Self-confessed hair-straightening addict Sally Oldaker checks out the latest treatments at The Rooms salon in Barnt Green.
Jennifer Aniston has a lot to answer for. Since the Friends phenomenon took off, women across the world have striven to get their hair looking as much like Rachel’s as possible – and if yours isn’t naturally smooth and straight, that can involve spending hours grappling with the blow-dryer and straightening irons.
For years, the only way to banish curls completely would have been to undergo a damaging chemical straightening process. With new technology developing apace, however, there are now several treatments which promise to both curtail those kinks and make your hair healthier at the same time.
But don’t you have to go to London to find the latest innovations? Well, you might be surprised to learn that the treatment is now available in Barnt Green at Hewell Road salon The Rooms, which offers various straightening methods suitable for most hair types.
The most radical of these is the JL Ion system, an “ionic hair retexturising” (IHR) treatment invented in Japan in the late 90s, which relies on non-chemical “ionising technology” to change the hair’s structure.
The principles behind this (or the “science bit” as Miss Aniston herself once called it) are a little difficult to understand if you’re not of a scientific bent, involving as they do the movement of positive and negative ions and water molecules. All the potential client really needs to know is that the system claims to both straighten and rehydrate the hair by penetrating its core.
The Rooms’ manager, Sadie Bell, offers a user-friendly explanation: “If your hair is dry and frizzy, the cuticles are open – so the treatment fills in the holes like Polyfilla and makes it look smooth.”
You don’t have to have Afro-type hair to benefit from the JL Ion system; it can be used on varying hair types including naturally wavy Caucasian. The process begins with a series of “formulas” to wash, protect and relax the hair, before it is divided into small sections.
Each of these has to be gone over with the straightening irons no fewer than five separate times – there are different sizes of iron for different hair lengths, all of them harnessing ionic technology – and then blow-dried with an ionic dryer.
The treatment takes between three and five hours and costs between £110 and £250, both figures depending on hair length. But it’s worth doing, says Sadie, as the results are reportedly excellent, with hair feeling smooth and manageable, and last up to six months.
“If your hair is only slightly curly, the treatment makes it look very shiny and conditioned, almost like glass,” Sadie reports. She and the other stylists, Lisa, Lucy and Sarah, have all received special training to carry out the process.
The JL Ion system is not the only one offered by The Rooms. Protein treatments are also available, which help to stretch the hair out between straightenings, as well as the Phytologie product range which is largely unique to London.
Hair straightening devotees will be familiar with the highly-fashionable GHD (Good Hair Day) products, all of which aim to moisturise the hair so that it becomes more manageable.
“These products can’t actually straighten your hair, but it will feel straighter because it is smooth and easy to cope with,” says Sadie. GHD do offer a straightening treatment which is less permanent that JL Ion’s and suitable for short, slightly wavy hair.
As someone who has herself expended much time and effort in the pursuit of Aniston-esque hair, I hoped there would be something at The Rooms to assist my task. Since my hair is thick and a tad unruly but not technically curly, there was no reason for me to have either of the major straightening treatments, but Sadie suggested giving me a GHD deep conditioning hair mask to moisturise it and make it look smooth.
After shampooing, the conditioner was massaged into my hair and left for 20 minutes under a heated towel, apparently working in the same way as a face mask. It was then rinsed off, and my hair was blow-dried and finished off with GHD ceramic straightening irons.
Having, cynically, doubted that it would make a noticeable difference to anyone but me, I was amazed at the results. My hair was so soft and shiny that even my dad noticed it when I got home – confirmation indeed that the treatment had worked.
If more proof were needed, the following morning I didn’t even need to comb my hair on waking as it was tangle-free and only required a quick burst with my regular straightening irons. It usually takes a lot more work than that to look presentable, so it seems that my purchase of the GHD products responsible was a good investment.
ll I need now is my own pair of ceramic straighteners to recreate the look at home – OK, so I’m never going to be mistaken for Jennifer Aniston, but it’s a start!
The experience may have kicked off an office debate on the merits of natural vs unnatural styling, and of course curly hair will always be equally desirable, but if your wish list does contain straight hair for whatever reason, you’ll find something to suit you at The Rooms.
The Rooms, 47 Hewell Road, Barnt Green
Tel: 0121 445 6693
The salon is currently seeking extra stylists – call Sadie for more details.