My Brazillian blow-dry from Groupon

Me, circa the 80s, with very curly hair

Hair confession time; mine is actually very curly (think along the lines of Orphan Annie and Bonnie Langford). My life was changed dramatically by the purchase of GHD’s in my 20s, and on the rare occasions I don’t do anything to it now, it feels very un-done and not at all like me. But straightening it takes a while, and as I have a lot less time on my hands I really need a hairstyle that doesn’t take forever.

So when Groupon* got in touch to offer a voucher to review something from the site for free, I knew exactly what I would pick. I’ve been meaning to get a Brazilian blow-dry** hair straightening treatment for ages as I’d heard amazing things about it but you can’t have one during pregnancy due to the harsh chemicals involved.

Groupon has a variety of different daily deals, and as this treatment comes up fairly frequently I waited until I saw one in a more local salon, on the south London-specific page. The site is really easy to use  – you just buy and pay for the treatment via Groupon, they email you a voucher, and then you arrange an appointment with the particular salon.

I went to the Agua hair salon in Balham to have mine done. It’s a fairly simple treatment and only took an hour – my hair was washed but not conditioned, the Keratin lotion was applied and my hair was then blow-dried and then ironed straight.

(Some words of warning – you can’t wash your hair for three days after, or clip or tie it back – and it will feel like a hat of fuzzy felt on your head. And when it does come to washing time, if you’ve had a Keratin treatment you have to use sulphate-free shampoo and conditioner but you can get this from normal supermarkets).

So…what did I think?

It’s marginally quicker to straighten now, and if I do a proper straightening job it stays less wavy for for longer. When it’s straight it feels pretty swishy and is much less frizzy. But it’s not a dramatic difference, and if I’d paid the full price for the treatment I’d probably be a bit…disappointed. I wasn’t expecting it to change my life*** and it really hasn’t.

But then surely this is the good thing about sites like Groupon – you do pay less, so it’s easy to try out new things or get things done you’re not sure about.

Have you tried either Groupon or a Brazillian blow-dry…if so, what did you think?

Thanks Groupon for the review opp – and here’s my disclosure policy.

*For those of you who don’t know, Groupon is a group buying site that offers reduced-price deals on various products and services.

**And for those of you who aren’t obsessed with hair, a Brazillian blow-dry is a Keratin hair treatment – for your head! – that should make your hair smoother and easier to straighten.

*** OK, I TOTALLY was.