PV humidity and curly hair...

I've heard of that and have always considered doing it..my curly hair is "wierd" as my hairdresser likes to put it. It changes every 5 years and now it's just a mess when it's curly/kinky/ whatever you want to call it.

 

When I was down in Mexico during February..I straightened my hair at night..it got wavy but I didn't mind because it was the beach...during the day I just left it down....The only day I really care about is the wedding day!

 

Besides....I figure if it gets too out of control I'll get dreads like Monica did on Friends!

I've worked in the beauty industry for a very long time and have seen some mixed results with the thermal straighteners. The majority of the girls with the process had very dry and lifeless hair. IMHO and chemical process is great when you make sure you take excellent care of your hair. Unfortunately, the majority of the people do not invest their money or time into finding the right product mix to ensure healthy hair. I've even seen a representative for one of the major companies that makes the thermal process have horrendous hair afterwards, and after a while she decided to grow out the process to where she felt comfortable enough to cut it off. As far as roots are concerned, your roots will still maintain it's natural texture and you will have lots of volume and body at the roots. I have EXTREMELY curly have due to my mixed heritage, and I have had great results with an AVLON texturizer and Goldwell Kerasilk ultra rich shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, serum and flat out marvel straightening balm and my must have T3 wet/dry flat iron. My natural hair texture is thick, curly but soft hair, and even with a texturizer my hair has retained it's curl pattern. However, when I do wear it straight, it's very straight, thin and frizz free (except for really humid weather found in N.O. and K.W. and even then it's not gianormous). When I go curly, I drop the balm and add Sebastian's Laminates Concentrate Gel. With my texturizer my hair does not swell up to Donna Summer proportions even in the Keys and New Orleans. However, when I did not have a texturizer I did use a miracle product called Sabino's Moisture Block, which will provide weight and anti-frizz protection. Try out a product mix that will work for you and realize that there is no ONE product that will work on its own. You have to layer the right products. Good Luck!

I agree. I didn't work in the beauty industry for a long time or anything, but what I did learn is that no one product is going to give you whatever result you're looking for. Starting with the right shampoo & conditioner is a great place to start...

Yes when it grows out you need to re-do it. I get it done twice a year (every six months) and to me it is so worth it!

On the market now is something called Brazilian straightening. I think its not permanent like the Japanese straightening. I don't like this one at all b/c while it straightens your hair it still comes out looking poofy. So sometimes people get this done and they think they got Japanese straightening but they didn't and they end up not happy with it.

I go to this place in Queens, New York called HAIR VILLAGE. It is super famous. It is always on the news. People from all around the world come to it b/c the owner knows what she is doing. You can't just go to any old person b/c they are chemicals and you can damage your hair if not applied properly. Also, she charges anywhere from $140-$200 depending on how thick and long your hair is. I don't know what this process costs like in other parts of the states but I can tell you that anywhere other than this salon charges $700-$1000 in NY! Sometimes even more. It is obscene. This woman makes sooooo much money b/c she basically has an assembly line of workers, she leaves everyone's hair perfect, and she is affordable.

I have seen people get it done at other places and it left their hair volumeless. I have never seen one person leave that salon that was not 100% satisfied. Everyone's hair looks amazing and they have the right amount of volume. Also, my sister and my friends get it done and they all dye their hair. As long as you take care of it w/special conditioners your hair should be fine if you dye it.

I have super curly hair and have fought the New Orleans humidity my whole life! I use Aveda products. They are the only thing that I have found that will help keep the frizz under control, but doesn't make my hair feel like I have gobs of junk in it. I can straighten my hair in the dead heat of summer (near 100% humidity) and it holds up really well when I use Aveda.

 

Try these:

 

smoothing fluid: Aveda - products that nurture. styling. straight/smooth. light elements smoothing fluid

 

Aveda - products that nurture. styling. straight/smooth. smooth infusion style-prep smoother

 

styling cream: Aveda - products that nurture. hair care. styling. definition. control paste

*this is one of my favorites (you only need a very small amount because you don't want your hair to be "piece-y". It helps to keep my hair from growing (like Monica's did on Friends!).

Sounds like I'll be taking a trip to NY soon to go see this whiz at Har Village!!!! Wow ... you've got me all pumped up. :-) lol. Seriously, hopefully we get up there soon since it's where Tom's family lives anyway. And those prices rock. It was like $200 when I got it down here in SC, and it took forever to find a salon where they knew what they were doing. So if it's the same price up there AND a rockin' 100% satisfaction rate, I'm in!

Cool. I haven't used Aveda products before. I use lots of Redken and Chi products currently. I'll give Aveda a try!

Great suggestions ladies! I've been to PV twice and each time I step off the plane my hair curls up into an afro, so this time I'm going to combat it with flying in my stylist for the week to work on it. Its a bit drastic, but hey, you only get one time to do this and I want to do it right. Agree with all the suggestion about Aveda. They are the best!

Thanks for all the great suggestions! A girl I met in PV suggested Ouidad products. Anyone had any luck with this brand?

I hear ya on this one. I have uncontrollable wavy hair and it is a mess in humidity. I jsut spent some time in PV and met these two guys who have a friend who runs a hair salon called Blue in the romantica zone. He does wonders with hair for that kind of weather. He is from the states and would be able to help you out.

 

Best of luck. Please share any secrets with me....

If that place in queens is only $200 then it is worth it to fly there for the day, because its about $600 in some good places in Chicago. I am more afraid of my hair breaking. I have seen that before. Also, I am worried I would do it and then still have to do stuff to my hair because the curls would be out but my hair is thick with fine strands so it gets really flyaway.

 

As far as having to work with the roots, no biggie. It would faster than doing my whole head!

 

I might do this because a hairstylist at Las Caletas is about $400 bucks. If I could do my own hair, it would actually be cheaper with the thermal.