I’m at war with my hair. I’ve subjected it to torture and noisome chemical weapons. My armoury contains bristly metal brushes, hair-frazzling irons, tangle removers, sprays, lotions, every new range of shampoo and conditioner since 1991. Chemical straightening left me with unnaturally poker-straight straw-like locks; intensive conditioning at the salon never lasted for more than a few washes; and, chemical relaxing treatments generate too many horror stories and require marathon sessions in the salon. On the Malaysian front, I’ve lost almost every battle against frizz; tropical humidity, heat and rain have allied with my unruly mop to make every day a bad hair day. I had resigned myself to frizziness, until Winnie Loo, Chief Creative Director of A Cut Above Salon, introduced me to the ultimate weapon against frizz: KeraStraight.

KeraStraight fights frizz without frazzling the hair; it gently repairs and straightens the hair, adding shine and strength that lasts up to four months. Unlike several alternative treatments available, it didn’t require me to sit in the salon chair for 12 hours, it didn’t need to be left on for three days, and I was able to wash and style my hair on the same day. Best of all, the results are as impressive on treated and tortured hair like mine, although those with virgin hair can expect hair to stay smooth and silky for up to six months rather than four.

The KeraStraight product literature is refreshingly open and easy to understand, which helped me to make an informed choice. KeraStraight comes with ringing endorsements, too: Winnie Loo is the brand ambassador here in Malaysia, and A Cut Above holds the exclusive licence for KeraStraight; Trevor Sorbie International is the offcial UK ambassador; and, the product has Anvisa accreditation, meaning it meets the exacting health & safety standards in the UK and Europe. I was sold on KeraStraight. Winnie has the reputation of being one of Malaysia’s top hairdressers, so I took a seat in the Mid Valley branch of A Cut Above and put my hair in her hands. First, Winnie’s assistant washed my hair with the deep penetrating KeraStraight Pre-Treatment Shampoo, rinsed, then repeated the wash and left the shampoo in for 10 minutes to open up the hair shaft and soften the hair. After a second rinse, two stylists dried my hair then set to work on applying the KeraStraight KS Complex Treatment to my hair in small strips.The product was then left to sink in for around 10 minutes, when it was blow-dried and straightened with irons – this took around 40 minutes in total, making it the longest stage of the process. I was already able to see some di.erence in my hair – it was smoother and healthier looking. Next, my hair was washed with KeraStraight Maintain Shampoo, then conditioned with Straight Maintain Conditioner, followed by one final blow-dry. As you can see from the pictures, my hair looks great – shiny, healthy, and flowing rather than stiff, frizzy and tangled. I was particularly impressed that my hair had retained its natural wave – it still felt like my hair, only better behaved.

But, the true test was yet to come… would my hair look as good the next day, without Winnie and her team to blow dry, style and straighten it? I washed my hair the following morning, with the KeraStraight maintenance products recommended by Winnie. Amazingly, I was able to blow dry it with a regular hairbrush and walk out the house – no leave-in conditioner, no straighteners, and no serum required. Wow.

Thanks to Winnie Loo and KeraStraight, I’ve called a ceasefire with my hair.

KeraStraight is available at A Cut Above salons in Pavilion KL, Sunway Pyramid, Mid Valley Megamall, Bangsar Village 2, and Bangsar Shopping Centre. Go to www.acutabove.com.my to find out more.

This article was written by Katrina Melvin
Source: The Expat September 2011 
This article has been edited for ExpatGomalaysia.com
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