So, I am at my daughter’s dentist appointment and the Dental Hygienist who s cleaning her teeth is raving about my hair (of course). When she comes up for air and pauses, I toss in real quickly that I’m a hairdresser…thus the awesome hair! With the water-spritzer-thing still in my daughter’s mouth, the Hygienist goes “Ohhh, well, what do you think about my hair?”
A simple question that appears like a butterfly, but stings like a bee. A question that can stop traffic…
I air on the side of caution…does she really want to know what I think about her hair? Is she talking about the color of her hair that is WAY to cool for her skin tone? Is she talking about the cut that isn’t sassy enough for her cute figure? Is she talking about the breakage all around her crown from constantly flat ironing naked (no heat protection products used) hair over and over? Or does she need lessons on how to better flat iron the rest of that tress, because girlfriend missed some serious spots in the back! As all of this is flying thru my mind and I’m about to give her my real opinion in the nicest delivery possible while handing her my VIP business card (for 20% off her first service with me) with a smile, she interjects yet again and says “I gave myself a Keratin smoothing treatment!”
And, my face now looks like someone just pinched me. HARD.
You gave yourself a Keratin smoothing treatment…I repeat back. Proudly, she nods her head. Now, I’m like a reporter trying to get the whole scoop and nothing but the scoop.
Me: Where did you get the product?
Her: Sally’s Beauty Supply…
Me: What’s the name of the product?
Her: I don’t know…
Me: Is it real Keratin or a Blow Out, or a Relaxer?
Her: I don’t know…
Me: How long does it claim to last in your hair?
Her: I don’t know…
Me: Is your hair normally curly, frizzy or unmanageable?
Her: umm, no, not really…I just heard it was good for your hair and a lot of people have been doing it…ya know…
She proceeds to tell me that she read the directions, preformed the service, and when it came to “sealing” the product in, the directions said that you need a flat iron that is 450 degrees. Her ConAir flat Iron doesn’t get up that high, she ESTIMATED that it probably got up to 250, maybe 300 degrees (huge difference there…but whatever) so after she flat ironed the product in with the ConAir, she had her NEIGHBOR come over and take a real iron (like for clothes and what not) and she put a DISH TOWEL over her hair on the IRONING BOARD and her neighbor ran the iron over her hair to ensure it got to the 450 degrees.
UMMMMMM, where oh WHERE do I begin??
#1, Am I being punked? #2, is this for real? #3, REALLY? REALLY lady?? #4, refer back to #1 and #2 while I gather my thoughts on how I’m going to handle this situation….
I felt I needed to school her on Keratin. Keratin treatments are mainly used to strengthen, smooth and straighten hair. Keratin treatments were getting a bad rap for a while because they were found to have high levels of Formaldehyde in them. * This all depends on what type of Keratin is used. **We use Copola Keratin, best product out there (and not because my salon uses it), research it, google it, read the reviews. Keratin treatments should last up to 6 months depending on how fast your hair grows and it’s texture. Some people it lasts up to 3 months. A Keratin treatment will not rid your hair of natural curl, it will simply subtract out the frizz and bulk. It will be easier to straighten your hair when you prefer and will cut down on the blow dying time considerably. People LOVE Keratin treatments, but they should be done by a PROFESSIONAL who is CERTIFIED to do them. They shouldn’t be done in your kitchen with poor ventilation. They shouldn’t be sealed with a flat iron that you have no idea how hot it is or isn’t. And your neighbor who is also not a hair professional shouldn’t be helping you seal it in for round 2 with an every day iron that you just starched your husband’s shirt with this morning!!
Clearly that neighbor got a little gun shy when it came to ironing close to the her friends root area in the back of her head…because that hair was all kinds of wavy back there. She looked like she had bed head, not a Keratin treatment!!
I had to ask if this product came with special shampoo and conditioner to use to ensure the treatment stays. The response was frightening…”No, it didn’t, but I use that new stuff that Suave came out with…it’s their line of smoothing stuff…” Dear Lord….that is for another day, and a whole other blog….
I said ”Good Luck” to the Dental Hygienist….said that I would see her in 6 months and maybe that treatment would still be in (or her hair would have fallen out by then). Handed her my card and some free samples (yup, always have them on hand) and said to come in sometime, I would LOVEEE the opportunity to do your hair!
Lesson of this entry: You wouldn’t remove your own wisdom teeth, would you? No, you would seek the advice and knowledge of a professional. Then, don’t perform chemical services on your own hair, especially when you know nothing about the product, why you need it (or think you need it) and how to properly do it!
Until next time…Stay Gorgeous!
~Shana
hairigoagain 
Great job!!!! You are hysterical…but I already knew that. Keep up the good work!
I feel the same way about women who want to have home births. However I feel the urge to call you a ‘hair snob’ –in the best way possible.
All I can say is… Is this the 1970s? Ironing hair with a real iron? You crack me up. I hope that wasn’t true. And I made a note not to ask you how my hair looks! Ahhhhh haaaaaa!
That was great Shana! I can’t wait to read the next one, and I hope it’s not about me!
Literally, Shane, the SAME situation happened to me, but it wasn’t directly with the keratin user, it was a client of mine asking questions for her. She was saying she wanted her hair straightened for a night [so I safely assumed she just wanted a style], until she corrected me “no, she does her own keratin treatment but she wants someone else to now.” UH. WTF? I stared at her with my mouth dropped for a good 2 minutes.
So glad you started a blog! May we both go far xo