The last six months I have been bombarded by questions about this new Hair Straightening procedure from Japan called Thermal Reconditioning.

People were saying how well it conditioned the hair at the same time it straightened it and even though it was expensive it would last for 6 months or longer.

The name given in North America for this new rave was "Thermal Reconditioning" also known as TR, Magic Straight, Ionic Perm, Bioionic Straightening, Yuko System, Liscio, Rebonding, and Thermal Str8.

Most western hair designers, at that time(and still), did not know much about it and are still trying to sort it all out, however since I am located in Asia we have been working with this service for 3-4 years now. The hype and craze were familiar to me as we had gone through the same reaction to the service only a few years before. This concerned me because to some extent it seemed that people were being misled as to what could and could not be achieved with the Thermal Reconditioning procedure. It was being marketed (as it had been in Asia) as a cure all for curly hair, stiff hair and life less hair. For the record I would like to say that I am for the service when used in the right situation for the right type of hair. Just as with hair coloring, perming and standard relaxors, it is not suitable for all types of hair and should always be performed by an experienced trained professional. I am however against the fanatical marketing and extravagant claims I have been reading about (been there, seen them).

I hope that I can answer many questions that have been put to me about Thermal Reconditioning by consumers and hair professionals in this article.

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Like any chemical service for the hair, when done by an experienced trained professional on the right type of hair the results can not only be beautiful but life changing and inspiring for the person wearing the style. People with naturally curly hair will be relieved that they usually will not have to blow dry and iron their hair every morning. The time saved in messing with your hair and the enhanced self image is well worth the current premium price of the service.

However I would like to emphasize this. The "Thermal Reconditioning" service should be performed by an Experienced Trained Professional.

Someone once asked me, "Why has Thermal Reconditioning come from Asia, doesn't Asians already have straight hair, why would they want a hair straightening system"? Very good question. In fact hair straightening or some type of chemical rearrangement has been popular in Asia for over 20 years now. In the past, the hair designer would apply perm solution to the hair and then comb it over "straightening boards" in order to chemically straighten Asian hair. This procedure was done for years and in many instances successful but often left the hair frizzy and dry.

There are 3 main reasons why Hair Straightening is popular in Asia:

  1. Perspective - The first "Perspective", a little bit of natural movement which might be considered great to a person with a full head of "Little Orphan Annie" curls in the west is considered very unmanageable to someone living in a culture where most of the hairstyles are/were very straight. When I first came to Asia some of the models that I would work on warned me ahead of time that they had Naturally curly hair, I tried finding it but was not yet in tune to the small variations found within Asian hair textures. To me their hair was great, but still straight. Our perspective or/and what we are familiar with determines if our hair is straight or curly.
  2. Natural Texture - After working on Asian hair and becoming familiar with it, I was able to distinguish a wide variety of texture within what many western hair designers would call straight hair. Just as a hair designer who only worked on Caucasian type hair might look at African type hair and call it all "Very Curly" an African American knows that there are many degrees of curliness/texture within this hair type.
  3. Softening - Not only can a service such as hair Straightening be used to make the hair straight but it may also be used by a hair designer to "Soften" extra strong hair. Softer hair has a bouncier effect and appears to have more natural movement then stiff strong hair. By using chemicals on the hair, the hair designer can control this for the client.

       Ok, so what's so special about Thermal Reconditioning? In the past we have usually used a chemical solution which had the chemical "Thioglycolate" (Thio) as it's base ingredient. This is the main chemical found in Permanent Wave solution, you know the one that smells like rotten eggs. The Thio separates the Sulfur bonds (the bonds which control the hairs shape) in the hair allowing the hair to take on a new shape, usually a perm rod. Later in the neutralizing phase of the procedure the Sulfur bonds are reconnected into this new shape and we then have curly hair. It works great when we want to make straight hair curly because we use the perm tool/rod which creates tension and a new shape for the hair to reform on. Originally thio based products were only found in a liquid form thus making them not very practical to be used for hair straightening. The liquid would run all over the place creating a mess and would not allow the correct tension to be applied to the hair for straightening. This is still used today to remove or loosen permanent waves but is usually not very successful in straightening naturally curly hair.

In the 1970's a cream based Thio became popular and were used mainly on African type hair to get what has popularly been called "The Jheri Curl". The cream based Thio allowed the hair designer to control the application and to later apply tension to relax the hair. However, keep in mind that even with the Jheri curl the hair was placed on perm tools to get the tension and have a firm base for the hair to reform on. Nevertheless, this was a major breakthrough for the hair industry and added a very valuable salon service which could be offered to the client with African type hair.

Thermal Reconditioning solutions also use a Thio base as their active ingredient. Like all other products, different manufacturers have come up with their own formulas. Some will work better than others and of course personal preference will be a major factor in determining which product a hair designer feels comfortable with. However, in all of the Thermal Reconditioning products that I am familiar with Thio is still the major active ingredient. What makes Thermal Reconditioning unique and new is that the Hair Designer uses a special Straightening/flat Iron to create the tension on the hair so that it may take on the new (straight) shape. New advances in straightening irons have produced "Ceramic Plates" that are able to reach and maintain extreme temperatures without the scorching effect of metal plated irons. It is the use of these ceramic straightening irons that makes Thermal Reconditioning radically different from past straightening services.

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So.... we know that the active chemical in Thermal Reconditioning is Thio and that a ceramic straightening iron is used.

What's the actual procedure?

Next, you will get an idea of what to expect when you go in for your Thermal Reconditioning service.

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1.  Any hair designer who is charging the prices they are now charging for Thermal Reconditioning ( US$400-US$800 ) should offer a free preliminary consultation. This is one of the most important steps to the entire procedure. Why . . .

2.  Some colored hair can have the treatment others cannot. You need to know, what problems could occur on your hair and then what you will need to do to keep your hair healthy and looking good after the service.

So... the consultation went well and you have booked an appointment to get your hair Thermal Reconditioned. Expect to spend about 4-6 hours at the salon. This is a long procedure and the hair designer should not feel rushed to finish it faster because you did not allow enough time. For the best results each step needs to be completed correctly.

3.  Most likely the hair designer gave you specific instructions leading up to the appointment. In some cases they may ask you to precondition your hair or they may instruct you not to shampoo your hair the day of the service. Follow their instructions.

4.  When you are all set to go, they will usually Shampoo and then apply a protein solution or conditioner to your hair. This will help to equalize your hairs porosity, add protein to any areas of your hair shaft that may be lacking it and assist in protecting your hair from the chemicals that will be applied later.

5.  Next they will apply a cream or gel based thio solution to your hair. This will begin softening your hair and disassociating the sulfur bonds inside the hair shaft. At this point your hair becomes quite fragile and should be treated carefully. The hair designer will use a brush or bottle to apply the chemical and may work it in with the back of a comb but usually will not comb it through the hair. If your hair is deemed to be resistant they may wrap the hair in a plastic bag and place you under heat for a short time.

6.  After a period of time the hair designer will do a test to see if the hair has reacted sufficiently. Like a permanent wave or a standard relaxor, everyone's hair is different so there is no set time. Some hair will process fast others longer - be patient.

7.  Once the proper amount of Sulfur bonds have been disassociated, the designer will rinse your hair and then shampoo it.

8.  Next your hair will be dried to a certain degree (Some systems require some moisture in the hair while others want you to get the hair thoroughly dry). The hair designer will then take small sections and apply some tension to get your hair as straight as possible.

9.  Once the hair has been ironed it will be allowed to cool and then a neutralizing solution will be applied. The neutralizer adds oxygen to the hair and is basically the same as the second solution which is used in permanent waving. Generally it is a low strength of H2O2. The neutralizer does the following:

Lowers the pH of the hair. Adds oxygen to re-associate the sulfur bonds into the new configuration.

10.  Once the neutralizer has been on the hair for the proper amount of time( usually ten minutes) it will be rinsed from the hair.

11.  After the hair is rinsed it will be dried and ironed into the style you will be wearing. The hair should be completely dry before you leave the salon.

12.  You may think your service is now complete, but the procedure is not yet over even though you have paid for the service and are on your way home. The neutralizing chemical only begins to re-associate the sulfur bonds, the hair still needs to absorb more oxygen and will do so naturally through the air. The hair designer will instruct you not to shampoo, wet or style your hair for 48-72 hours, this is to allow your hair to completely neutralize into the current shape.

If you do not follow this your hair may have some reversion to its curly state or you may get strange bits of hair doing weird things that they are not suppose to be doing.

13.  Once you are able to shampoo and style your hair you should follow the instructions which the hair designer has given you and use the products they have recommended. It is always a good idea to buy the products that are recommended for the after care of your hair.

  

What type of hair is not usually recommended for Thermal Reconditioning?

When you lighten or color your hair you will almost always use H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide). H2O2 destroys some of the sulfur bonds in your hair. How many of these bonds have been destroyed depends on . .

1) The strength of the product

2) How light your hair has been taken from it's natural color (*see below)

3) How often you have colored the hair that will be receiving the Thermal Reconditioning service

An experienced hair designer will be able to know if you have enough sulfur bonds in your hair to be able to get the Thermal Reconditioning service. They will do this by seeing and feeling your hair. Unfortunately, it cannot be done over the Internet or phone.

Some colored hair will not be able to receive the Thermal Reconditioning service.

Some colored hair will need preconditioning treatments.

In some cases the hair designer may adjust the Thermal Reconditioning chemicals for some types of colored hair.

Hydroxide relaxed hair such as:

Hydroxide based relaxors/perms sometimes referred to as "Lye" based relaxors/perms are often used to straighten African type hair. These relaxors work well on super curly hair because they break down the carbon in the hair, thus softening it as it straightens. The problem is that they also destroy the sulfur in the hair. We have known for a long time now that Hydroxide and Thio do not mix - the hair breaks. So unfortunately if your hair has been relaxed using a Hydroxide based chemical Thermal Reconditioning is NOT recommended.

One person had wrote to me and said that a salon cut off a few strands from her head and then tested the Thermal Reconditioning on it. Later they said she was able to get the Thermal Reconditioning service. I caution people about this because quite often breakage of the hair due to mixing Thio and Hydroxide does not occur immediately after the service, it may take a week or longer to start and will occur ever time you comb, brush or shampoo your hair. A strand test cannot accurately judge the reaction you will have. Better to have a small section done on your hair and wait a month to see what happens to that before doing the whole head.

Thermal Reconditioning and African type hair

Because the main chemical in Thermal Reconditioning is Thio it may not be able to soften strong African type hair sufficiently and produce good results. On the other hand, milder, softer African hair types may react quite well to Thermal Reconditioning but again the consultation is quite important because some African type hair will respond well to the procedure and others will not.
Written by Michael Ricca2002
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Information about Thermal Reconditioning

by Michael Ricca