Five weeks ago I went to Alicia Clark for a Brazilian Blowout. How did I choose Alicia? First, I go to her sister-in-law for my color, and I trust my colorist implicitly. Second, my research indicated that Alicia and her colleagues are the only stylists in Omaha who were classroom certified to perform the Brazilian Blowout. Why would I trust somebody to put chemicals in my hair if they haven’t received all the necessary training?

So here’s what my hair looked like the morning I went in for the treatment:

Letting my hair air dry without any product produces mostly wavy hair, as you can see. If you look closely you’ll notice a fine halo of frizz encircling my head. My hair is also pretty thick, so it generally takes a good 20 minutes to blow dry straight–and I still need to run a Chi through it afterward to minimize frizz.

The Brazilian Blowout process took about 1 hour and 45 minutes. To my surprise, my hair was not stick straight when Alicia was finished; however, it was a million times easier to straighten. She literally dried it with just a hairdryer and her fingers, and the results looked better than what I would do with a round brush and a flat iron.  It was incredibly smooth and shiny and felt thinner, too.

This is what my hair looks like now if I let it air dry without using any product:

There’s a noticeable difference, isn’t there? To me, it just looks healthier. I don’t mind the wave, although I typically use a hairdryer to blow it straight. However, now I don’t need a flat iron to finish the job, which means it takes less time to get ready in the morning. My hair no longer “grows” as the humidity increases, although it does tend to get oilier more quickly than it used to. (The downside to thin, flat hair is that is lays closer to your scalp and collects more oil, which is strange to me, as I’ve always had very dry hair.)

Would I get the treatment again? Absolutely. But I have no idea when that will be. Alicia told me it usually wears out in 10-12 weeks. Other people have said that their keratin treatments have lasted as long as 3-5 months. But is the Brazilian Blowout the same as a Brazilian Keratin treatment? No clue. I’ve heard mixed answers. Alicia said the keratin is permanent and has formaldehyde in it, whereas the Brazilian Blowout does not, making it healthier for your hair. Then again, people have been using the words interchangeably, so maybe there is no real difference. Do you know?

The biggest change, though, has been my confidence. It’s a universal fact that a good hair day can significantly improve your mood, whereas a bad hair day can shatter it. When I have silky smooth straight hair with fresh blond highlights, I literally feel like Jennifer Aniston, who has, in my opinion, the best hair in Hollywood. It’s like I’m suddenly more sophisticated and put together, and I even notice I carry myself differently. You know what I’m talking about, right?

Have you gotten a Brazilian Blowout? What did you think of your results?