I took the CHI Enviro American Smoothing Treatment plunge
Megan in all her natural curly glory
Like many of you out there, I was burned by the (dare I say it) keratin treatment companies. We were all led astray with barely factual information and sub par results. CHI Enviro American Smoothing Treatment is a far, far cry from what we are used to. This treatment is completely natural and environmentally safe, being made of pearl, silk, and amino acids (amino acids are critical in many processes in your body, including being a key factor in building proteins).
CHI gave me the opportunity to have the treatment done and see for myself that CHI is the good guy in the market of smoothing treatments, and I will say that I am more than a little shocked and definitely a firm believer in this product. The process is fairly similar to other smoothing treatments, with a few major differences. For starters, when Rafael (CHI educator and stylist at Kent of Europe Salon in Austin, Texas) took his flat iron to my hair, there were no gassy fumes choking me or making my eyes water. I actually didn’t even notice anything, until halfway through the process I noticed there was a little steam, which was the product leaving my hair. Rafael made me smell the product before he applied it, and I was surprised to smell vanilla, not harsh chemicals.
Megan after her CHI Enviro American Smoothing Treatment
I was skeptical that a treatment with these ingredients could actually work in smoothing the frizz and loosening the curl, but CHI Enviro’s protein and amino acid complex allows temporary change in the structure of hair fibers, leaving hair easier to comb and hair that is silkier, smoother and shinier. The protein and amino acid complex is what allows the system to straighten the hair.
At this point, I felt relieved that I was actually getting what was promised to me, but starting to get nervous that it wouldn’t work well, and I would leave feeling underwhelmed. It is recommended to wait at least 24 hours before washing your hair after leaving the salon, and I was nervous about the “after” effects. After washing the treatment out, my hair had never looked shinier and healthier. I was stunned and excited, knowing that stylists and salon patrons around the globe could be safe when getting smoother hair. I told Rafael about the salons that were making stylists and clients wear gas masks, and we both agreed that this natural and safe treatment was a no-brainer.
I will keep you all updated on my journey with this product and let you know how it maintains. So far, so good. I am loving my soft, beach-y waves!
Find a CHI salon near you.
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 at 3:55 pm and is filed under Chemicals, Curly Hair (Type 3a), Curly Kinky Hair (Type 3c), Frizz Control, hairstyles, Healthy Living & Lifestyle, Ingredients, Products and Ingredients, Retexturizing, Salons & Stylists. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed.
February 10th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Sounds great but I hope to see how it works for type 4 curly girls.
February 15th, 2011 at 9:30 am
This treatment to straighten sounds much better than other chemical treatments. I live in Mass. and it’s hard to find salons that do spicific treatments, I would like to try this one, does any one know of a MA salon that does the CHI?? thank-you for your great articles and research on Curly hair issues.
February 15th, 2011 at 11:13 am
So does this treatment leave your hair in it’s natural curl pattern with more smoothness and without the frizz or is your hair completely straightened? I would like to have a no-frizz head with my natural waves.
February 15th, 2011 at 11:21 am
I live in NYC. Do you know if there are any salons here doing this? How much does it usually go for?
April 2nd, 2011 at 7:38 pm
I live in Arkansas, I found a salon in little rock called headwaves on the chi website. but its not listed on naturally curly. also, about how much does this treatment cost?
May 20th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I’m so excited!! I work at a JCPenney salon as a receptionist. I have “wicked witch of the west” hair. Our store in California will be having the Chi Enviro American Smoothing class at the end of June and I will be their first client LOL. I believe that all JCP salons will be offering this beginning in the summer.
September 14th, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Daughter had this done last weekend at a salon in Denver. Turned out beautiful.
January 9th, 2012 at 10:23 am
Usually those hair straightening treatments use harmful chemicals that can damage the hair, that’s why I prefer the hair straightener, I use the Karmin G3 Salon Pro and it has tourmaline ceramic plates that cause less damage and keeps the hair soft, shiny and very straight.
February 15th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
I love pin straight hair but I don’t like chemicals, are too damaging for hair. I prefer straighten my hair with the Karmin G3 Salon Pro, it works pretty good, removes static and leaves my hair silky and shiny, and it’s less damaging than chemical treatments.
September 10th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
While I’m glad she likes her results, this is one of the most incorrect, full of baloney articles I’ve seen on the subject. She gets it wrong from the start when she says, “Like many of you out there, I was burned by the (dare I say it) keratin treatment companies. We were all led astray with barely factual information and sub par results. CHI Enviro American Smoothing Treatment is a far, far cry from what we are used to. This treatment is completely natural and environmentally safe, being made of pearl, silk, and amino acids…” It is NOT made from pearl and sil, blah blah blah; it claims only to “infuse” those into the hair shaft. But the way it does this is exactly the same as the way a standard keratin treatment works: with formaldehyde or ingredients that combine to become formaldehyde in high heat. Is this a problem? NO. Formaldehyde unfairly and worongly got a bad rap when it is the only thing that makes a treatment truly last and truly be frizz-free. The best explanation of the non-problem with formaldehyde which I’ve seen is on the FAQ page of UNCURLY.com. It talks about the actual elements of the controversy, which this writer clearly does not grasp, nor do many others. The problem I see with her approach is that it still needs to be done by a professional, which is needlessly epensive. Uncurly allows you to purchase salon-grade keratin and irons and provides easy directions to allow you to get professional results at a do-it-yourself price. For $15-20 you can do your own treatment lasting 3-5 months without any of the breakage that non-infomercial reviews (such as this) report from the CHI Enviro system. See Uncurly.com to empower yourself with a professional keratin treatment affordably.