Keratin Treatment

Published by

Clarissa

June 26, 2014

After receiving some very disturbing news, I decided I was justified in blowing a fortune on a keratin treatment for my hair. It took 5 hours 20 minutes and here are some before and after pictures.

See how frizzy it was?

The frizz has gotten to the pint where I can’t even begin to untangle the hair and it looks unkempt and scary no matter what I do.

Here it is after the treatment:

Blow-drying it is part of the treatment, so we are yet to see how it will look after I wash it and let it dry on its own. I will post pictures after that, too.

The haggard look is due to the complete exhaustion of moving and finishing the semester at the same time, as well as no makeup.

As I told the stylist after seeing the result of the treatment, “I now feel like packing is beneath me since I have this chic hair.”

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30 responses to “Keratin Treatment”

ladyleahjane

June 26, 2014

You look fabulous! 😀

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 26, 2014
  
  Thank you!
  
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Stille (@aperfectbalance)

June 26, 2014

Wow, your hair looks awesome! So shiny!

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 26, 2014
  
  It even looks like it changed color because straight hair reflects light differently.
  
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  1. Stille (@aperfectbalance)
    
    June 26, 2014
    
    Clarissa of the ever-chameleonic hair.
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      June 26, 2014
      
      I know, this hair has a life of its own.
      
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  2. ninamishkin
    
    June 27, 2014
    
    It probably has already changed color slightly, and not just because it’s straight. Keratin uses strong chemicals which permanently alter the structure of the hair to which it’s applied, and the chemicals bleach it slightly. They will continue to do so, especially after you’ve been out in the light and the sun for a while. Since reaching these shores from Japan, or Brazil, or Paris, or wherever the final formulation emerged, Keratin has changed my life like you wouldn’t believe by totally changing my looks. For the better, needless to say. (A shallow and frivolous remark, I know, but there you are…..) I love it, and have it applied twice a year, even though I don’t entirely love the blonding effect. But you have blue eyes, which I don’t. And who doesn’t love a blue-eyed blonde? Enjoy, enjoy — until it grows out!!!
    😀
    
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    1. Clarissa
      
      June 27, 2014
      
      The good thing is that I colored my hair – for the first time ever – a week before. And the color came out a tad too dark for my liking. So this treatment brought the color exactly where I wanted it. 🙂
      
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nepaliaustralian

June 26, 2014

You look great 🙂

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 26, 2014
  
  Thank you!!
  
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Benoni

June 26, 2014

You look really good, but as a fellow sufferer of Jewish hair, I understand you might be feeling some separation anxiety by now. It’s okay to mourn. 😛

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anon

June 26, 2014

Wow – so sleek and chic!

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  Thank you!
  
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Fie Upon This Quiet Life

June 26, 2014

Whoa! You look like two different people in the first two pictures. 🙂

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  My 4-year-old niece didn’t recognize me in the second photo!
  
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musteryou

June 26, 2014

I cut my hairs recently and now I have punkstyle.

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  I cut mine too and significantly.
  
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  1. musteryou
    
    June 27, 2014
    
    heh.
    
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b g

June 26, 2014

My late wife insisted that I not shave my beard, after 20 years, it would be too wierd. Your partner has a say in this stuff.

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  The stylist at the salon exclaimed, “Your husband is getting a completely new wife!” That was a bit disturbing because I know he likes the one he’s got. 🙂
  
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Good Enough Professor

June 27, 2014

Looks great! And I think you made the right call going with the keratin treatment instead of locs.

Have you ever thought about going short? When I was in undergrad, it seemed like all the really cool young female profs had these short, but exuberantly top-heavy curly do’s (google Lauren Berlant to see the sort of thing I mean). I idly wondered if I’d have trouble being taken seriously with my mostly-straight hair. Looks like you could totally pull it off, though!

(FWIW, whenever I’ve dramatically changed my hairstyle, my husband tells me that he feels obscurely like he’s cheating on me for the first few days, until he gets used to it.)

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  My face is very round and the hair is thick and heavy. When I cut it short, my head becomes enormous in the literal sense. And I’ve got enough of that going metaphorically.
  
  When my husband’s hair got mangled once by a careless stylist, I couldn’t even touch him because it would make me feel as guilty as if I were cheating. So I told him either to wear a hat to bed or forget about it until the hair grew back. 🙂
  
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David Bellamy

June 27, 2014

I will jump in here and say that, in my opinion, although the new look is OK if you like it, the original was FAR more beautiful.

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  I will go back to the original in 3 months. This isn’t permanent. I just wanted to experiment. 🙂
  
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  1. ninamishkin
    
    June 27, 2014
    
    Three months? That will be difficult. Actually, the part that was treated IS permanent — if it’s really Keratin they used on you. But hair does grow, and the new hair that emerges from your scalp will be untreated and curly and Clarissa-like. Most people’s hair grows about an inch, or slightly more, a month. So it will probably take much longer than three months to “go back to the original” entirely. Unless you subject the Keratin-treated parts to more chemicals in order to give them back their curl. (Which is probably not such a good idea for the health of the hair.) Why not relax, relish your new crowning glory, and hope N. doesn’t agree with David Bellamy.
    
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2. el
  
  June 28, 2014
  
  \\ I will jump in here and say that, in my opinion, although the new look is OK if you like it, the original was FAR more beautiful.
  
  +1000
  
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  1. Clarissa
    
    June 28, 2014
    
    It’s OK, there is still the same me under the hair. 🙂
    
    My husband also feels very anxious whenever I change anything about myself, like I might become a different person. 🙂
    
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Stille (@aperfectbalance)

June 27, 2014

If we’re doing the unsolicited advice thing, have you thought about layering it? It’s thick enough that it’d work right, and should help you with the tangles too since there’d be less hair for it to tangle. Also, I’ve found oil treatments work wonders to prevent tangles – just rub some coconut oil or olive oil or something on your scalp and down your hair 30 mins before washing it, and then wash it normally.

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ninamishkin

June 27, 2014

P.S. (Never thought I’d have so much to say about hair.) I hope they told you that you’re not supposed to get your new straight hair wet in any way for 72 hours after treatment, or you will undo your heavy investment in shine and glamour. Carry umbrellas, don’t perspire, be very careful when washing your face! No one ever promised that becoming beautiful doesn’t bring its own burdens!

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1. Clarissa
  
  June 27, 2014
  
  I’m making huge efforts not to sweat but in this climate, it is extremely hard. 🙂
  
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