a hair salon dedicated to thermal chemical straightening - Portland, Oregon

Questions and Answers

A: The Liscio System, made and imported by the Milbon CO. from Japan, was chosen because it has set the bar for the competition. Liscio is the only system that provides any scalp protection. They have 2 forms of scalp protection to insure the best results. There are also many other different forms of protein and protective products to balance almost any type of hair. The support products from the Milbon Co., such as the shampoos and conditioners, are the best I have ever used.

Most of the trainers I have had in other classes, had less than 6 months experience with the straightening system they were teaching. When I started using Liscio, Soowan Change and Yong Chong had personally taught every Liscio System class in NY or LA since 1995. Starting in 2005, Sal Gerto was hired to oversee the classes. I am not personally happy about the switch, but we'll see how it goes.
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A: Scalp protection is important because despite the specific instructions to keep the bond breaking solution off of the scalp, there is no way to prevent gravity from pulling the solution through the hair, down to the scalp. This is especially true for thin hair. When the hair has been broken down all the way to the scalp, the hair bends over and lays flat to the head, creating a 90-degree angle right at the scalp. When the hair grows out a little, these bends feel like broken stubble.

Eventually, most of these hairs break off right at the bend because of how weak that bend makes the hair. If the hair is extremely strong, the bends may not break at all. But when that person goes in to get their root touch up done, the bends, which have grown out, are likely to break in the root touch up process. I experienced first hand the effects of root bends when I had my roots done in LA in Oct. of 2002. Most of the bends broke off within 1 month of getting my roots done. The Liscio System was not used for that root touch up.

Another very important reason for scalp protection is to protect sensitive scalps from the chemicals. Many people have sensitive scalps that get very itchy during the bond-breaking step. Using the scalp protection prevents this.

When processing a head of hair, the hair is supposed to be processed in the direction that the hair grows out of the scalp. At times, there are sections of the scalp with hairs growing in every direction which makes is impossible to choose a processing direction. The scalp protection allows a stylist to process the hair in a direction without having to worry about the bends potentially created by over directing the hair.


See Brazilian photos (#5 in the BKT Gallery pages) showing the "Bends" breakage, for more details.
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A: The list of questions to ask potential stylists is as follows:

a) What date did you get trained by the company of the product you currently use? The stylist should be forth coming with this information and should be ready to prove it. Call the company to verify their training. Any stylist should have the phone number of the company they use, or at least a certification award with a date on it.
b) What advanced training have you had? Again, always call to verify.

c) Can I see before and after pictures of clients you have done? Ask them to point out pictures of clients with hair similar to yours. Ask to see photos that are untouched and are taken before the iron finish. If the pictures show hair that has been styled in any way, they are not a representation of reality. Styled after pictures hide over processed and under processed heads of hair and do you no good to look at them when trying to decide how your own hair will look. Anyone can style a head of hair for a great after picture.

d) How many procedures have you done? How many root touch ups? Quantity never guarantees quality, but lack of quantity does guarantee lack of understanding and incomplete learning.

e) What are your policies on redos? Are your redos free? A stylist who stands behind their work will provide redos for free on hair that they did not properly process.

f) How do you base your price? How much do you think my cost will be? This question will give you an idea of what you will be paying and how that price is determined. Every stylist will have different pricing which will vary the cost.

g) How many complaints have you had? What happened? Unfortunately, the learning curve on thermal straightening is pretty big. Every stylist will have made a wrong call along the way, which in normal situations, will lead to learning and correcting of procedure. If a stylist cannot explain what went wrong with a procedure, they do not have enough understanding of the system, and should be given more time to gain experience on someone else.

h) What brand of straightener do you use? And why? A stylist who promotes one brand over any other brand needs to be able to explain the actual differences based on actual usage of the other brands, not on what they've heard.During a class, a trainer at Bio-Ionics stated that Yuko's irons were ceramic, which they are not. That trainer had never worked with the Yuko System, and his assumptions were wrong.

i) Do you adhere to the standard procedure of the brand you use? Can you provide me with a copy of the standard procedure from the manufacturer so that I can follow along? Stylists develop their own way of doing things, but the basic steps in any system are set in stone. If a stylist skips steps to save on their overhead, or to cut down on the time, they will certainly resist letting you see what the standard steps of their system are. At UnSprung, copies of the standard procedure for straightening and deep conditioning are always available.
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A: To get a referral of a good stylist close to you it’s best to call the company of the system you want to have used on you. Ask them for the name of someone in your area, in good standing with the company.
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A: I performed my own first straightening in April 2002 using YukoSystem. I had bleached highlights. My 1st root touch up was done October 18th 2002 in LA by 2 former trainers at Yuko, using the Yuko System. I had no color on my roots. 2nd root touch up done August 12th 2003, in NY by Shige Kosuda, using Liscio. There was no color on my roots before the touch up. 3rd root touch up done by Shige Kosuda, August 14 2004, using the new Liscio cream formula. I had highlights using 20vol on crown area. My 4th root touch up was done at the Shige Kosuda salon, using the Liscio Cream formula, August 13th, 2005. I had no color on the grow out. My 5th root touch up was done by Sky Haynes at UnSprung Salon using Matrix Opti-Smooth, altering technique for experiment.  My 6th root touch up was a BKT experiment.  We used 2 formulas, and processed it at 225 degrees.  I had bleach/10vol highlights and permanent color/40vol highlights.  Liscio is still the golden standard for permanent straightening.  I have had my hair damaged twice due to lack of scalp protection and end protection. I can’t stress enough how important scalp and end protection are to the straightening process. I would never have my hair straightened without it, nor would I ever straighten someone's hair without it, period.

In terms of my "styling" history, currently my hair is mid-back length.  I usually have my hair trimmed @1-2 inches every 2-4 months.  Because it's so thin, my hair has only a few long layers.  It provides me a perfect testing ground for new treatments and services since it is old and chemically treated.  And I can see for myself, daily, how a service wears.  It's certainly not the prettiest hair, but it serves me a very unique purpose because I'm not one to recommend anything that I don't like for myself.  My highlights are isolated to the top mohawk section.  I part down the middle, which allows the highlights to fall over the hair, making it look as though the whole head is highlighted. If I parted to a side, I'd have highlights on one side and dark on the other, which I like for a more dramatic style.  The reason I only highlight the top mohawk section is because my hair is just so fragile and I like to have the majority of my hair as virgin as possible to retain longer lasting health.   I'm not coloring to cover gray, but for more body and texture.  The highlights blend with the color of my scalp, making my wide part a little less noticeable.  

 In terms of products, I am a constant switcher. However, the shampoos that I have loved are the PPT-Do products, Gentil products, and Clay Este products. I either air dry or blow dry my hair every day with a little Heat Silk Lotion and I.D. Care PPT Treatment in it.  I never flat iron my hair since I have learned that my hair simply can not stay healthy with repeated ironing. Sleeping on a satin pillowcase is a must. Since I only get my hair chemically straightened about once a year, I develop @6 inches of grow-out.  When my grow out starts looking poofy, and if I want to wear it down, I blowdry my hair using a flat brush and Heat Silk Lotion, then apply a little more I.D. Care PPT Treatment or a thick non-flaking gel on the fuzzies around my hairline, then put my hair up in a loose ponytail or bun, and I wear a headband for @30-45minutes to set the front fuzzies straight.   Letting the hair set, with the headband and pony tail, helps to smooth my hair dramatically.  My natural wave is very wimpy and it surrenders easily to a little heat and product.  But, the slightest mist causes it to start fuzzing back up if I don't use product.
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A: If the iron is very hot, it will singe the hair and could cause it to shrivel up. If the iron is too hot to touch, turn it down. If you don't have a temperature control, press a damp towel between the iron plates to wick away the surface heat and immediately press the hair. Repeat the damp towel press between each hair press. The longer you press the damp towel, the better the temporary heat reduction is.
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A: During the first 48 hours after straightening the hair is still neutralizing. The bonds are still being solidified which is why the hair is still very impressionable. There are still residues on the hair from the straightening as well as some protein build up.
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A: There are three reasons I know of that parts of your hair might feel brittle after being straighened. First, if the hair was burned with the iron during processing, it will be extremely dry, dull and brittle. This is damaged hair and your only option is to use hydrating and strengthening hair products and avoid regular thermal styling, or cut it off. The second reason is, some porous hair, which usually happens to be the most damaged hair, will absorb more of the proteins during processing. If a stylist intentionally or unintentionally uses excessive amounts of protein, the porous hair will feel brittle for the first several weeks until the protein wears off. This is not damaged hair. The third reason is, is your hair was brittle to begin with due to a mineral build up, natural texture, chemical processing, or thermal styling.
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A: When you get your hair straightened, the hair that drapes over the crown-top area of your head, sets up curved around your head, just as the hair around your ears would set up curved if you tucked your hair behind your ears in the first 48 hours.  There is no way around that.  That curved crown area grows out, and is followed up with a root touch up whichs also sets the crown area in a curve. Eventually the curved crown area grows out enough to become the hair around the face.  Since the crown area hair is always set up in a curve around the head shape, that hair is never going to hang perfectly straight down.   On hair kept chin length, the curved crown area hair will not show up for  about a year.  On really long hair, it might take 2-3 years to see the effects of the curved hair.  Since that hair had been fully processed, there is no way to go back and redo it without risking damage.
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A: There are so many different opinions on straightening during pregnancy because the facts are unclear, leaving room for varied opinions on this issue. The only facts I know are that there have been no studies on the effects of pregnant women getting their hair straightened and no long term studies on the babies born to mothers getting their hair straightened, and most doctors have never heard of Japanese Thermal Straightening, so it's interesting that they would have enough information to form the opinion that it's okay. Ask any person who says it's okay, to show you the proof. I do not chemically straighten the hair of pregnant women or nursing mothers. The general notion that there is no proof that anything bad happens, so it must be alright is not strong enough evidence for me to base an opinion on, so I've decided not to risk it.
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A: I've had no problems straightening the hair of regular swimmers. Because it is hard to visually assess where the chlorine is, I treat the hair as if it's moderately damaged. The same goes for well water or hard water. There is a great product called Demetalizer I use on people who know that their water has a high mineral content.
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A: Yes, I can travel to your location to straighten your hair. You would need to arrange for a salon near you to rent out a chair to us for the day. You would be responsible for paying the rental fee. If you live out of driving distance, then you would need to arrange airfare, hotel and rental car if needed. A good way to lower the cost would be to find several other people wanting their hair straightened and going in together on the arrangements. A deposit of one-half the base price will be due when booking the dates and no refund will be given for cancellations later than 48 hours before the flight to your town.
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A: No, I can not train other hairstylist in chemical straightening. I have no authority to certify anyone in any system. My suggestion is to attend an actual class taught by an actual trainer. Then, continue to attend as many beginner classes and advanced classes as possible so that you have the opportunity to learn the maximum amount. Next, do as many procedures as you can during business hours so that the tech support hotline is open in case you need emergency help from your manufacturer. I would avoid asking fellow stylists for help when processing a client, but instead, always call the people who are paid to help with technical problems.
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A: Prices were determined after considering the needs of the client and stylist. The going rate for thermal straightening in Portland is around $100- $200 per hour. This price mainly reflects overhead costs and personal stylist mark up. At UnSprung, all services are charged at the same average rate of $40 net per hour, despite straightening's higher rate of perceived difficulty because any time spent with clients is regarded as equally valuable. The current location of UnSprung was chosen for the extremely low overhead, easy parking and close in location. The savings of low overhead and moderate stylist markup are passed directly to the client.
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