but like Botox and teeth-whitening, it’s just not for you).

The process is nothing short of a miracle for those of us with very wavy, curly, frizzy and/or coarse hair.  I go to Bonnie Nixon at Theory Salon (I go to Megan at Theory for my color.  Another miracle-worker.)  Bonnie uses the Coppola Keratin Complex system.  You can choose one of two processes:  the Full process takes 3+ hours, costs $300 and requires 72 hours of no sweat, no wash, no pins, no ponies, no headbands.  It last 6 months or longer.  Or you can get the Mini Treatment, which takes about an hour and a half, costs $150, cannot be washed or gotten wet for 8 hours (no pins, etc either) and last 6-8 weeks.  Since caution is my middle name, I chose the Mini.  The difference is in the concentration of the chemicals applied and the amount of time they need to “cure” on your hair.

It’s been a glorious 6 weeks.  My hair is smooth, shiny, and silky.  In other words, not my real life hair at all.  It is just a cruel twist of fate that this was not invented when I was in high school and college.  The insanity we went to in those days for this level of smooth.

My hair is sooooo much easier to blow-dry, and even when I don’t, it is smooth and straight.  It has not frizzed at all despite this summer’s heat and humidity.  I love it.  I was worried it would be too flat, bad Chrissy Hynde hair day.  It is not.  It really is pretty perfect.

There has been a lot of press about the safety of a few “interpretations” of this procedure in other countries.   I researched it, and feel comfortable doing it periodically at a salon like Theory where only product like the Keratin Complex by Coppola is used.  Here’s an article on it from WebMD which I found informative. I have no idea if it’s legit – it’s the web after all.

I can only speak for my results.  Not dry, not damaged, not broken.  Smooth and silky.  I’m hooked.

You can schedule a consult or an appointment with Bonnie at Theory Salon by calling 704-332-9744. I get no compensation for this review, although I do get a discount if you go and tell them scoop sent you.  But only if you want us both to have pretty hair.