Japanese Hair Straightening/Thermal Reconditioning

[appletini]

Has anyone had this done, I''m thinking about it? My best friend did it almost 1.5 years ago and her hair looks fabulous all time.

 

[Jelly]

No, but I''d love to hear more about it. Do you have any links to information about it?

 

[marvel]

I''ve had it done for years and it''s great! Here''s a link if you''re interested Thermal Reconditioning .

My new thing right now is hair extensions, so I won''t be doing the staightening.

 

[Jelly]

Wow, that sleek style looks great! It takes me wayyyyy too long to ever achieve that look. I have thick, somewhat straight but slightly wavy hair and it takes forever to dry. I love the idea that it may cut down drying time.

 

[FireGoddess]

I have SERIOUSLY wanted to do this. A coworker of mine did it and her hair was just awesome - pin straight all the time and she didn''t have to do a thing. And her hair looked great and silky...wasn''t fried or anything. I mentioned it to my hairstylist at the time, and he about fainted dead away and told me he''d kill me if I even mentioned it again because it would destroy my hair. But my friend that did it looked amazing...and I love the look. The only way my hair EVER looks like that is right out of the salon - I don''t have the manual dexterity, the time, or the flexibility to dry all my hair in sections for a freaking hour! It still tempts me. But I do get my hair highlighted and I think straightening + coloring = a big no no.

 

[Mara]

my sister had it done and it totally didn''t work, don''t know why but within a month her hair looked horrible....

there is always some fabulous way to make your hair straight but i swear by the $8 revlon straightening kit at longs .... it dries out your hair so i have to always use the top shampoos and conditioners, and i still have to blow it out with the hair dryer or use a curling iron, but at least i know how long it lasts and don''t pay $500 for it.

 

[sunkist]

I''ve only heard horror stories about the Japenese straighting method. I''ve thought about just having my hair relaxed, but I''m still too nervous to do even that. My hair is dry and fragile, I would die if it got fried

 

[momothree]

Sunkist, if you look anything like your avatar, relax and embrace your inner curly girl. I''m curly too and was somewhat tempted to "go Japanese" when it first became big a couple of years ago but decided that 1) it was too risky and 2) I prefer myself curly. I have seen people for whom the process has worked great but I also have one friend whose hair has looked really funky (in a bad way) since she first did it a year or two ago. Her hair just looks uncomfortably, unnaturally straight and totally lifeless. To me, it is obvious to even the casual observer that she has done *something* and that it hasn''t worked BUT for some strange reason she likes it and has re-treatments when called for...

 

[pinkflamingo]

I have used this: PhytoSpecific - Phytorelaxer Index 1. It is all natural and it is enough for two applications, each lasts about 6 weeks for my hair. It was extremely gentle. I have baby fine blonde hair, but they have a different formula for thick/coarse hair. it gets rave reviews.


Love this stuff!

 

[teebee]

I have several friends that have done the Japanese Thermal Reconditioning thing and the results are flat out AMAZING. But, I have another friend whose hair has been simply destroyed by it. I really think the key is finding someone who is a real expert at this, that is, a stylist that specializes and almost only does this treatment. I would stay away from someone that says they do "cuts, color, perms, straightening, up-do''s, etc." because, although they may have been cross-trained on all of these things, from what I understand thermal reconditioning is a whole different ballgame as far as training and know-how. Plus, I would take into consideration where you live - my friends that have had success with this treatment live in large metropolitan areas: Houston, Southern California, and Miami - my friend that experienced hair disaster with the process got it done here in Oklahoma City. Since you are in Houston you can probably find a reputable, experienced specialist. One reason that I have not done it is that when I checked out the most exclusive, reputable, and high-end salons here in OKC and Tulsa and none were offering the service yet - and I know that the stylists in these salons have extensive training in whatever they do... so if they weren''t offering the service yet, I wasn''t going to risk it from someplace else.

Also, do you color your hair? I''ve heard that it''s not a good option for those w/ color-treated hair - which is another reason I''m not going for it... I can live with curl, but I can''t live without color!

 

[qtiekiki]

I''ve heard that it''s hard to curl your hair after you get thermal reconditioning. I guess you always wish for what you don''t have because I have straight hair and wish I can have some wavy curls sometimes. But it''s really hard for me to curl my hair and the curls just don''t hold well unless there''s tons of products and my hair can''t move anymore. So maybe you should consider whether or not you want to be stuck with straight hair for a long time?

 

[appletini]

teebee: lucky me, I''m a natural blonde and have never colored my hair...I occassionally use the aveda blonde color conditioner, but thats it.

qtiekki: I usually prefer to wear my hair straight with a little bit of a flip out at the end.

 

[Allisonfaye]

I too have straightened my curly hair for years. It takes forever so I asked a few hairstylists about it. One salon told me that they have a version specifically for colored hair. I had only gone there a couple of times for color and wasn''t happy with the result or the expensive $$ so I didn''t go back. I asked the guy who does my hair now and he spoke unfavorably about it. I think like the PP said, it depends on where you get it done and I would also guess the condition of your hair before having it done. If I could find a good stylist who I had confidence in, I would probably go for it.

 

[teebee]

Lucky dog Appletini ~ I would kill to have a beautiful natural color - when I was younger it was blond but has since faded into a really drab ashy non-descript color... Oh, and I adore Aveda''s color conditioner - I use the auburn to help keep my color vibrant between appointments.

qtiekiki ~ I think we do always wish for what we can''t have... Whenever the curly/straight hair issue comes up I always think about elementary school. My best friend was Japanese and she had the most beautiful black shiny straight hair while I had this crazy course curly outta control mess on top of my head that I had no idea what to do with and we were both insanely jealous of each other''s hair!! Now that I''ve learned to control the curl I''m okay with it and guess it''s nice to have the option of wearing it curly or straight, while most of my friends w/ straight hair can''t hold onto curl so it''s not an option... but I prefer to wear it straight.

 

[diamondfan]

Momofthree: I am curly too, and also, like someone else said, went from dirty blonde to a yuck ashy color of distinct ugliness. I color, and was told my hair would break off if I did the Japanese thing. Not too sure, maybe it is very dependant on who does it and the exact stuff they use, since I know there is a heat method and a non heat method. I tried Rusk Anti Curl and Paul Brown straight, but honestly just go to the salon a lot now. I HATE my hair curly, it is not the pretty ringlets it used to be. So, I just incorporate the cost of a blow dry two to three times a week as part of my maintenance. I saw someone who had overfried their hair, it was all broken off around their face and fuzzy...and they spent 1000.00 to do it! To me, it is cheaper to blow it out when I want and I know it looks nice. I usually do fewer in the summer and opt for a ponytail...not that original but it works...I would just be soooo careful of who I go to and would do my homework in advance!

 

[sunkist]

Date: 4/16/2006 10:17:19 AM
Author: momothree
Sunkist, if you look anything like your avatar, relax and embrace your inner curly girl. I''m curly too and was somewhat tempted to ''go Japanese'' when it first became big a couple of years ago but decided that 1) it was too risky and 2) I prefer myself curly. I have seen people for whom the process has worked great but I also have one friend whose hair has looked really funky (in a bad way) since she first did it a year or two ago. Her hair just looks uncomfortably, unnaturally straight and totally lifeless. To me, it is obvious to even the casual observer that she has done *something* and that it hasn''t worked BUT for some strange reason she likes it and has re-treatments when called for...

Thanks, Momofthree! I have embraced my inner curly girl! I''ve been curly my whole life. Growing up, of course I hated it, but as years go by I learn to love it more and more. It''s difficult to get my hair even blown out straight. It was the best shock I gave my BF a few months ago when I had my hairstylist blow it out straight. He didn''t even recognize me and started to walk right on by me!

Heehee! I have thought of relaxing a few parts of my head that are kinky curls, just to make it a softer curl. But actually I don''t think I ever will.

Momofthree, how curly are you? What products do you use?

 

[Tybee]

I''m a straightener!!!
I swear by it!
I''ve done it twice now, it lasts forever, until the hair grows out. The last time I had it done was in November, I''m just starting to see the wavy parts of my hair coming out. I think the key is finding someone who does it really well.
My hair is usually mostly wavy and dry. With the straightening I''ve found a gloss I never knew I had!!
I wish that I had before and after pics, but I NEVER really let my hair go wavy before, I always ironed the HECK out of it. Now I don''t even need to blow it dry.
Honestly, I''m the biggest fan. I laugh about how many hours I''ve added to my life now that I don''t have to do my hair.
Tybee