Hair-raising experience

Finally taming her wild hair, KATE MONAHAN gives thanks for a new straightening treatment with a Kiwi connection.

I don't think I've got so many compliments in one week.

People walking past my desk have done double-takes.

Some came and tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Oh, it is you. I thought we had a new intern."

The difference is I have new hair.

Not just a new hair do but, amazingly, hair that is behaving entirely differently to my usual bird's nest.

It's straight, it's silky and smooth. It shines and feels soft.

Usually my hair is curly, or if I forget to put in lots of hair products or it's especially humid, it's frizzy.

At university I was known as "the girl with the big hair". When everyone was doing '90s grunge, I was still stuck in the '80s with my Tiffany-meets-Def Leppard hair style.

When hair straighteners came into vogue I got a pair, and for about a month I struggled trying to iron my hair into submission. It began to feel dry and, when I sprayed on heat-protecting spray, it felt crunchy like straw, even though it looked smoother.

Then I gave up and went back to having big, curly hair.

As it turned out I just didn't have the personality, the patience or the time to straighten my hair daily.

Then, about two weeks ago, Cambridge hairdresser Jeanette Cork called.

The owner of Alpha St salon Capelli Studio, she was excited about a new treatment she was bringing into New Zealand - something no-one else in the country had.

With the eye-catching name "Brazilian Blowout", the treatment claims to straighten hair "permanently" for about three months and doesn't use chemicals. It is popular with celebrities including Nicole Ritchie, Jennifer Aniston and Lindsay Lohan.

Known as the "Miracle Blow Dry" in the United Kingdom, the products are developed in Brazil using keratin, which hair, nails and shells are made from.

The coolest thing is the Kiwi connection. The keratin used in the product is from New Zealand sheep's wool, Cork says. "Every spring they buy lots of New Zealand sheep's wool. It's the most natural and pure in the world and it goes to Brazil.

"The science of it is amazing. Your hair is keratin and you are putting hair on to your hair."

The treatment, which also contains 22-carat gold dust and white clay, is applied to hair after a clarifying shampoo, penetrating deep into cuticles to smooth and fill damaged areas.

Hair is blow dried straight and then begins the painstaking three-hour process of straightening hair, almost strand by strand.

Extremely hot straightening irons are used, the heat crystalizes the product, locking in straightness.

The process is different to Japanese hair straightening because it doesn't use chemicals.

I'm told not to wash my hair for four days, to maximize the result.

My hair is pin straight for four days. I wake up each morning with a few rumples due to tossing and turning, but a quick brush and my hair is straight again. On day four I wash my hair with a special shampoo and conditioner and let it dry naturally. Amazingly my hair is still soft and silky, and has dried relatively straight instead of curly. It needs only a few goes with a straightening iron on the ends, and in just one minute I've got the result I usually take 20 minutes to achieve.

When I go jogging or stand in a fogged up bathroom, my hair doesn't frizz, but stays smooth.

Cork says the best thing about the treatment is giving people more time. "Some people spend 45 minutes a day straightening, but this takes it back to several minutes a day, and you don't have to worry about rain."

Cork, who originally hails from Nottingham, learned of the treatment from her UK mentor Steve Winder, a prominent London hairdresser. "It's very popular over there. He said 'You have to get it'. It's not just that it straightens your hair, it's how it feels."

Although the results are impressive they won't last forever - between two and five months - depending on your hair and how you treat it.

Salt water and some shampoos can deteriorate the product, causing it to fall out faster. "As you wash hair it fades out," Cork says.

Hair will gradually develop more body, and go from poker straight to loose waves then back to curls over several months.

But for "time poor" women with busy jobs or kids, the treatment means wash-and-go style without spending lots of time in the bathroom. "The lady who had this done last week, she was in tears (of joy)," Cork says.

 

brazilian blowout

- Permanently straightens hair without using chemicals. Uses keratin from sheep's wool.

- Takes 2-4 hours to do in a salon.

- Lasts about three months, after which straightened hair begins to relax with more body, then soft waves and back to normal curls.

- Costs between $300-$500 depending on length of hair. It is also recommended you purchase a special shampoo and conditioner to help maintain the result as long as possible.

- You can't colour your hair for two weeks after treatment, so get colour done beforehand. The keratin coats individual hairs, locking in straightness and shine, but is initially a barrier to colour.

-Available from Capelli Studio, 65 Alpha St, Cambridge. Phone 07 827 7734.

- © Fairfax NZ News