In Elizabethan times everyone wore thick white powder make up and fantastic ornate wigs and it wasn't just the women!! When it comes to hair and hair styles to this day the people with curly or wavy hair want to straighten it and the people with straight hair want to crimp it or perm it!



Any chemical treatments can damage your hair, especially if the procedure is not followed correctly by the stylist. Believe me, if a perm or relaxing treatment goes wrong you have a bigger problem than you first started with.

For a great many years the only semi permanent solution to tight curls, frizzy and unmanageable hair was the use of chemicals. This process requires hair, no matter what type, to be in excellent condition but it is the responsibility of the stylist who is going to carry out the process to determine the texture of your hair.

The process is as follows:-

1. Your hair will be washed thoroughly.

2. The relaxing chemical will be applied to your hair a section at a time - the strength of solution should be tailored to suit your hair texture

3. The chemicals are left on your hair to "cook." The length of time again should be determined by your hair texture.

4. Your hair will then be rinsed; this is really important and must be done properly to remove the relaxing solution. A neutralising solution is then applied to set the hair.

5. A good quality conditioner should then be applied to prevent the hair breaking and splitting.

6. It is then usually a good idea to let your hair recover before washing or styling again so leave it for a couple of days.

With this process there are a great many pit falls, if the stylist of not experienced enough things could go badly wrong at stage 2, 3 or 4. You may end up with hair which would not look out of place on a scare crow in a farmer's field!!

Most likely the visit to the salon will have cost a great deal of hard earned cash and the chances are it is going to cost more going to a different salon to try to rectify the problem. Most likely the only solution getting your hair cut into a short style and having to wait for new growth to appear.

All this said this is not in any way intended to discourage anyone who feels that this is the option for them. This is the worst case scenario. There are thousands and thousands of chemical relaxing treatments carried out every week and the vast majority of clients are perfectly happy with the results. The only advice I would offer is use a reputable salon preferably one which has been recommended by a satisfied client.

The alternative to all this hassle is to spend $100 on a Sedu Straightening Iron. Okay this is not what you would call cheap but it will pay for itself in a few months of not having to visit the salon for anything other than a trim.

Like all new things it does take a bit of practise to perfect the art. However because of the magnificent technology used in the Sedu straightening irons you will find that it takes a lot less time to style your hair than with other similar products.

Your style will last for 2 or 3 days even after sleeping because of the infra red rays which seal the hair giving a lustre and smoothness of a professional salon. It is important to underline here too it is very important to ensure that you use good quality hair care products, especially conditioners to give your hair the necessary protection and maintain consistent results.