Emerson Salon – Capitol Hill Seattle

Arianna asked our stylists:

“I have really curly hair and I am thinking about getting it permanently straightened for awhile. What are the risks of doing this? Will it wreck my hair? What else should I know before going ahead with it?”

Good question Arianna! Here’s what our stylists have to say.

Lancer says,

“Permanent hair straightening will change your hair texture completely. The only way to remove it is to have the straightened lengths of your hair cut off. A better option for you would be the Keratin Smoothing treatment. This treatment can be varied to give a less-than-permanent smoothness to your hair. If you choose this route, you will still have to flat iron your hair to get it completely straight.

Hair that has been chemically altered needs special care. You must use professional hair care products that your stylist recommends for your at-home maintenance. Otherwise, your service that you paid for cannot be guaranteed, and straightened hair (whether done with a straightening, smoothing, and.or flat ironing treatment) is very different hair and needs extra care.

Potential risks include breakage if the treatment isn’t done correctly. Seek out a salon that does these treatments on a regular basis and ask about a stylist’s certification and credentials first. Also, if your hair is currently colored, permed, highlighted, or bleached, it may have too poor of porosity to accept another chemical treatment, though professional straightening treatments are available for those hair types.

Finally, the treatment is a bit costly and time-intensive. Do your research, have a thorough consultation with your stylist before proceeding, and then you can decide if it is right for you!”

Thanks for your question Arianna! Hope this helped!

Stay tuned for more Ask a Stylist posts as the Emerson team answers all your burning hair questions!