Tricks or Treatments?

WTF!

Does this scenario resonate with you? You wake up in the morning, hop in the shower. You brush your teeth, exfoliate your face, and moisturize your face and body. Then, you apply your make up and begin combing your hair. You look in the sink and hair is every where. You look on the floor and hair is every where. You get your Swiffer Sweeper, paper towel or maybe you grab the broom so you can quickly dispose of those much needed strands. Your heart races a little. You do not want to panic totally because the bath mats are camouflaging the rest of the hair. You think to yourself, “I dare not shake these mats. Hell, I’m running late.”

You get to work. You are getting on with your day. You stop in the lady’s room to freshen up. You comb your hair again. More hair is in the sink, flakes have fallen onto your Ann Taylor suit and the shedding hair is very noticeable on the jacket. Finally, you mummer to yourself, “Now this is some bullshit.”

You go back to your desk, grab your Droid, notebook, pen and head over to your meeting. You can not concentrate because all you can think about is your excessively shedding hair. The meeting is over and the powers that be are gone for the day. You hate to do it, but you have to. You have to cut out work, head to the salon to get a ……TREATMENT.

If you are a lover of hip hop then you can just about guess what verse I’m about to use; “here comes the fusion.” In my Flavor Flav voice! You get to the salon; you are there for quite some time. You feel a sense of relief come over you as your stylist assures you that this treatment will work. You take her word for it; hook, line and sinker. You leave and it appears nice while you are at the salon. When you wake up in the morning; it is worse. Now your words turn to something like, WTF!

Are you wondering what happened? Why was her hair shedding? Why did she leave work for her hair? What kind of treatment did she use? How much did she pay? Where did she go get it done at? All of these questions are running through your head.

The answers to your concerns are simple; a consultation. All of her hair shedding woes could have been best handled by a thorough in depth consultation. Versus taking her back to the shampoo bowl and sitting you under a dryer; a thorough consultation with a hand out explaining to you how it works is a simple route. Honestly stylists who use quality products do not sit their clients under the dryer; not many do that any more. Even spas have speed. Customers are now voicing their concerns that some stylists are using dryers to buy time. Consultations are the foundation of every salon visit. A consultation saves you time and money. Many times clients are misled as to what hair care products can and cannot do. As a result, the above scenario becomes common to many.

Hair care products fall into a category called cosmetics which basically mean to enhance or camouflage. Regardless the price, hair care products are very superficial (on the surface). Shampoos, conditioners and treatments are topical. Most do very little repairing. Because the health of the hair comes from within and the FDA has very clear definitions and guidelines as to what the difference is between a cosmetic and a medicine; hair care companies have to follow those guidelines. Hair care products are cosmetics to hair; NOT medicines. So; consumers beware.

Conditioners are formulated to make hair soft, manageable, easy to de-tangle and shine. Treatments are formulated to superficially act as a band aid. Some treatments can penetrate and work on all 3 layers of your hair. That’s right; each strand of hair has multiple layers. Most treatments only work on the outer layer, called the cuticle which is mostly made of keratin which is also a protein. Protein treatments are great. The secret to getting the best protein treatment your money and time can buy is to know where the source of protein comes from. Every stylist has their own theory as to what they think the best source is. Therefore, I suggest this, “If it works; use it. If not, stop.” The second, thing that makes a treatment worth its money and time is the technology in it. The trend now is Nano-tech and organic. If your stylist is not using this language, suggest she try some of the newer products. Nano tech and organic offers customers speed. Products that do not have the technology require the use of a heated dryer; which means more time in the salon. The third thing that makes a treatment great is customization. Be sure the label is specific to your hair texture and type. I would be leery of the same buzz words. For example, moisturizing, shine, soft and so on.

Really good treatments do just that; they treat your hair. Be practical on how much you want to invest. Any stylist who offers money back guarantee would get my money…hint. The worst case scenario is you could make your own treatment. Google natural treatments and you would be surprised. Perhaps most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator.

Treats; no tricks, you as the customer have the power because you have the money. Do not be duped by fluff and heat. The science, creativity and availability are yours for the taking. Demand the best because you are and for sure you will end up with the treat!