chemical hair straightening

[FatBellyJones]

a couple of people mentioned it on the grooming thread and I've been hankering after getting it done for years now so I'm ready to bite the bullet and book an appointment but can anyone recommend somewhere in London? Preferably North or Central

Ta very much

oh, and it's yuko I think I'm thinking about although I've looked at the ionic restructuring thing too but it seems that effect is not quite as thorough.. so advice/opinions sought too please

i buy boots own chemical straightening kit for £14.99 its great and you can do it in your own time.

thanks AAW.. I tried that last year and it was pretty good but not quite strong enough to properly straighten my hair, it left it still very wavy and needing straighteners to make it look half decent but it was more manageable. I'm hoping that now nearly a year has passed it would be safe to try a professional jobbie

bumping for the evening crew

Stay wavy

trouble is mercy is that it just looks soo untidy and it is very hard to manage.. starts forming clumps and dreadlocks overnight EVERYNIGHT, when I wash it it takes about 2 hours to dry naturally, 30 mins with a hairdryer and I'm tired of it. Sometimes I have to leave home at 8am and it's just not feasible to be getting up at 5.30 or 6 to accomodate dodgy hair

I would like, just for one short period of my life to have lovely, glossy, low maintenance hair that I can look back and reminisce on in my dotage

Sorry I was being silly - I have thick wavy hair which just kind of hangs there and bushes out at the same time! Tis very annoying sometimes.

Right, when you say chemical straightening do you mean for Afro or European hair?

it's european hair, but if I don't wash it every day then it very quickly becomes coarse and starts making dreadlocks... sometimes I have to cut lumps out of it.

I've heard/read really good things about Yuko and fancy giving it a try with my christmas money but I would ideally like someone to recommend somewhere they've had it done before if that makes sense?

Have you tried olive oil to soften/ smooth your hair. It's good for tangled bushes.

Throw away the hairdryer!!

Message withdrawn

mercy it's rare that I use the hairdryer, mostly a quick blast when I have to go out and its still wet.. specially now it's cold outside.. I've used olive oil, coconut oil, all kinds of treatments/conditioners etc and nothing helps at all

peterlikesjane, what sort of method did they use, was it Yuko or something else? I'm in Aldwych during the week which is very close to covent garden so it's a feasible plan to get there

anyone else got any recommendations/experience?

I tried the Yuko straightening treatment once, years ago. It was expensive but I loved the results. For the first time in my life I had lovely, shiny, straight hair and I didn't need to do anything to it. Of course, once the roots grew out in my natural waves it started looking weird . I was very happy to have done it - have now got poker straight hair out of my system.
Sorry, can't recommend the place cos I've forgotten the name and it was so long ago. It was in Covent Garden and I found it on t'internet.

thanks wotsit.. I might just have to go for a walk around there next week

so you could really wash it and not have to use straighteners or anything? it was smooth and soft and all that?

ive had mine straightened. not in the uk unfortunately, so cant really recommend anywhere. however, it is fantastic. and i would recommend it completely.
a couple of things though. has your hair been lightened in colour at all? because if it has, then you cant have it done. unless you like your hair on the floor that is.
also, african hair cannot be straihgtened using the yuko method.
it does damage your hair, so you need to be religious about conditioning EVERY single time you wash it, and use a mask at least a couple of times a month.
i havent really found the growth to be a problem. it just means i have more body at the top, which looks good. and when it does grow enough to require the use of straightners, it can be done in ten minutes, rather than the thirty or forty it used to take.

Yes, it was. Shiny and soft and straight. I suppose if I'd used straighteners the 'look' would have lasted longer. And I went on holiday to Malaysia a month or so after, and the humidity didn't affect it at all.

i have not even brushed my hair today. and it looks amazing!
but you must condition it all the time.

I remember being told that you can't use yuko if you've bleached your hair or used sun-in.

oh gawd I'm getting excited!!

My hair isn't bleached but it does have a home hair dye in it from about 4 months ago (I've got shocking roots and greys coming through!!)

I'm used to conditioning because atm I use gallons of the stuff just to get my hair to look halfway decent and get the tangles out. my hair currently is taking up at least an hour a day and that's just washing, conditioning and untangling, add on straightening and it would be around 2 and a half or three hours!!
Do you have to use any particular brand of products on it afterwards or just normal ones for dry/damaged hair?

I hvent had it cut for nearly a year either so the ends are shocking, would it be best to get a trim before hand or do the yuko people do it or best to wait til afterwards?

I'm looking at this place

the website looks amazing.
however. i was not impressed by there statement that lightened hair can be straightend. every hairdresser i have spoken to says it cannot. my cousin is a haridresser at vidal sassoon in ny. some sort ofo hotshot there. and he says it cannot be done, and in fact does not recomend it alt all, because of the damage it does to your hair.. but he was not anit it enoguht o stop me from getting it done iyswim.
normal hair colour is not a problem. just not lightened.

after the treatment was done, i was offered a trim, because of the damage. and i do have it trimmed mmuch more regularly than i ever did before. i want straight healthy hair. not straight damaged, spliteneded hair. so yes, i do trim every three months or so. and colour when the roots are obvious.
check out the place itself. are they busy? what do their customers look like? see if you can find out something from them. are they regulars?
good luck

or maybe here which is nearly £100 cheaper!

and thank you

there website isnt as fancy, but i think i prefer it.
however, i think the only wya you will ger a real feel for it is to actually go along to the salon. see what they are like. will the y be likely to value your custom?
this place is where i often go to get my eyebrows threaded. i asked them about hair straightening. and from there answers i felt that i could have it done there. however i ended up managing to go to pakistan, and had it done there again. i have had it doen twice now. lasted tenmonths first time. they said it would cost in the region of 150 pounds. however this is something that i would not skimp on and go for the cheaper bargain basement offer. iyswim. you can really only go by gut feeling, and other s recomendations on this

your welcome fbj!

thanks pukka. Is your hair very long? mine is almost waist length when straight, bra band when curly

oddly even tho your place is further away it's the easiest for me to get to I think, straight down the northern line and it looks as tho it's the least expensive of the 3. I get your point about bargain basement completely and in fact was prepared for about a £500 bill but it seems I had over-estimated in the first place so price is really not the issue, as you said it's the 'feel' of the place and the stylists etc

I'll do some research definitely and think some more (as I've been doing for about 2-3 years )