I have a dilemma. A week ago I visited a friend of mine, and as we sat on the floor discussing how to achieve world peace, her teenage daughter and makeup queen took it upon herself to straighten my hair with her flatiron. Either she was bored, or my hair really, really bothered her. It matters not to me — my hair bothers me a lot, so I’m sure it has that effect on others, too. Besides, could anything be more pleasant than having someone who doesn’t expect monetary compensation play with your hair for twenty or so minutes?
Anyway, I didn’t really pay much attention to what she was doing, as I was too engrossed in the conversation with my friend. I’d never had my hair straightened before, although I’ve had it permed, and photographs of that unfortunate event from college has mysteriously disappeared. (Did you know that Asian women can get ‘fros? Who knew?) I didn’t think it would look good, as I have fairly fine hair and expected it to just make it look, well, finer, but not in a good way, you know? I thought it would just lay flat against my head, playing dead, until I’d put it out of its misery once and for all by washing the flatness of it away in the shower.
When she had done the evil deed, I jumped up to check the results in the bathroom mirror and Ohmygodisthatmeareyoukiddingmethatsamazinghowtheheckdidyoudothatwillyoubemystylistforever?
Now, I’m sure all of you reading this blog probably knows the magical secrets of the flatiron, but this girl (aka, moi) does not. The last hair appliance I used that wasn’t a blowdryer was one of those Clairol curling irons from the 1980′s, with the plastic barrel that occasionally smelled of burning rubber. Or burning hair, most likely. I look at flatirons at Target and wonder at the science and art of wielding one, what fantastic powers it must bestow upon those in-the-know.
My friend’s apparently super-brilliant daughter had managed to not only tame my wavy hair into glossy submission but also made it super-soft and gave it tons of sexy movement. B. adored it. Too bad it only lasted a day, but oh, what a difference a day makes.
So. My sister-in-law recently had her hair straightened using the popular Japanese treatment at a local Asian salon for less than $300. They did a fabulous job, and now she can go about her day as a busy working mom, wife and daughter (her mom lives with her family) without having to devote an hour of that day to wrestling with her extremely wavy hair. (Who knew Asians really have wavy locks underneath all that shiny straightness? Model minority hair is just that — in the minority.) I’m now wondering if I should perhaps do the same thing and prolong this fantasy of stick-straight, angel-kissed strands. It’s not cheap, but I’ve heard they usually cost much more at “traditional” salons (i.e., where all the stylists are Caucasian and speak English).
So I ask you: what do you think? Here’s a photo of me post-straightening:
And here’s one of me in all my frizzy, pre-straightened glory:
I think I look fine either way, but honestly, I’ve had variations of the latter style for most of my adult life, save for the rare and all-too-often-brief times I’ve had it for much longer. (I wish I could stop myself from cutting my hair, but alas, I can’t help myself.) It would be nice to change it up once in awhile. Life’s so short, so why not play around with one’s hair while it’s still young and healthy, right? Can I hear an Amen?
Seriously, what do you think? Merci mille in advance for your advice!
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{ 7 comments }
It's very cute! I have curly hair that I've grown to love (really love, actually, now that I understand what it wants from me), but every now and then I get the urge to flat iron it, which is a fun change.
I had my hair straighted once, and it did not give me the wash-and-go hair I wanted, but that was a very long time ago, and it wasn't a Japanese treatment. I'd be interested to see how it works, though I no longer want to get rid of my curls.
I say go for it. It's fun to play with your look every now and then. And report back and tell us all about it!
I have a friend who has had the straightening done several times and loves it. Myself, I just use the Chi iron almost every morning. If you go with an iron, the Chi is truly the only one that will not damage hair because the plates are 100% solid ceramic, rather than just "ceramic coated" like other brands.
I would love to know if you go for it, I might consider doing it after I have this baby and I don't have time to do the manual straightening every day…
Hey Marjorie:
My very excellent stylist begged me to refrain from buying a flat iron. She has many clients who have absolutely become addicted & ruined their hair. I have seen it in the waiting area…one woman wanted to hide because she saw someone she knew. (In DC, you are gonna see people you know!)
I love both of your photos. Like you I have a lot of hair. But Camille-the-stylist convinced me to leave it alone & if I really want a sleeker look for an event, fine. She'll do it. So far, I've just gone with the blow-out that comes with color/cut.
BTW, I know what you mean about hair styles but……yours is classic. What can I say, I'm giving a Gallic shrug here. I do have something quite similar. But it suits me…I do go longer now & again (lately because of $ more than anything:)& get free bang trims.)
But I have to tell you, you look absolutely chic & refreshing to me.
The thing that convinced me re: flat-iron is: 1) I'm loyal to one salon, one stylist for 28 years now (eek) & they've never steered me wrong; 2) as I said, the evidence of hair breakage sitting waiting to get their hair cut really short as there's nothing else to be done; and 3) these are laid-back people in a hyper town & I could not believe the instant NO reaction I received. As in NONONO. (I did say, well these safer ones, with the coating, etc…the answer was still…NO). Hey, I listen to the stylist, man.
Whatever you decide, we'll all stand by you when you get the crewcut:) lol
xoxo
Before paying lots of money to have it chemical straightened, I would buy a a middle of the line straightener to use for a while. To see how you like it, that is what I do I don't straighten mine on a daily bases so I don't damage it like some women, but then when I want it straight I don't have to pay someone else to do it.
Dear brown-eyed grrl, bonjour and merci!
Well, the first thing I'm going to do is get a decent trim. Even the best straightening treatment in the world won't tame these bangs, sadly.
I think I'm going to go for it, but I'm going to wait until my hair grows out a bit more, maybe by the end of August. I think it'll look even better with hair below my shoulders.
It's funny, but I used to hate my hair, but now that I'm older, I'm starting to come to peace with it. Isn't that wonderful about being older?
And yes, I will definitely report back when I get it done! I'll even get B. to take photos, if he can handle being in a salon for more than five minutes.
Dear J, bonjour! I've heard other people say the same thing about the Chi. The thing is, I'm not really into spending a lot of time straightening my hair manually everyday, and my friend's daughter took a good 20 minutes on mine! I usually spend no more than 5 blow-drying it when I have the chance, and I still think that's too long!
By the way, my sister-in-law has an 18-month-old girl and works full-time as an accounting manager. She loves having her hair straight now; she used to spend 45 minutes every morning just working that flatiron, but she said it just wasn't very realistic once she had the baby. I'll let you know when I get it done what the whole ordeal was like.
Dear Susan, merci for your compliments! I'm getting a trim this Tuesday with my stylist of about 15 years (minus the few years I spent overseas and out of state) and will get her input, too. I know my sister-in-law really loves her treatment, although her hair is different from mine (like me, she has wavy hair, but hers is much, much thicker and coarser).
I've never had my hair colored, and the only chemical I use on my hair is an anti-frizz lotion from Garnier Fructis, of which I use a quarter-size after I wash. I'm hoping that since I'm pretty gentle on my locks, the treatment will be as well.
I also have a friend who's been straightening her hair for more than twenty years (I don't think I've seen her natural wave since we were juniors in high school!), and even she has to back off now and then to let it "heal."
As I mentioned above, I'm going to wait until the end of August, partly to grow my hair out some more and partly to do more research on the process. At the very least, if it doesn't work, it will always grow back.
By the way, speaking of crewcut, I actually did cut my hair 1" all around just before I went on my big, 4-month backpacking trip several years ago. Oh man, that was amazing! I didn't even need to comb it the first six weeks. Talk about freedom. I'll have to post photos as soon as I get through those slides!
Dear Bobbi Janay, that's actually not a bad idea, although I've had this same hair style for so long, I wouldn't mind a chance. Also, it doesn't last that long — six months to a year — so it's not as if I have to live with it permanently. I'm known to be a bit adventurous with hairstyles (yes, sadly, I'll admit to having a mullet in the '80s, too), albeit without ever coloring my hair, so it's not like there's no precedent. Those flatirons are pretty expensive, too!
Merci to everyone for your comments!
Salut,
Marjorie
We have the same hair type, judging from your 'before' picture! YOu know the kind that poufs out at the ends when its air-dried after a shower (a layered cut helps to minimize the poufiness).
I've found over the years that my hair behaves a lot better when heat is applied: it lays better when I dry it with a hair dryer or when I use a 1 and a half inch barrel curling iron to straighten the hair shaft and slightly curl the ends. I know this is suppose to damage the hair but that hasn't manifested…yet.
OK, back to the question of having the procedure done or not. $300 is a big hunk of change but I say if you have it, go for it. It's not forever but at least you won't go through the "shoulda, woulda, coulda" thinking. Or you could wait until you go to the Philippines and have it done there. I did and it cost around $80 bucks and lasted for 5 months (I was there only for a haircut and the stylist talked me into getting it. And I don't think it's the Japanese procedure). I did it once and I don't think I'll do it again but it's still something I don't regret having done:)
Nowadays, I'm a wash and go person and the only style I bother to do is to pull up my hair in a ponytail. But for the rare special instances and situations, I'll pull out my big barreled curling iron and spend the extra 10 minutes on my hair.
Bonjour, Joanne! I suspect that our hair is exactly the same. Filipinos seem to be very similar to Malays in terms of hair texture — fine, fussy and fragile. Grrr!
I'm with you — blowdrying takes me about five minutes, but my otherwise wavy hair becomes very compliant even with that little heat. I blowdried my hair for about a decade without using any products, and as far as I can tell, it hasn't damaged it at all. (Nowadays I use an anti-frizz and protective cream, though.)
You know, when I was in the Philippines, my mom paid for my cousin to have the whole Japanese treatment done as a gift. She has this super-thick, super-wavy hair (almost Afro-like), and the procedure took about seven hours. (Seriously. We brought her breakfast, lunch and dinner.) I think it cost the equivalent of about $65, and her hair turned out beautifully. My mom offered to pay for me to have it done, too, but I demurred, mostly because I couldn't bear the thought of immobilizing myself for that long. Now I'm kicking myself for not going ahead with it!
I had my hair trimmed by my stylist yesterday, and she advised me the same thing: get a straightening iron and try it out a few times. See if I like the look. She said that that's the best way to determine if I want to make the leap towards having it stay that way "permanently." I guess I'm off to Target, then!
I'm like you — a wash-and-go person, and when I need to I'll pull out the blow dryer. But I haven't really changed my hairstyle in years, other than occasionally throwing in bangs, and it would be nice to try something different. $300, though, is still $300. Not sure if it's worth forking over that much just for something "different!"
Salut,
Marjorie
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