When I was researching whether or not to get Japanese thermal straightening (also known as thermal reconditioning) done on my hair, I found a dearth of information about customers' actual experiences (i.e., not just the favorable reviews from people making money off it!). So I thought I would put up my own experience here for the benefit of people considering it.

First off let me say that I LOVE it. The results were almost everything I expected - my formerly dull, frizzy hair is shiny, sleek, and stick-straight when blow-dried. It feels soft and healthy.

As you can see from these "before" pictures, my hair wasn't that curly - it was very curly underneath, and more wavy on the top. It generally just ended up being kind of frizzy and messy-looking.

I was warned that for 48 hours, I was not to wash my hair or get it wet in any way - including even having a sweaty workout! Also, you don't want to do anything like putting it in a ponytail or tucking it behind your ears, because any pressure you put on it could create a "crease" in the hair that won't come out. After the 48 hours is up, the hair has hardened completely into its new shape, and you're home free.

This is how it looked when blow-dried, shortly after the treatment. Below shows my hair a couple of weeks after the treatment, when it was air-dried. There was a slight wave, but it was still mainly straight.

I noticed recently on the Yuko website that they claim the process makes one's hair "humidity-proof." This has not been my experience. Now that it's winter and often foggy or drizzly, my hair does get a little frizzy. But living in the Bay Area it is not normally that humid, so this isn't a big problem for me.

Again, this is three months after the treatment, without blow-drying. You could see a little bit more wave than when I first got it done. Close to my scalp, you can see where the new growth is starting to come in.

I took the following pictures almost five months after the treatment -- here my hair has been blow-dried. Although the results are still great with blow-drying, it is increasingly wavy when I air-dry it. I will post some new air-dried pics when I get around to it. I should note that I do not need to use any special straightening technique or straightening iron when drying it, I just bend over and dry it on "high" with my hair hanging upside down. It is very easy. This is a huge improvement from my pre-treatment hair, which would not blow-dry straight even with tons of product and great effort.

In the end of May 2005, I got it redone. It was about $100 cheaper than the initial application, but still took about 4 hours. It's a little bit messy here but you get the idea.

If I were to give any advice about the process, based on the research I did, I would say the three most important things I learned are:

ONE:

It's the stylist, not the chemical process, that matters. ONLY GO TO SOMEONE WITH EXPERIENCE, WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING, or else you are taking a risk with your hair. A lot of the steps involve judgment calls (for example, how long to leave the initial chemical on) that a stylist can only learn to do accurately with practice.This means that if you live in a fly-over state, there just may not realistically be a stylist near you yet who has substantial experience, and for that reason you may want to wait a year or two until TR becomes more popular and stylists are more familiar with it.

Remember that this treatment is extremely expensive and therefore extremely profitable for salons, so many are rushing to jump on the bandwagon and offer it. It seems like every time I do an Internet search I'm confronted with more ads for salons claiming to be the "leading experts" in TR in their city, with links to websites where (littered with grammatical and spelling errors) they extol the miracles of TR. Don't merely take their word for it -- research their expertise and how long they have been doing the process. Make sure they have attended the specialized training courses offered by Yuko.

TWO:

Apparently Yuko has been trying to sell the idea that this treatment somehow "repairs" hair. IT DOES NOT. The hair may look healthier because it is shiny and sleek, but the treatment is much more damaging than a dye or perm, and you must be committed to taking good care of your hair, deep conditioning frequently, and not using permanent dyes or highlights in the future. Poor aftercare can result in the damage beginning to show, or even causing breakage in your hair. In choosing good conditioners for severely damaged hair, I highly recommend the book "Don't Go Shopping For Hair-Care Products Without Me" by Paula Begoun.

THREE:

Be realistic. Again, because there is such a profit to be made, salons have been extolling TR as if it were the Second Coming. It's a hair treatment, not a miracle. You will probably still have to blow-dry your hair if you want it pin-straight (see the differences between my blow-dried and air-dried pics above). Your hair will not necessarily be (as Yuko claims) "humidity-proof." Your hair will be damaged and will need special care.

I think mine looks great, and I'm extremely happy with it, but the way some of these salons are hyping it you would think it would transform you into a supermodel. Remember -- you'll still be yourself, just with straight hair! If $600-700 is an astronomical amount of money for your budget, think about whether having straight hair is really worth it to you, so you don't end up with buyer's remorse.

I recently read a good and balanced article on TR produced by 20/20, you can read it here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/print?id=124236

I hope these pictures have been helpful to someone -- Good luck!