Weddingbee Blog

Like Charlie Brown’s classmate, Frieda, I was born with naturally curly hair. But unlike Frieda, I wasn’t proud of it. My hair didn’t fall in smooth ringlets or sexy bedhead waves. My curls were frizzy and misshapen.

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When I was in high school in the late ’80s and early ’90s, my frizzy hair worked in my favor.

Sophomore Cotillion, 1990

Senior Portrait, 1992

But that was a dark period in the life of my hair, and we don’t speak of that. Shhhh.

Anyway, since then, there have been two options when it comes to my hair: leave it curly, or blow it out and flat-iron it. So it was either unruly or stick straight. A few years ago, I realized that if I blew my hair dry about 90% of the way and let the rest air dry, I could get big, loose curls, but that only worked if there was low humidity that day. Still, it was the best option I’d had so far.

Taken just a few months ago

But it wasn’t what I’d dreamed of. All my life, I wanted hair that would air-dry in loose waves, like this:

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I wanted the type of hair that wouldn’t freak out if I got caught in the rain. Alas, it was never to be.

And when I got engaged, I really started to worry. If there’s even a little bit of humidity in the air on our wedding day, I am going to look like my high school picture! Except not as skinny. Sob.

And then.

And then, I heard about the Keratin Complex treatment. Apparently this treatment, which lasts three to six months, removes most of the frizz from your hair and most, but not all, of the curl. I was intrigued, but also wary of two things:

1. The price. $350–$450 for something not permanent is a lot of money.

2. The lack of before-and-after photos. The only before-and-after photos I could find online were like this:

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Sorry, but I wasn’t buying it. That’s what the hair looked like immediately after leaving the salon, and anyone’s hair would look sleek and shiny when flat-ironed by a professional stylist. But I wanted to see what it really looked like when styled by a non-professional.

And then I found a special. Keratin treatment for $200. And I got it.

Here’s how it went.

1. She washed my hair with sodium chloride-free shampoo and dried it.

2. She painted the keratin treatment onto my hair as if she were doing a single-process color.

3. She wrapped my head in plastic, and I sat for half an hour.

4. With the treatment still in my hair, she blew it dry.

5. She flat-ironed my hair, in tiny sections, with a special flat iron that’s used specifically with this treatment.

For three days, I couldn’t wash my hair, get it wet, wear a hat, put it in a ponytail or headband, etc. It looked stick-straight and shiny the whole time, although a bit greasy by day three.

On the fourth night, I washed my hair (it’s imperative to continue using sodium chloride-free shampoo) and nervously let it air dry. I had no idea what my hair would end up looking like.

Well, here you go. The photo on the left was taken when I let my hair air-dry before the treatment. The one on the right was taken the first time I washed it after the treatment.

Do you believe in miracles? Because I do, now.

Beachy waves, you guys. BEACHY WAVESSSSS!!! I no longer have to spend my summer mornings sweating under a hair dryer. I can sleep in for 30 more minutes!

And if it’s humid on my wedding day, well, that’s OK. And I never thought I’d say that.

A month after my keratin treatment, I took pictures to document how it’s been holding up.

Here is the after after. Forgive the awful iPhone photo and my shell-shocked expression (it’s been a rough week) and check out the ’do.

This is 100% completely air dried, with minimal product in my hair, after a morning at the chiropractor, eight hours of work, an hour at the acupuncture clinic, and a walk home in 90-degree weather. It hasn’t been brushed in about 15 hours. I lay down when it was wet (at the chiro), fell asleep for 45 minutes (at the acupuncturist), and sweated like a fiend on the walk.

So it’s actually holding up fairly well!

It’s not quite as shiny, a tiny bit frizzier, and a little bit wavier. But it’s still a bazillion times better than what it was before. I have been sleeping in 45 minutes longer every day—that is kind of a big deal, you guys! Just knowing that I can leave the house with dripping-wet hair and that it will air dry to look at least presentable, well, it’s amazing. And when I actually try to do my hair, it’s so easy! It dries very quickly now and obeys the dryer and flat iron like it never did before.

I’m thrilled. It was money very well spent!

However, the Keratin Complex treatment isn’t the first pricey treatment that I’ve had done on my hair. Years ago, I got Thermal Reconditioning done. You may have heard of it as the Japanese hair-straightening treatment. And I wanted to discuss the differences, pros, and cons of each.

Keratin Treatment costs about $250 to $450, depending on the salon.

Thermal Reconditioning costs about $600 or more.

Winner: Keratin Treatment, obvs.

Keratin Treatment takes about three hours in the salon.

Thermal Reconditioning takes up to six hours.

Winner: Keratin Treatment, again. I don’t know about you, but six hours in a salon chair is torturous to me.

Keratin Treatment lasts about three to six months, depending upon how long.

Thermal Reconditioning lasts until your hair grows out.

Winner: Thermal Reconditioning wins this one.

Keratin Treatment leaves some wave and body in your hair.

Thermal Reconditioning leaves your hair completely, 100% stick straight.

Winner: Depends on what you want. I didn’t want stick-straight hair, so Keratin FTW. But if stick-straight hair is your dream, then TR might be the right one for you.

Suffice it to say that I am much happier with the keratin treatment so far!

When I had the thermal reconditioning, my hair was FLAT. No body whatsover. I even had to “bend” the ends of my hair with my flat iron just to give it some polished, swingy movement. But if you have super coarse, super curly hair, it might work better for you.

Would you ever consider getting one of these treatments for yourself?