HAIR STRAIGHTENING

Thermal Reconditioning is a revolutionary Japanese straightening treatment that uses heat to restructure the bonds in your hair so the hair lies straight, giving you glossy, smooth, shiny straight hair that requires hardly any blow drying!

Thermal Reconditioning originated in Japan and has been practiced in the United States for just over ten years. This treatment has been featured in just about every fashion magazine in America including:

In Style, Allure,
Vogue, Marie Claire, Jane, Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan,
Self, Oprah, Lucky, Glamour, and Elle.

Like any chemical service for the hair, when done by an experienced trained professional on the right type of hair the results can not only be beautiful but life changing and inspiring for the person wearing the style. People with naturally curly hair will be relieved that they usually will not have to blow dry and iron their hair every morning. The time saved in messing with your hair and the enhanced self image is well worth the current premium price of the service.

• Experienced - Someone who is familiar with the service and has had time to work with the products and procedures on different types of hair. Ask your stylist how many treatments they have done and how long they have been doing it.

• Trained - Someone who has received proper training on the Thermal Reconditioning procedure and the product line which they are working with in the salon. Attending a class is proper training, just watching a video on how to do it is not considered proper training.

• Professional - A hair designer who has had good training not only in haircutting and designing but also one who understands the chemical reaction of hair products on various types of hair.

• Right type of hair - Not all hair types can or should receive Thermal Reconditioning and remember that you will most likely get different results on different types of hair.

• The complete Thermal Reconditioning service takes about 4-6 hours. If you arrive at the salon only to find that your hair is not suitable for the service you not only waste your time but possibly the whole afternoon schedule of the hair designer.

• No one will be happy to cancel a Thermal Reconditioning service at the last minute. Some hair types are not usually suitable for Thermal Reconditioning, such as: lightened hair, some colored hair,(very experienced stylists can work with colored and lightened hair)strong African type hair or hair that has previously had a sodium relaxor.

• What hair can or cannot have Thermal Reconditioning is not a black and white issue, there is a lot of gray area that requires the expertise of the professional. The hair designer needs to look at your specific hair and make a judgment based on their knowledge and experience.

1. Any hair designer who is charging the prices they are now charging for Thermal Reconditioning ( US$450-US$1000 ) should offer a free preliminary consultation. This is one of the most important steps to the entire procedure. Why . . .

2. Some colored hair can have the treatment others cannot. You need to know, what problems could occur on your hair and then what you will need to do to keep your hair healthy and looking good after the service.
So... the consultation went well and you have booked an appointment to get your hair Thermal Reconditioned. Expect to spend about 4-6 hours at the salon. This is a long procedure and the hair designer should not feel rushed to finish it faster because you did not allow enough time. For the best results each step needs to be completed correctly.

3. Most likely the hair designer gave you specific instructions leading up to the appointment. In some cases they may ask you to precondition your hair or they may instruct you not to shampoo your hair the day of the service. Follow their instructions.

4. When you are all set to go, they will usually Shampoo and then apply a protein solution or conditioner to your hair. This will help to equalize your hairs porosity, add protein to any areas of your hair shaft that may be lacking it and assist in protecting your hair from the chemicals that will be applied later.

5. Next they will apply a cream or gel based thio solution to your hair. This will begin softening your hair and disassociating the sulfur bonds inside the hair shaft. At this point your hair becomes quite fragile and should be treated carefully. The hair designer will use a brush or bottle to apply the chemical and may work it in with the back of a comb but usually will not comb it through the hair. If your hair is deemed to be resistant they may wrap the hair in a plastic bag and place you under heat for a short time.

6. After a period of time the hair designer will do a test to see if the hair has reacted sufficiently. Like a permanent wave or a standard relaxor, everyone's hair is different so there is no set time. Some hair will process fast others longer - be patient.

7. Once the proper amount of Sulfur bonds have been disassociated, the designer will rinse your hair and then shampoo it.

8. Next your hair will be dried to a certain degree (Some systems require some moisture in the hair while others want you to get the hair thoroughly dry). The hair designer will then take small sections and apply some tension to get your hair as straight as possible.

9. Once the hair has been ironed it will be allowed to cool and then a neutralizing solution will be applied. The neutralizer adds oxygen to the hair and is basically the same as the second solution which is used in permanent waving. Generally it is a low strength of H2O2. The neutralizer does the following:
Lowers the pH of the hair. Adds oxygen to re-associate the sulfur bonds into the new configuration.

10. Once the neutralizer has been on the hair for the proper amount of time( usually ten minutes) it will be rinsed from the hair.

11. After the hair is rinsed it will be dried and ironed into the style you will be wearing. The hair should be completely dry before you leave the salon.

12. You may think your service is now complete, but the procedure is not yet over even though you have paid for the service and are on your way home. The neutralizing chemical only begins to re-associate the sulfur bonds, the hair still needs to absorb more oxygen and will do so naturally through the air. The hair designer will instruct you not to shampoo, wet or style your hair for 48-72 hours, this is to allow your hair to completely neutralize into the current shape.

13. Lightened or color treated hair.
When you lighten or color your hair you will almost always use H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide). H2O2 destroys some of the sulfur bonds in your hair. How many of these bonds have been destroyed depends on . .

1) The strength of the product
2) How light your hair has been taken from it's natural color (*see below)
3) How often you have colored the hair that will be receiving the Thermal Reconditioning service

An experienced hair designer will be able to know if you have enough sulfur bonds in your hair to be able to get the Thermal Reconditioning service. They will do this by seeing and feeling your hair. Unfortunately, it cannot be done over the Internet or phone.
Some colored hair will not be able to receive the Thermal Reconditioning service.

Some colored hair will need preconditioning treatments.
In some cases the hair designer may adjust the Thermal Reconditioning chemicals for some types of colored hair.

• Some colored hair will have no problem in getting Thermal Reconditioning.
• How much your hair has been lightened cannot be determined with your eyes.
• colors often lighten your hair and then add color over the top so that your hair does not appear as lightened as it actually is.

Thermal Reconditioning and African type hair
Because the main chemical in Thermal Reconditioning is Thio it may not be able to soften strong African type hair sufficiently and produce good results. On the other hand, milder, softer African hair types may react quite well to Thermal Reconditioning but again the consultation is quite important because some African type hair will respond well to the procedure and others will not.