Brazilian blowout at home versus going natural

[growingpains]

Help requested!

the formaldehyde free Brazilian blow out home kit?

I tried the formaldehyde free Brazilian blow out home kit last night :o Of course since I have yet to wash my hair I can not yet make comments on it. All I can say is eww.. it feels dirty.

Has anyone tried it?

I kind of hope it works cause it'll make it easier for me to avoid heat and to avoid obsessing about the frizziness. On the other hand though I *really* want to learn how to deal with my natural texture but I just feel SO stuck.

I'm kind of disappointed in myself. I had been trying sooo hard to "go natural". I seem to be stuck at the mid back abyss and have been here for some time. I swear this time last year my hair was the EXACT same length. I figure that it'd probably grow longer if I treated it better, so I've been trying sooo hard, but I am just getting so sick of the way it looks when I let it air dry. I can't seem to get the "polished" look I so crave.

Please help me!! Do you think CO will transform my frizzy, yucky looking hair into something more sleek? I don't necessarily need straight, I just dislike how fluffy and frizzy and in between wavy/straight it gets.

oh, and hi everyone, I'm new(ish) here, have been a member for ages but lost my password so only lurked and never posted until now. So glad I'm finally posting. I hope someone has some advice for me:)

[varintalonguard]

Hi growingpains...I was wondering . How do you brush/comb your hair? How many times a day, do you do it wet or dry?

I'm finding that those of use with wurly or curly hair have to be really careful how we treat our hair with our detangling friends.Getting rid of or taming frizz may be helped along by making sure you do not brush/comb your hair when it is dry. The leave in is good for helping with frizz. I see you use one with cones on your length which I agree does help a lot when you have fly away hair.

[growingpains]

thank you for your reply:)

I brush my hair many times per day. I do not yet have a solid routine.

I use a wide tooth comb after the shower when it is damp, although only for aesthetic reasons cause my hair actually couldn't tangle if it tired.

Then I tend to look in the mirror when it is almost dry, think "yuck" and use the comb again to try and smooth. Or other times I will twirl it to try to reduce frizz and coax some curls before it is fully dry. I have a hard time leaving it alone as it dries. If I don't brush after the shower then it is definitely wavier and if crunched if holds a lot of curl, even without product. But it's not the kind of curl I like particularly. I like smooth, large, separated curls. Mine end up very piecey and most like lots of little waves all over.

When it's dry I do brush it. Like if I am out all day and then want to go out for dinner I give it a brush. This seems to make it look better. It doesn't seem to make the frizz worse. Maybe I should stop though?

It seems like whether it looks "bad" or "good" is in how it dries and how much I touch it/what I do with it as it dries? Sometimes I damp bun and this often produces smooth, sleek results with few flyaways and lotsa bouncy, big curls.

[Sundial]

You may want to check out the thread on Hair Wrapping ;) I haven't tried it myself but it seems that some members with your hairtype have tried it with some success! Hopefully it works out as a natural alternative to the Brazilian blowout

[Firefox7275]

Welcome! :)

Fluff/ frizz/ poof often indicates more curl than you realise, certainly what you are saying about scrunching would suggest you are more than a 1c/2a. If you are curly then brushing your hair repeatedly and touching it when it is drying will make the frizz worse and will cause damage ... I speak from bitter experience! :p This thread was a revelation (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/47609-post-your-before-after-cg-pics.html) for me because several of the before photos look exactly like my hair!

I don't find a basic shampoo-conditioner routine is enough for my hair, so I use a leave-in. There are positive reports of curlies using conditioner-only, condition-wash-condition, the oil shampoo method or sulphate free/ cone-free. Curl definition apparently needs lots of moisture and often some sort of product - I am already getting some definition at the front from treating my hair differently as it dries. Brushing may make your hair look better temporarily but it does not work long term, otherwise you wouldn't have to repeat it many times a day. :shrug:

[PolythenePam]

Hey growingpains!

I'm a long time lurker/new poster too! I've got naturally curly hair but go back and forth straightening it. So I understand you wanting to have that look. But here's my take on it and it has helped me keep my hair on my head: Every so often, maybe a couple times a year a new product comes out targeted to us curlies for us to straighten our hair. It could be a topical product like the Japanese straightening system or a new "revolutionary" flat iron.

I tried a product years ago called "Rio". It was supposed to be an all natural hair straightener. The late night infomercials got me. The guy who created it ate it on camera to show how harmless it was. My hair fell out in clumps. Everyone's did. Or it turned green. There were class action lawsuits. I was one of the lucky ones who's hair grew back. Some people's didn't. I learned from that to never be first in line to try any of this stuff.

When the Instyler (flat iron) first came out some peoples iron would get so scorching melting hot, with no warning a whole section of hair would just fall to the ground as they worked it thru their hair.

I'm trying to scare you. Even though your hair is not the length you want-it is mid back and it's work protecting and babying it's way to where you want it. You don't want to start from scratch.

If damp bunning works for you and is getting you close to the hair texture/style you want, I would work on perfecting that. In my opinion :soapbox: that is a much better option than gambling on these products.

[growingpains]

Thank you all SOOOO much for your responses! :) So appreciate it.


You may want to check out the thread on Hair Wrapping ;) I haven't tried it myself but it seems that some members with your hairtype have tried it with some success! Hopefully it works out as a natural alternative to the Brazilian blowout

Yes, perhaps I will try this in the summer.:) Good idea! I wonder though if this might be straying too far from the low maintenance hair I so desire? I really want to be able to 'wash and wear' with some babying and product along the way. How long does wrapping take and how do people's SO's react? My BF already thinks I have an obsession, but then again, he begs me almost every day not to cut and also to wear it down so he shouldn't complain.


Fluff/ frizz/ poof often indicates more curl than you realise, certainly what you are saying about scrunching would suggest you are more than a 1c/2a. If you are curly then brushing your hair repeatedly and touching it when it is drying will make the frizz worse and will cause damage ... I speak from bitter experience! This thread was a revelation for me because several of the before photos look exactly like my hair!

firefox! Thank you for this. I shall investigate naturally curly and let you know of the results! (May be a bit though, depending on the BB results... which btw seem like nothing other than greasiness right now... go figure the home kit would be subpar. I may even wash my hair before the recommended set time and just focus on embracing my natural.


I'm trying to scare you. Even though your hair is not the length you want-it is mid back and it's work protecting and babying it's way to where you want it. You don't want to start from scratch.

If damp bunning works for you and is getting you close to the hair texture/style you want, I would work on perfecting that. In my opinion that is a much better option than gambling on these products.

This. This was so encouraging to me. Thank you Polythenepam. You are so right. I should be grateful for what I have. Several years ago when I didn't understand getting a trim every 6 weeks would prevent growth and that monthly dye/daily straightening were butchering my then SL hair, I would have given ALOT to have hair like I do now. Perhaps it's my attitude I need to work on as much as my hair:eek: It's not perfect, but it's the best combination of length and health it's ever been and I *am* grateful for that. A little patience, some TLC and several months and I will have my virgin hair as long as the damaged pieces are now. I think it's the damage that is driving me crazy. honestly. I am so desperate for it to grow and hate the idea of sacrificing length, but maybe I should plan on getting a solid inch or so cut off soon and focus on maintaining/enhancing health/thikening hemline?

And yes, I will work on the damp bunning and focus on actually learning how to do buns beyond just wrapping it around and around and putting a bobbypin in it or elastic around it (what is that bun called?).

My plan is to switch to CO - or if that ends up in a puddle of greasies to do C-Cow-C or CO interspersed with occasional washes, to look into that curly thread, to learn some cool buns and to keep wrapping in mind. :)

AND NO HEAT!!! (Oh god). ;)

[HintOfMint]

I have a similar hairtype and I'm not a fan of my waves if it just airdries. I damp bun regularly and I shower at night and usually this works out well for me. It smooths out my hair and gives me the kind of waves I actually like.

[Panth]

I think you're probably better off just babying your hair and looking into natural heat-free straightening methods or looking into ways to alter your routine that make your natural waves/curls more acceptable to you (e.g. methods to reduce frizz and define).

If you search LHC for the brazilian blowout you will find a few scare stories. Basically, from what I can remember, it makes hair manageable for a few months and then the damage it caused starts to show. Also, the formaldehyde free thing is (at least in some cases) basically sneaky marketing - it is formaldehyde free in the bottle but contains formaldehyde-like chemicals that are a tiny alteration away from being formaldehyde.

I'd do a search and make your own mind up ... but also baby that hair. Don't worry - you'll get there! (And yes, your DBF will likely think you weird/obsessed ... you should have seen the face on mine when I called him into the bathroom, my hair dripping coconut milk and cinnabunned over my forehead, and asked him to wrap clingfilm around my head...)

[GlassWidow]

There's a lot of great advice here already, but I wanted to say that I've been using Kimberlily's Defrizz Spray for a week or two now and I just love it. It calms and refreshes my curls, and it's great for my skin, too. I used neroli essential oil too, so it smells absolutely amazing. I haven't tried it yet before bunning, but I've read lots of people who swear by it.

The recipe can be found here: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=277

[GlassWidow]

Oh, and I meant to add, I read some reviews on the at-home brazilian blowout stuff when it first came out. The people who post on makeupalley.com tend to be pretty honest about their opinions, and I remember it wasn't living up to expectations. So, don't feel like it's you and your hair, because in all likelihood it's probably not!

[Aimskylove]

Welcome! :) I have not tried the home kit but I do go to my hair stylist who orders the non formaldehyde version. I naturally have tight curls and frizz but all of my frizz is eliminated with this treatment! It usually last about 3-4 months depending on how you care for your hair. It has never caused me damage, it actually has helped me grow my hair out! I do not use heat to my hair as much since my frizz is gone and my curls are little softer and manageable. Now I can put my hair into two high buns and in the morning have a more straighter or wavy look :) Hope I helped!

[growingpains]

Aimskeelove! Exciting it worked for you! I am about to wash mine out and will let you know how it goes.

Glasswindow Thanks for the tip on the de frizz spray. Intriguing! I need to check that out.

[growingpains]

Hintofmint Good to know damp bunning works for you. It means it's likely to work for me too since we have similar hair types. You have thicker hair than me though (jealous!).

Panth thank you for your reply! Failing this BB not working (have yet to see) I definitely will return to natural methods. Either way I think I might as it was a tremendous amount of effort doing the at home BB and really restricts the kind of products you can use on your hair after. SLS is not allowed or any salt (i.e. ocean water) as it gets rid of the keratin.

[growingpains]

Also, Aimskylove, the hair in your sig pic is stunning :)

[Aimskylove]

Also, Aimskylove, the hair in your sig pic is stunning :)
Aw thank you! I wish I could say its that way naturally but id be lying haha. :)

[growingpains]

Well at any rate your hair looks great :)

Update on the BB front: NO SUCCESS. FAIL. The at home brand "keraline" does not work. I repeat. Does not work. My hair look exactly the same. So basically I wasted close to 100 bucks and heat styled my hair to get it to set all for nothing.

Oh well. Back to the drawing board. :eek:

It's not so bad really. After I saw it was at frizzy as ever I twisted it into sections and put some oil in it. Hopefully that'll result in a nice Friday night style.

[owlathena]

Perhaps it's my attitude I need to work on as much as my hair:eek: It's not perfect, but it's the best combination of length and health it's ever been and I *am* grateful for that.


THIS is something I need to work on too :)

My hair is the longest and in the best condition its ever been, but I keep thinking "MORE! MORE! MORE! ITS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"

Its a slow process. I need to be thankful I've gotten this far.

[Aimskylove]

Well at any rate your hair looks great :)

Update on the BB front: NO SUCCESS. FAIL. The at home brand "keraline" does not work. I repeat. Does not work. My hair look exactly the same. So basically I wasted close to 100 bucks and heat styled my hair to get it to set all for nothing.

Oh well. Back to the drawing board. :eek:

It's not so bad really. After I saw it was at frizzy as ever I twisted it into sections and put some oil in it. Hopefully that'll result in a nice Friday night style.

:( Sorry to hear that! But you live and learn right!? :) If you ever feel brave or wild again try going to a salon to do the non formaldehyde kind! I promise you its a world of difference! And you probably would pay about the same or a little more for months of non frizzy and tamed hair :D