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Do you have curly hair? Me too. Do you have $400+ to drop on a thermal reconditioning treatment to have healthy, straight hair? Me neither. I took the plunge and decided to do it myself, at home. Read on to learn from my experiences and get a good thermal reconditioning treatment for a fraction of the salon cost!
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Signing UpStep 1Step 1: Deciding if home thermal reconditioning is right for you..
Doing a thermal recondition at home isnt for everyone. First and foremost, it is A LOT of work. Seriously. In the pictures following you will see my hair get straighter while my face gets more and more exhausted. Though my trial and error should keep you from spending as much time in the bathroom as I did, its still a lengthy process.
There is also a risk, as with any chemical hair treatment, that it could go poorly. Whether you are still deciding or know you want to do this, DO A TEST PATCH. Part of a thermal recondition is a thio relaxer, which can cause hair problems if your hair has been previously treated with chemical relaxers or dyes. When I did this, all of my hair had been processed with a sodium hydroxide relaxer except for a few inches of new growth, and I had no problems. But then, I have hair like rock climbing cables.
Hair type is also a consideration. I have multiethnic hair, and so many thermal treatments are not suitable for my hair. For this instructable, I am using Rusk Thermal Str8, which is formulated to work on any type of hair (and can be bought online via a simple google search). Know that many of these treatments are NOT for all hair types, many excluding African hair, so be careful and aware of what you're buying.
There is also a risk, as with any chemical hair treatment, that it could go poorly. Whether you are still deciding or know you want to do this, DO A TEST PATCH. Part of a thermal recondition is a thio relaxer, which can cause hair problems if your hair has been previously treated with chemical relaxers or dyes. When I did this, all of my hair had been processed with a sodium hydroxide relaxer except for a few inches of new growth, and I had no problems. But then, I have hair like rock climbing cables.
Hair type is also a consideration. I have multiethnic hair, and so many thermal treatments are not suitable for my hair. For this instructable, I am using Rusk Thermal Str8, which is formulated to work on any type of hair (and can be bought online via a simple google search). Know that many of these treatments are NOT for all hair types, many excluding African hair, so be careful and aware of what you're buying.
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I know this hair dresser (Stephen)and he said you are a client of his and you damaged your hair and went back to him to fix, just wanted to know how truthful he is, he over charged me over the years and the last time charged me a lot without any results, I felt he ripped he off really big time, because normally hair dresser i high scale salon charge for TR $400 and he did that one time for $700 and then never did that just cold smoothing without results and charged me $600, and $300 for just highlights.
I just want to know if I should go back to him and trust him again, would you please let me know if his story about you is true, thank you
Thanks!
Anyway, really just wanted to say if I had curly hair as gorgeous as yours, I don't know if I'd straighten it. It looks amazing! You look great with straight hair, too, but your curls knocked me out. Really beautiful.
zinmistress@gmail.com.
I reallly hope i hear from you. Thanks!!! :)
It is very true that any chemical processes can be dangerous for you hair, in and out of the salon. The best way to mitigate the danger is to do a strand test. Even if you decide to go to a salon, make sure they do a strand test for any chemical treatment youve never had before.
That being said, ONO Thermal Ionic is sold in individual size and without a license at Sally Beauty. It is intended for home use. In my opinion, it is significantly less dangerous and damaging than a regular relaxer.
As far as regular care, curly heads require much more hydration than straight hair. That means more conditioning, less shampooing. The best way to start is to start conditioning every shower, shampooing every other shower. Keep adjusting your shampoo usage until your find the balance between dry and greasy. For reference, I have half black, half white hair, and shampoo about once a month.
The best conditioner for a dry scalp and dry hair is Cholesterol. The most popular brand is Queen Helene, but it doesnt really matter what brand you get. It costs a couple of bucks at Target or Walmart (check the 'ethnic hair' aisle) This is what it looks like: http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Helene-Cholesterol-Cream-oz/dp/B00112TIE0 . Yes, it looks like cholesterol in a jar. But it works fantastically. It can be used every day or as an overnight leave in. I use it overnight when my ends start getting brittle, and it really pumps the life back into them.
Probably the best site on the web for the curly headed is NaturallyCurly.com. Its a huge forum with tons of helpful information and articles written by hair professionals. They can help you identify exactly what type of curly hair you have, and how best to care for and work with it. This is the site where i discovered that thermal reconditioning existed, so they are accepting toward chemically altered hair as well as those sporting their natural curls.
Best of Luck!
ONO Curl Remover (6.95) is a traditional weak thio perm. If you have hair with a light wave and thick cuticle, this will probably be enough to give you straight hair. For me, it slightly loosened my bunchy curls. While it added a bit of length, it was still quite curly.
ONO Thermal Ionic (25.00) is the derivative of the Japanese process. This is the stuff that, given enough time, will straighten out practically anything. Law has recently changed, and it is now available in brick and mortar stores without a beauty license. Unlike Curl Remover, it requires the complicated flat ironing during processing. It is decidedly more work, but if you have thick, bunchy, and/or ethnic curls that you want straight, this stuff is a safe bet.
Hope that eliminates any confusion. It took about a year of trial and error to really figure out what works, and I hope to safe future curly men and women the trouble :).
thanks so much for sharing! I'm strongly considering doing this w/ my hair. I'm mixed and my hair is kinda similar to yours. I was wondering about the retouching process. When you retouch your hair, do you only do the roots or is it the whole thing? Also, would you recommend the Quantum Thermal Straightener over the rusk or one n' only?
Oh and, was it difficult to do the back of your head by yourself? did those hairs come out frizzier? I would get a friend to help me but I honestly don't trust anyone else w/ my hair.. I'm nervous about screwing it up though. Thanks again!!
I've heard of quantum thermal straightener, but I haven't personally used it. All the reviews I've seen for it are good, so it would probably be just fine. What I do know for certain is that there is no real reason to buy rusk, as it is about three times the price of most other TR systems, and does exactly the same thing.
My hair is very thick, and I find doing the back rather difficult and slipshod without actually being able to see it. That being said, I tend to do it myself because I don't really trust anyone else with my hair either, and I'm rather impatient, and not good at waiting for people to be free to help me. What usually happens for me is that the underside near the nape of my neck has a bit of a wave to it, where the rest is pin straight. Its not enough to bother me, but if you're a hair perfectionist, I recommend at least one person to help.
Frizz is not a problem- comb it out after you shower and it will dry straight. Be sure to use conditioner- for some reason only using shampoo makes me frizzlike crazy. I also use silicone serum, as my hair tends to be a little dry (no special type, they have them at walgreens for about $5 for 6 ounces, which lasts about three weeks). You can also use oils if you prefer. One of the best things about TR is the lack of frizz with minimal daily maintenance. Not conditioning regularly is the ONLY thing I've found that makes my hair frizz- even rain has no effect!
Let me know how it goes if you decide to try out quantum. Best of luck to you!