Sunday, May 27, 2012

Completely blown out by Brazilian Blow-out!

I seriously have hair issues ever since I could remember...

I have jet-black, thick, wavy, coarse to frizzy hair ever since I could remember. The kind of hair that makes you gasp in fright in the morning, as soon as you splash your face with water and see yourself at the bathroom mirror. It's that kind of hair that takes hours to blow dry and with the advent of the flat iron, at least an hour to tame it down but once exposed to heat and air, becomes frizzy all over again.

I've had my hair straightened since high school but it looked like a bunch of "walis tingting!" so when rebond became available in the philippines, it was a frizzy girls's dream come true! As a suki hair straightening addict, i have concluded that rebond is one of the most superior hair straightening treatment by far.  I've had my hair rebonded faithfully for the last 13 years or so...

Up until I saw 2 pink lines in my pregnancy test kit in 2010...  What a nice surprise that was!  Will tell you all about my trying-to-get pregnant woes in another post.  But despite all the happiness when you find out that there's a little one growing inside your tummy, I had to sorrowfully say goodbye to my wash and wear, long and straight rebonded hair for my baby's sake! 

I gave birth to the joy of my life, Kiara, on December 26, 2010.  Yes, just a day after Christmas. 


My labor kwento merits a separate post of its own. :)  I hesitated to get my hair rebonded since I was dead-set on breastfeeding my firstborn!  But 6 months into breastfeeding... there goes the 2 pink lines all over again!

So fast forward 9 months after... It's now 2012 and I have just given birth to my 2nd baby girl, Kaedi, a couple of months ago.  She's the sweetest pink bundle of joy!!!

While it's definitely a joy to be a mom, I was dealing with post partum depression, and was desperately freaking out about my hair.  Exactly  27 months after my last rebond session, my hair was definitely freaking out and my long locks were screaming SOS!




I spent hours researching and stumbled upon a new hair technology called The Brazilian Blow Out!  After getting the go signal from both my OB and Pedia (yes, according to the two docs, its perfectly safe for a  breastfeeding mom!),  it was a toss between Rebond and Brazilian Blow Out!

Here"s my PRO and CON list for Rebond and Brazilian Blow Out:

REBOND

PROs
  • Proven effective to straighten hair permanently since chemical treatments transforms the hair structure
  • Lasts really long - around 6-10 months for me depending on hair growth
  • Have my suki Rebond stylist:  home service with cellophane sets me back P3,500 with my ultra thick frizzy long locks
  • Done in the comfort of my home
CONs
  • May damage one's hair - never experienced it but it some experienced split ends and excessive hairfall
  • Super long procedure - i always have a 6 hour rebond procedure because of my super thick hair
  • You can't rebond color treated hair so it's just cellophane with hair color tint that washes out in a few weeks
  • Strong chemical scent
  • You can't wash your hair for at least 3 days

BRAZILIAN BLOW-OUT

PRO
  • Does not use chemicals to alter hair structure
  • Smoothens hair and eliminates frizz so hair appears straighter
  • "Through the use of a Brazilian Super Nutrient Complex and a proprietary polymer system, the Brazilian Blowout actually improves the condition of the hair by creating a protective protein layer around the hair shaft to eliminate frizz and smooth the cuticle. The end result is smooth, healthy, conditioned hair with radiant shine" - Brazilian blow-out website
  • Brazilian Blow Out Zero - no formaldehyde content
  • You can apply BB to color treated hair
  •  You can wash your hair and take a bath right after!
  • Takes about 90 minutes!
CON
  • relatively new in the market and i have not known any success story yet other than testimonials in the internet
  • super pricey!  I had my hair quoted in different salons and it ranged from P12,000 (exag right?!) to P5,000.  There are BB promos in the internet that average around P2,500 per treatment but I opted to go to a reputable salon in case something goes wrong with my hair!
  • Had to go to the salon, my suki stylist does not offer this yet 
  • Lasts for a short time only, 2-4 months tops!

The clincher for me being the OC mom that I was the fact that you can wash your hair right after the treatment.  I didn't want my 2-month old Kaedi to smell anything from my treated hair, despite BB being formaldehyde free and all.   And despite the go-signal of both my OB and Pedia,  I switched to formula feeding for that night to be really really sure.  I just pumped for 2-3 feedings and threw away the breastmilk!

For the first time also, I was able to color my hair.  Since my hair was jet black, I chose a subtle dark brown shade so my hubby and the people I know won't get shocked!  Wonder of wonders!  Coloring does make your complexion fairer, and takes years of your face! 

I love the effect of BB coz my hair is straighter but not the walis tingting kind of straight hair.  It just falls softly, still has a few waves here and there.  Parang its a good hair day everyday and that you were born with naturally soft straight hair!

At the end of my maternity leave, I was all set and ready to face the pressures at work.  And I was greeted with all praises and compliments (tally so far is 108 as of today!). "You lost so much weight!" "Blooming ka"  "Ganda mo ha"!  

Some of my colleagues would just stare at me quizzically and ask, "Did you do something (to your face, body, fill in the blanks) when you were on leave?" and to the super kulit question they ask "So, what did you do nga?"  They really couldn't figure it out!

I just give them a wink and a knowing smile... I bat my eyelash and tell them "Breastmilk is still best for babies!"





Who knows, i might go back to rebond in a few months.... but now, when asked about Brazilian Blow Out, I say, Love it!


7 comments:

  1. Hi! I want to try BB too. Gaano katagal bago bumalik yung natural hair mo? Thanks! Hope to hear from you.. Kindly email me at julietbato1@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Julie! It lasted for about 4 months for me. :). But I know of a lot of people who have been using keratin treatments / BB and they were able to maintain naturally looking straight hair!

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  2. Hi! I'm interested in this also. Where did you had your bb done? And if its ok, how much did it cost you? Thanks!!:))
    hope to hear from you.. kindly email me @ aprilchan@gmail.com

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  3. hi,pwede pong malaman kung sang salon ka nagpa-bb at sang branch? pwede b mgpatreatment khit my kulay ung hair.need ur feedback,plsss! thanks cathymj15@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lee,

      Yes, I had my hair colored first. Blow out was to condition the hair. :)

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  4. Hi! I had it done at Status Salon, it used to be across Gateway Mall but I heard they already moved to Eastwood...

    April, I think it cost me around 6k last time with hair color.

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