Picture Caption GOODBYE: After the treatment;
TIME AND LOTION: Miracle crea
WHEN I was asked to try a brand new straightening treatment,
I jumped a t the chance. No more serum, blow dryers or straightening irons
for me.
The new Japanese treatment offers permanent straight,
well-conditioned hair which doesn't fizz up every time it rains.
It seems strange that the Japanese would need to straighten their hair,
but Ionic Hair
Retexturising has caught on because it tames their thick coarse hair,
leaving it fine and glossy.
The treatment has just been introduced in the West
and celebs - including Jennifer Aniston and Samantha Mumba - are big
fans.
It's been so popular, staff at a hair salon in London
do up to 40 treatments a week. It's suitable for European naturally
wavy, curly, frizzy or dehydrated hair, and even permed
looks. It can be done on Afro-Caribbean hair although
it tends to grow out faster.
What separates this straightening treatment from
others is that the process actually locks moisture in rather than leaving
hair dry and brittle. It does this by breaking down clusters of water
molecules to allow individual molecules to penetrate the hair shaft.
This means it will be in better condition than before, helping make
it smooth and sleek.
The hair remains straight, until it grows out four
to six months later.
But you have to suffer to be beautiful - the treatment costs £250
and takes four hours.
After the treatment, my hair looked
smooth and salon-styled. But it itched and smelt of chemicals. I wasn't
allowed to wash it for two days and it was only then that I was finally
convinced that this treatment is fabulous.
I felt wary the first time I washed it. Not bothering with my usual
serums and styling products, I simply gave it a quick blast with
the hair dryer. I was convinced it would go back
to the usual
wavy mop. So when it dried looking as though I'd just stepped out of
the salon I could hardly believe it. It had only taken 10 minutes.
Over the next two weeks, my hair looked better and
better as it got more body and felt softer and glossier.
I haven't had a bad hair day for weeks. When I wake
up it looks exactly the same as when I went to bed, not a hair out
of place.
Gone are the straightening irons, paddle brush, clips
and serum. Now I can just wash and go. Why the treatment takes
four hours..5 minutes
Technician Jake Fugler began my treatment by applying
a protection spray. This helps preserve my hair colour
as I've had it dyed. The treatment can be used on
semi-permanent coloured hair. Although it can lift
the colour slightly.
15 minutes
He then covered my hair with a nasty smelling chemical
paste, Ionic Formula number one which allows water to penetrate into
the core of the hair. It also opens the cuticles ready
for the straightening irons to do their work.
30 minutes
The formula is left to work. My head was covered in a big plastic bag
which puffs up to keep the warm air in.
25 minutes
Jake rinses and blow dries my hair.
100 minutes
Next he divided my hair into tiny half a centimetre
thick sections. Each one is painstakingly straightened five times with
ceramic straightening tongs. It takes an hour and
a half. The combination of the chemicals and the tongs re-educates
the hair strands from wavy to straight. I had to hold
my ears back and I'm a bit worried he'll slip up as these tongs are
180 degrees hot. The straightening takes ages, over
an hour and a half.
5 minutes
Afterwards Jake applies a neutralising gel. This formula is what makes
the process permanent and without it my hair would
be wavy again.
30 minutes
It's left in for a further half an hour.
15 minutes
Next my hair is rinsed once again and a conditioning treatment is
applied.
10 minutes
Jake then lightly finger dries my hair without using
any products. It does look perfectly straight and very stylish but
I'm a bit alarmed as it feels flat against my face. But within a few
days it looked fab -natural and glossy..
