Thursday, December 9, 2010

My Follicular Chemical Dependency

I never meant for it to happen, but I have developed an addiction to better hair through chemicals.  I am not particularly hooked on day-to-day products or implements, but my trips to the salon every couple of months are one of my personal indulgences.  I'm always looking for that perfect cut and chemical combination that will allow me to just blow-dry and go, looking natural and at least decent.  I dream of hair that will survive New Orleans humidity, wind on the sailboat and rainy days without looking completely horrible.

As a teen in the late 80's - early 90's, I started chemically-treating my hair as soon as my mom would let me.  First, the perm to achieve BIG hair.  In college I started coloring.  Then it was just for fun, always using products applied at home and that would wash out relatively quickly.

I used non-permanent products for two reasons: (1) I like to change it up and didn't want to be stuck with one color and (2) I always fully intended to go gray naturally.  I never want to be one of those ladies at 80 who still dyes her hair brown and thinks it fools anyone.  I really don't think I would mind being gray, but growing out the color and dealing with the gray roots / colored ends for months seems like it would be brutal.  One day, in a moment of weakness, I decided to give myself a little treat and get salon highlights to add a little dimension to my hair.  Then I needed more highlights to blend the roots as the first set grew out, then full-color when I started to have too many highlights - I was firmly on the carousel.  Now I have a fair amount of gray and I'm stuck.  My current colorist  - the best I've ever had - tells me she can help ease me into gray, but I'm afraid.  I'm just not ready to risk it to give up the color habit.

Recently, I've added to my addiction.  After months of envy and wishing and dreaming, I took the plunge and had a keratin treatment.  If you haven't heard about this, it's a hair treatment that results in smooth, straight, frizz-free hair.  It isn't a relaxer or a true straightener, but the results are pretty impressive.  There are many varieties of keratin treatments and there is a fair amount of controversy about them.  Many keratin treatments contain high levels of formaldehyde which can be dangerous for the client and even more so for the stylist that applies the product regularly.  The stylist who applied my treatment insists that the product she uses does not have any formaldehyde and is not toxic.  She did not wear a mask, though she did open a window for ventilation before opening the solution.

During the treatment the hair is washed with a clarifying shampoo to remove any buildup and then dried.  A chemical product is applied to the hair and allowed to set for a bit.  The the stylist uses a flat iron to completely straighten and smooth the hair.  The hardest part then is the wait.  Once applied, I could not wash my hair for 72 hours.  I also couldn't get it wet at all, wear it in a clip or ponytail or even put it behind my ears.  I had to avoid anything that might crimp or kink my hair, so not even a hat.  The product is a bit waxy/greasy feeling to begin with, so by the third day I felt disgusting!

When I was finally able to wash my hair, I was astounded.  My hair is naturally just curly enough to poof and frizz, but not enough to wear it curly without a fair amount of work.  Straight is even more work, though, with a round brush, blow dryer and flat iron. I washed and conditioned as usual, but did not add any other product so I could see the unaided result.  I blew it dry with no brush at all.  When I finished my hair was straighter, smoother and shinier than I can usually accomplish with lots of time and effort.  We spent that evening at a windy, humid concert on the riverfront.  When we got home, my hair was still straight and smooth.  WOW!!  I'm now a little over a month post-treatment and can still blow-and-go with no product or styling implements.  My hair feels silky and healthy.  My son told me this morning that in the light my hair "shines like gold."  If this really lasts the 3 - 6 months promised by my stylist, I may have a new addiction.

So, what's the downside?  First, it's really expensive.  It starts at $250 at my salon.  This was a huge indulgence for me and I'm having a hard time justifying spending that much again, even with the amazing results.  Luckily, it's supposed to just fade out so I shouldn't ever have frizzy roots and straight ends to force me back to the salon.  Second, it's almost too straight for my taste.  That's getting better as time goes by, but I'm used to having a lot of volume (my stylist says too much) and it's taken some getting used to.  I now have to use a curling iron if I want the ends to turn under and for the first week or two even that didn't work.  Of course, it's also fairly counter to my other efforts to reduce the chemicals in my life.

So, how does this balance for me?
Heart/Body/Mind: All the chemicals can't be good for my body, but the results sure make me feel good!
Time: The color just takes time to apply.  The keratin means a couple hours spent in the salon, but a big improvement on the time I spend "fixing" my hair.
My Wallet: Ugh!
The Earth:  Again, all of those chemicals can't be good.

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