No tags yet.
Eyebrow Tattoo, Yumi Eyelashes and Lip Tattoo check. Now, let's talk about my hair. Yaas! You read that right. A total makeover for me (great, isn't it?) Gone are the days when you want people to look at you and say, "Uy, nagpa-rebond!" Now, it's more flattering to hear, "Wow! Your hair's rebonded? But it looks naturally straight!" Well.. I just had my CHROMA-REBOND and KERATIN TREATMENT at Azta Urban Salon last April 3, 2017. I thought I’d quickly pen down my experience getting this treatment done. As much as I love my thick mane, it's getting harder to maintain it. Ofcourse, like the rest of you, I want my hair easy to take care of. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for this past few months. I had a hard time fixing and maintaining it. Instead of the "wash and wear" kind of hair for some people, I always do blow-dry and iron mine for it to look its best. However, I know the consequences of doing it for like almost every day. But, I don't have any choice, with client meetings here and there.. ofcourse I do want to look sleek and presentable in their eyes.
Did you know, ladies that your appearance does not affect your ability to do a job, but it does impact your success. Keeping it cute can influence your salary as much as your work experience. Research shows that attractive people earn an average of 3% to 4% more than a person with below average looks – that comes out to 11 Million Pesos about over a lifetime. Even an average-looking worker is likely to make 7 Million Pesos more over a lifetime than an ugly worker (hey, I did a little research here!). Hair goes beyond aesthetics. It is personal and public: visible to everyone while also being an intrinsic part of our body. Professional hair isn’t about texture. For most employers, particularly conservative ones, a professional hairstyle is considered neat, clean, and out of the face. Texture alone is not a deciding factor. Hair is an important feature and can increase or decrease your attractiveness. The color, the length and condition determine not only how we look, attractiveness and how we are perceived by others. Full, shiny, well-kept hair may convey health and vitality. Disheveled, unkempt hair is likely to decrease the women‘s facial attractiveness, especially their perceived health.
If you want to get your hair straightened the right way (read: not walis-straight or damaged), be sure you have it done at a salon with a good history and track record of great hair service. One of them is "The Azta Urban Hair Salon", which has been in the hair industry for about 13 years. They specializes in an exciting new world of COLOR and STYLE. When I say EXCITING new hair colors and styles, I mean it! They can actually pull off any hair coloring mix that is out of this world. Colors like: Metallics, Brights, 3 Toned Ombre, Rose Gold, Balayage Highlights, Bright Highlights, Ash Lavender Ombre, Shadow Faux Ombre and Pastel tones to their line of Funky shades!
The two point people to blame with this gorgeous hair of mine is Ms. Maricel (senior stylist) and Lovey (assistant stylist). Go on, ladies and look for them at the Azta Urban Salon, that is located in Venice Grand Canal Mall branch. That's where I booked my appointment. Sharing to you down below some of the photos I took from their fabulous salon:
Would you look at those awesome interior designs (funky, right?).
Sticking to its roots. As you enter their salon, you'll get to feel its "urban-ness" right away. The modern urban décor style that you'll see is a softer and more comfortable look than the harder ‘industrial’ styles which always used to be associated with the word ‘urban’. Their modern ‘urban’ décor is interior design for living in – a home that welcome us in after a long day at work or long any long day event that just attended and wanting a relaxing vibe, nurtures us and protect us from the ‘big bad city’.
And now we go to the services that I had. Let's get down to business.
So, as mentioned above. Yaas! I had my hair treated
once again. I love treating my hair, for those of you who don't know. When it's against the forces of the universe already, it's the time to go to one of the best salons out there (haha). It's actually my first time visiting Azta Urban Salon! I heard, they are great in coloring funky shades for any types of hair. However, I'm not going to try that out. Maybe next time, ladies! I will let you guys know right away. I actually came to visit them for my Chroma-Rebond. For those of you, girls who don't know... What's Chroma-Rebond actually? Chroma-Rebonding, is a process that's relatively a new trend in the hair salon industry, and I imagine it will soon take to mainstream hair care as it promises much more good stuff than the traditional rebond. To cut the long story short, It is a 2-in-1 makeover service that beautifully straightens and adds reflective colors to your hair (rebonding + color conditioning in one service). I got to try the procedure last last week and to be honest I was surprised that I even said yes, since I made a vow never to subject my hair to any straightening procedure that will create those unnaturally ironed-out locks. However, I was offered this new straightening service that is supposedly much healthier than the regular rebond and can create a more natural straight (not the "walis" type), so I went for it. I’d been thinking about getting my hair straightened for months now anyway, so it was perfect timing.
Process of Chroma-Rebond:
Love, the name of the girl who assisted me the whole afternoon (who never left by my side *wink-wink*). Washed my hair with heavenly smelling shampoo from Azta Salon. I was advised by her that "light shampooing" was done to remove excess oil and dirt.
Afterwards, I met the Sr. Stylist, Maricel (or better known as Cel), who then checked the situation of my hair and asked a bit about my "rebonding history". I breathed a sigh of relief when Cel agreed that only the "regrowth" will be applied with that straightening chemicals. My hair was sectioned and applied with a moisturizing product at the bottom end of it (where it was rebonded in the past) to protect the hair from the chemical that would be applied on top. They will care about your hair more than you do, trust me!
Then, they began with the process by applying hair color on my roots. From roots to tips: Retouching the roots played a vital part on my hair. The application of gloss treatment to bring out the shine came in second. Love and Cel, started doing the L'Oreal Chroma Straight which usually takes 5 hours (it depends on your hair length). I love how Cel and assistant Love took time to make sure I was comfortable in that 5-7 hours service they did to me! Thankfully, they have comfy chairs and an awesome interiors to make all of the waiting and sitting bearable. They even offered me a drink (had to choose between water, coffee, iced or hot tea). I did go for the hot tea (because it's kinda getting cold). Cel, notified me that she will not use too much chemicals on me, as my hair to not be overly exposed on those harmful ingredients that may cause damage to my previously treated hair. In line with this, she was quite attentive and spent some time getting to know my hair, the products I use, the history etc. She determined that my hair was a little bit damaged because of repeated coloring and said he would use a milder concoction of products so that my hair doesn’t get too damaged further and advised me to stick to ammonia-free color while my hair was rebonded to minimize the breakage.
-The process started with a shampoo and was followed by application of the color to the hair (They use L'Oreal Professional hair color, on me). The hair then, was sectioned off in multiple small sections and the formula was applied along the lengths of the hair (focusing on my roots) making sure each hair gets coated well with the cream. You are supposed to keep this formula on for 15-30 min and it is then rinsed off.
– After rinsing off the hair color formula, it was followed by application of the straightening cream to the hair. The hair was sectioned off in multiple small sections and the cream was applied along the lengths of the hair (avoiding the scalp this time) each hair gets coated well with the cream by Love. This cream is on and not to be touch for like 45 min (time may vary depending on how wavy/curly your hair is) and it is then rinsed off.
- Love straightened my hair using a hot iron and this can be slightly painful. A bit of pressure is applied and very small sections of hair are ironed to make sure each hair strand is straightened. This can result in a bit of pulling and tugging and is not pleasant but necessary.
– Once the hair was straightened with the iron, Love applied the neutralizer on my hair which helps in restructuring the bonds. This is a crucial step and one needs to sit absolutely still without moving the head so that the neutralizer can work and the movements don’t cause any kinks or waves in the hair. You need to sit still for about 10-15 minutes (and... so I did!).
– Lastly, he used the dryer in cool setting to gently dry my hair and finished off with a bit of serum to prevent dryness. My hair was smooth, sleek and perfectly straight at this point (take note, at THIS POINT)!
Why did I emphasis on that point? After 2 days or 48 hours, it's now time to wash my hair with water and shampoo. But, as expected... the chroma-rebond didn't turn out pretty well. Cel, beforehand explained to me that I should come back at their salon after 2 weeks for the retouching of my full hair color and the treatment as well. Because of the fact that, my hair will not be as straight and the color will not be as vibrant as I wanted it to be. Therefore, following her advice and as told I went back again to Azta Salon at exactly 2 weeks. Was able to book for an appointment with Gold (the salon's supervisor). And somehow repeated the same exact whole process with a lesser waiting game this time. However, the service/formula that they did to me was now called Keratin Treatment. Not the Chroma-Rebond anymore. This "Keratin Treatment", will fill in the porosity of my hair, as overly-porous hair causes tangles, frizz, and breakage. Our hair, ladies is made up of keratin, so the treatment is putting the protein back into the hair, which is often lost due to age and chemical services. Because it is essentially rebuilding the damaged areas, you can expect to see an increase in shine, less frizz, and an easier styling process overall. Again, you aren't allowed to wash your hair, or tie it back in a ponytail holder for at least 48 hours.
Picture taken right after the procedure with Cel and Love:
Wait till you see, the end result
After 24 hours (DAY 1) of me not washing, you can see from my picture down below that it's still perfectly smooth, silky and straight hair
DAY 2
And.... VIOLA!! Look at me now. Finally, I so love my silky straight hair now than it was before.
TIPS:
1.) Since hair is rebonded, avoid tying it tightly. It will cause waves.
2.) Don't wash it for the next 48 hours. It helps the ions work their wonders for a couple more days as they penetrate the hair, keeping it straight and shiny.
3.) A weekly treatment is advisable to maintain the hair's softness.
It really pays to let an expert handle your hair. It's important that you research everything about the treatment you are considering, and understand both the maintenance and post-regimen routine.
Special shout out to Mr. Jon the owner of Azta Urban Salon for making this possible.
Don't forget to drop by at any of the following Azta Urban Salon branches near you.