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.”
Clarissa's Blog 
You look fabulous! 😀
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Thank you!
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Wow, your hair looks awesome! So shiny!
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It even looks like it changed color because straight hair reflects light differently.
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Clarissa of the ever-chameleonic hair.
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I know, this hair has a life of its own.
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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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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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You look great 🙂
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Thank you!!
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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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Wow – so sleek and chic!
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Thank you!
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Whoa! You look like two different people in the first two pictures. 🙂
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My 4-year-old niece didn’t recognize me in the second photo!
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I cut my hairs recently and now I have punkstyle.
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I cut mine too and significantly.
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heh.
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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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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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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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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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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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I will go back to the original in 3 months. This isn’t permanent. I just wanted to experiment. 🙂
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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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\\ 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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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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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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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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I’m making huge efforts not to sweat but in this climate, it is extremely hard. 🙂
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