Getting it Straight from Stephen Knoll Salon
Hair Straightening Review

There is no avoiding it: the straight hair craze.  For us not-so-select few, the Winnie Cooper wannabes who sacrifice that extra half-hour (or more) of sleep to look "New York sleek" for work, the hours of blow-drying and ironing our poor tresses so they lay, calm and shiny, until we step outside into the humidity only to have them kink up again make us wonder if it is all worth it. 

Well ladies, a change is in the air.  First of all, pin-straight is rapidly moving out of the now.  Trends are leaning towards a softer, more full coif.  (Still impossibly straight and shiny for us wavy gals to come by naturally.) 

So when recently examining my hair future, I was faced with three basic options:  1)Keep up the day-to-day home straightening routine, 2)Go for the $1000+ Thermal Reconditioning process which leaves hair utterly pin-strait (and potentially over-processed) for months, or 3)Try the less chemically damaging and less severe relaxing treatment. 

I opted for #3, at the Stephen Knoll Salon here in Manhattan.  I chose this for some of the reasons above (I don’t want fried, damaged hair) and also because I don’t want something so committed as pin-strait hair so permanently.  Also, choice #2 must be repeated frequently, to touch up kinky roots.  And the idea of continuing day after day with my blow-drying, round-brushing, flat-ironing process was just too unenticing to consider.

So there I found myself, sitting in the chair of the adorable Hikaru Kuroki, who was to perform the relaxing procedure.  He fluttered around, excited about the change we were going to make, regaling me with tales of customers who were delighted with the relaxing process.  Soon, we were ready to begin. 

The treatment takes 3+ hours, depending on hair length and texture.  I have naturally kinky, frizzy hair, but not tremendously curly locks, so for me it was a mere 3.  First, a sort-of primer is put on the hair.  After rinsing, it is followed by a set of flat, red plastic boards.  They’re positioned all around the head, drawing hair taut against them, and then the hair is painted with the chemical solution.  This mid-treatment look is very sci-fi chic, if not a tad heavy for daily wear.

After about half an hour (and again, this is different for everyone), the solution is rinsed off.  At this point, I was getting anxious to see the final result.

Hikaru trimmed my hair quickly and his assistant blew it out to reveal the silkiest, straightest look my hair has ever achieved.  So simply.  No tedious ritual of brush and dry and iron and brush.  I was delighted with my appearance, but knew the real test would come later, when I was to style my hair myself.

Before leaving the salon, I spoke to Kenneth Tepper and Ken Crawford, both of whom also perform the relaxing treatment at Stephen Knoll.  They spoke to me about the new look and the benefits of the process.  Ken gave me some of my most exciting news yet: the humidity would not cause my hair to curl up now that it was treated.  He explained it simply:  Humidity causes hair to go back to its base texture.  If someone with curly hair straightens, the humidity will bring out the curl.  Likewise, if someone with straight hair curls their hair, the humidity will flatten it.  Now that my hair was straight without styling, not even a rainy day could bring out the old frizz.

So here’s the update: day to day, my hair is not pin-straight, but if I want it to be, it takes only a blow-dry (no brush, no flat iron) to make it so.  It’s easier to care for, and if I just let it air-dry (God forbid) it’s a tiny bit wavy, but with no frizz at all.  What a beautiful change!

I would recommend this process to anyone wanting an easy soft, strait look, which can be styled easily into a flat stick-straight look. 

And on a side note, if you’re at the Stephen Knoll Salon, stop in to see the new make-up artist Karl Giant.  He’s a riot, and an absolute genius at eyebrows.  He literally tweezed maybe 3 hairs from my left eyebrow and utterly changed the look of my face.  He’s available for makeup consultations and lessons, as well as applications.

Gretchen L. Foulk
spa-nyc.com 

Learn more about Stephen Knoll Salon

Tips for the relaxing process at Stephen Knoll Salon:

 -Go in for a consultation with your stylist, and make sure all your questions are answered before you decide to go forward with the treatment.
 -Wear comfortable clothes to this appointment, you will be there for a few hours.
 -If you are happy with this, or any other spa/salon service, tip at least 15-20%.