Straight hair is easy to style and manage and most of all, it looks beautiful. But not everyone has naturally straight hair. So, they have to resort to semi and permanent hair straightening techniques. This is where hair rebonding comes in. If you haven’t got one done before, then here is what you can expect when visiting a hair straightening salon.

Hair Rebonding – What Happens In It?

Rebonding is a hair straightening treatment that pretty much turns your mane permanently straight until your hair grows out. It’s similar to Japanese hair straightening. The rebonding process can seem daunting especially if you don’t know how it goes down, so here is what you can expect to happen.

Washing The Hair

This is the preliminary step in almost all hair straightening and smoothening processes and that’s to wash and dry the hair. There are two reasons why it’s done. First is to get the scalp nice and clean and free from any oils and sebum. Secondly, it’s done to evaluate your hair’s natural texture, so that the next step can be catered to your needs.

Applying A Hair Relaxer

Next comes the application of a hair relaxer. A hair relaxer is essentially the star of the show. This treatment breaks down the natural texture of your hair and makes it pin-straight. But before applying the treatment, the hair is sectioned into thin strands for the relaxer to work effectively.

The relaxer is applied liberally on the hair and it is left for about 30 minutes while the stylist monitors the hair every few minutes or so to ensure that there isn’t any apparent damage to the scalp.

Steaming Hair

Once the 30 minutes are up, the stylist steams your hair using a special heat tool that’s specifically for rebonding. You will see that your hair is straight from this point on. The steam fuses the relaxer so that it’s ready to be washed.

Washing The Hair

Now, your hair will be washed and the relaxer will be removed. Your hair is also blow-dried to prep it for the next step.

Sealing The Treatment

A keratin lotion is applied to seal the straight hair in place. Think of it as hair spray but brimmed with protein, meant to seal the strands. On top of the lotion, a neutralizer is applied to help the bonds settle and let the new hair be straight and not react to things like humidity, heat, and sweat. This combo is left in your hair for about 30 minutes or so.

Washing The Hair

After the waiting game, your hair is washed for the last time and it is blow-dried and styled and that’s pretty much it.

Things To Know About Hair Rebonding

After understanding the process of hair rebonding treatment, here are some other things that you can expect or are good to keep in mind whilst going through the process of permanently straightening your hair.

Hair Looks Glossy

One of the biggest selling points of a hair rebonding treatment is the fact that it makes your hair look shiny, smooth, and glossy. It doesn’t look damaged in the least and it makes your hair look extremely healthy. This fact, alone, makes people want to go for this treatment.

It Is Damaging

All that glitters isn’t gold and a hair rebonding treatment is no exception. Even though it’s a permanent hair straightening treatment and it makes your hair look healthy and gorgeous, it will still damage your hair.

Your hair might be prone to breakage and hair growth might also halt. That’s scary if you think about it. The chemicals used in the hair relaxer treatment are anything but healthy because they contain formaldehyde and aldehyde. They are the things that break down the hair protein and make it straight. However, some studies show that these chemicals can cause harmful health effects.

It Is Expensive

Hair rebonding, since it’s pretty much a permanent hair straightening treatment and there are a lot of steps involved in it, is quite expensive as far as hair straightening treatments are concerned. Depending on your hair length and the curliness, it can range anywhere between $200 to $50 when you add the service charges to it as well.

This is quite a lot for a hair treatment, but it’s also no surprise that it’s one of the most popular treatments that women tend to go for, to sate their inner straight hair lover.

It Needs Maintenance

You can’t just get your hair rebonded and forget about it. Turns out, there is a lot of maintenance involved in making sure that the mane looks perfect at all times. Since your hair is on the brink of damage, you need to switch out your regular hair care products for things that cater to straight and damaged hair. So, products with protein and keratin are what you want to bag.

Also, you’ll need to limit washing your hair to about once a week and you can’t wash your hair for 3 days straight after the treatment is done.

Results Are Better On Virgin Hair

This is something that a lot of women ask about and it’s: Can colored or treated hair be rebonded? The answer is yes and no. That’s because the results are better on natural and virgin hair that hasn’t been treated with chemicals or has never been dyed before.

That’s not to say that you can’t get your colored hair rebonded, but since it’s a damaging treatment and treated hair is already at risk of damage, it’s better not to test the limits because your hair might get completely wrecked from the chemicals in the rebonding treatment and that’s the last thing you need. Moreover, if do hair rebonding on dyed hair, it might also fade your dyed hair color.

You Can’t Use Hair Accessories

At least for a few months into the rebonding treatment, you should not tug on the hair too much and use Bobby pins or clips to hold the hair in place. You should even avoid putting your hair up too tightly in a ponytail because it’s going to create a lot of tension in the locks and frizz will be a nightmare.

So, for a few months, try to lay off on styling the hair and let your hair loose. You won’t regret it and it will make your straight hair look more prim and proper.

It’s Not A Regular Thing

You can’t get a rebonding treatment now and then, like a keratin treatment or protein treatment. It’s typically a one-time thing and it will leave your hair permanently straight for a solid 8 months.

You need to go back in for another rebonding treatment when your roots grow more than 3 to 4 inches and it makes the hair look irregular. That usually happens around the 8-month mark, so you’re good to go until then. Don’t make hair rebonding a regular thing because damage will follow suit.

Conclusion

Hair rebonding has made all of our straight hair dreams come true. It’s seriously a treatment sent from hair heaven to cater to everyone who wants straight hair for more than a span of a few weeks. However, you should also understand the risks. If you have concerns, don’t hesitate to consult the stylists at Japanese hair straightening salons Rockville.