Salon Content

Straight Talk

July 1, 2009 By: Lori Morris American Salon

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Senior Editor Lori Morris investigates straightening services, from Japanese thermal reconditioning to Brazilian keratin treatments.

New to the Brazilian keratin treatment market is La Brasiliana, which markets itself as a conditioning agent that smoothes, shines and softens hair while eliminating frizz and increasing manageability. "La Brasiliana gives you the best of both worlds," says Rafael De Sevilla, marketing director for the company. "It makes it much easier to straighten your hair, but you can also wear it curly—without the frizz." La Brasiliana is both keratin- and collagen-based, so it actually strengthens the hair, making it a suitable treatment for all hair types. "Even people with straight hair have frizz and damage," says De Sevilla, who notes that Brazilian keratin treatments make a good add-on to haircolor services because they help eliminate the damage done by the color (the services can be done the same day). While the Japanese straightening solution is applied about an inch from the scalp to start off with and is only applied to regrowth for touch-ups, La Brasiliana is applied from the root to the end every time. Another selling point of this brand is that it utilizes less product, so there is no real odor and the vapor is minimal enough that masks aren't needed during application. La Brasiliana emphasizes how important it is to educate stylists on how to properly do the treatment, offering hands-on certification classes, in-salon education and technical support from parent company Hair Color Research Group. They also teach stylists and salon owners how to promote the services and the company's take-home products that can help the treatment last from two to four months.

Once a client gets a straightening service or treatment, it's important to give them the proper follow-up instructions. For most services, clients should not wash their hair for up to four days following application, although Garrison is starting to use a new Brazilian keratin treatment called Lasio that can be rinsed after 24 hours. It's also essential that clients take care of their newly smoothed-out locks to make the treatments last longer. According to De Sevilla, products containing sodium chloride should not be used, as they can remove the product, and salt water can also affect the hair. For more on post-straightening care, see Kim Vo's column on page 54.

Let's Get Something Straight

For a more temporary straightening solution, sell your clients on these at-home styling products.

1) Joico Silk Result Straight Smoother blow-dry crème makes coarse, curly and wavy hair manageable (joico.com); 2) Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Relaxing Balm's humidity-resistant formula locks in smooth hair (paulmitchell.com); 3) Alterna Hemp With Organics Straight Conditioner repels moisture for frizz-free blow-outs (alterna.com); 4) TIGI Bed Head Control Freak Extra Extra Straight gets hair straight as a board (tigihaircare.com).

Let's Get Something Straight

5) Rusk Pro Elements Keratin Smoothing Treatment adds strength and moisture for enhanced sleekness and shine (rusk.com); 6) Pureology SuperStraight Relaxing Serum uses multiweight silicones to smooth hair without alcohol (pureology.com); 7) Aveda Smooth Infusion Glossing Straightener straightens and adds shine with Aveda's exclusive plant infusion blend (aveda.com); 8) J Beverly Hills Crazy Straight Straightening Styling Lotion combines comfrey root and botanical extracts with thermal-activated polymers to tame hair (jbeverlyhills.com); 9) Biosilk Silk Strate is specially formulated for coarse, naturally curly, frizzy or permed hair (farouk.com); 10) Phyto Phytodefrisant Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm uses natural ingredients to fight frizz (phyto-usa.com); 11) Redken Power Tame 16 intense straightening balm slims down coarse hair to transform unruly textures (redken.com); 12) KMS California FlatOut Straightening Creme has fig and jojoba to relax and control curls for a smooth finish (kmscalifornia.com).

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