My hair has gone through some rough things the past year, reflecting the ever so changing, fragility of the human mind. From thin, brittle natural hair that was constantly falling out, to sanity-questioning self-bleached blondish brown, I was in the trenches. Finally in the spring I gave a visit to a salon that ended with a whimsical gorgeous blue-green. It’s been a journey and a half. But even then, once reaching that goal post of newly trimmed locks – tragedy hit. And when I say tragedy I mean a family vacation.
Stress and sun became a constant for weeks. While the color did its best to retain the joy in my life, it faded from the battle. The onslaught of the strange summer weather and constant existential crises took its toll and what was once a gorgeous sea blue was now a strangled shade on tired, dry hair.
Which is when a complete, miraculous hair revival was brought into my life. I was gifted an opportunity from the universe to walk into Blandi Salon for a Keratin Complex visitation.
The way up the dingy elevator to Blandi Salon was suspicious even though it was located in upper midtown. But once those elevator’s opened, the gorgeous entrance to the salon was revealed and I knew I was in for something special.
Though my hair was still struggling from the winter and spring seasons, I still had a hairdresser immediately stroll up to me, perch his chin on a bent wrist and ask with a feline smile, “Who did your hair?” I could immediately tell my kind of people worked here.
A quick consultation was done on my hair and it was decided, no we weren’t going to just do a 15-minute keratin treatment. We wanted the whole shebang. A complete hair revival.
After donning my Blandi robe, I was introduced to my amazing colorist Julie who led me to my chair. I’ve gotten my hair done many times. I’ve sported colored hair since I was 19 with straight up full head of pink. However, this was one of the smoothest visits with the most mind-blowing results.
My roots were tackled first. Leaving me to cook in the bleach giving much Draco Malfoy vibes. Chats and then more cook-age, the next style according to Julie was the “Diana Hunter phase”. This is for those who grew up in the 90’s and remembered what is actually my favorite brand of cereal – Honey Bunches of Oats. If you don’t like that brand, don’t bother responding to me. It has a special place in my heart. I don’t care if they eventually got soggy.
Snacks, a healthy drink and fiddling on my phone, time flew by seamlessly. After months of strain and drain, it was healing to sit down and let someone else take control. Here I was, sitting in a beautiful salon in upper Manhattan, getting everything slathered in a brand new set of blue. The slicked back wet hair was reviving my core as I knew that this was happening for real. My poor energy drained hair was getting a new paint job. I felt like a brand new car. Ready to go “Vroom Vroom”.
And then it was complete. The blue sea was resuscitated. Given new life. No longer stranded on the sandy shores of neglect and mental disorder. Her waters was shimmering as she glistened in the deep Caribbean sea once again.
The Keratin crew was absolutely fabulous. Makeup. Lights. Action. Gillian from their team filmed the journey and let me feel like a star for a moment, staring into their ring light and shaking my hair like a hair model. It was as if for one day, I was living someone else’s life. And that life was wonderful.
Adelina, my hair stylist, sat me down in her chair at the very end. You would think once the hours passed, and everyone was slowly leaving the office for the day, it was time to accept reality and move back into the earthly realm of the hustle and bustle of the city streets. But one last bit of magic. She insisted on giving me waves. And I wanted them too.
That final touch gave me back my mermaid self. Immaculate. Immoveable. They remained in place for days afterwards. I felt unable to mess them up in any way, trying to make those ocean waves last forever.
I walked out of that salon feeling like a model. And for the rest of that day, I lived my life with just a little more feverish magic than before. And there were indeed adventures for the rest of that evening. That’s the power of getting your hair done.
I would like to thank the Keratin Complex team for arranging and recording this transformation, Julie for the absolutely, amazing hair color and Adelina for those perfect mermaid waves.
You can view the process on Keratin Complex’s official Instagram and on the Official Beauty News NYC Instagram for some behind the scenes love.
Until next time, beauties ~
