I've got great news for any woman who ever considered getting a thermal reconditioning permanent straightening treatment done, but didn't want to have stick-straight hair all of the time. You can now have your cake and eat it too with cold smoothing! I just got mine done, and I'm so excited I can barely even type these words...

That's right, I just got a cold smoothing treatment done, for the first time, on my mid-back long hair (it's pretty long, and always has been, which makes for more expensive hair services). The treatment cost a total of $300 where I went to get it done, here in Ohio where I live. It took a mere 2 hours, as compared to the six hours the thermal reconditioning used to take.

I had gotten the Japanese straightening done twice before, about one year apart when they grew out, and was very happy with the results, with one drawback. I missed having bouncy curly waves, or even just hair that had some body and volume to it.

However, due to the extremely frizzy nature of my hair, I could never wear it "full" with waves and curls, because that always equalled frizz for me. That's all appeared to have changed now. With this cold smoothing service, my hair is shiny, bouncy, and yes, it actually holds a curl - and it has held it all day. My hair looks healthy and has volume, and yet I've noticed that, as promised, the cold smoothing took away about 85% of the frizz which used to accompany the curls.

Cold Smoothing : The Process

OK, I'm going to tell you my cold smoothing experience start to finish, which won't take too long, because the procedure only took about two hours in its entirety. Cold smoothing is a hair relaxing and de-frizzing solution that was created by the professionals at Matrix hair products. There is no heat involved in the treatment, unless you choose to make it a thermal reconditioning treatment, which in that case involves high heat treatment with flat irons and lamps, and you then also have bone straight hair. Cold smoothing, on the other hand, is exactly as the name implies. There is no heat involved in the process, except for the very last part where they run a flat iron over the hair briefly, to seal the hair's cuticle.

First, my hair was washed with a special shampoo, then my head was brushed with a chemical solution - the active ingredient in the process which helps to relax the hair and de-frizz by relaxing the bonds between the hairs permanently, or at least until it grows out. The solution was a very thick, creamy one that did not drip off of my head. I only sat with this solution on my head for about 20 minutes.

My stylist said that she didn't want to over process my hair since it has been colored and lightened, and if she went too strong or too long, it could fry my hair. After I sat with the cream on my head, I was "neutralized". It reminded me a lot of the process of a perm, but only without the rollers in your hair. And that was it, I was done. Just a quick once over with a special flat iron to seal the cuticle and I was off with my new do.

Right After Cold Smoothing Treatment : The "Skull Cap Effect"

Now, the one thing I do have to say I didn't like was that I could not shampoo my hair for 48-72 hours after the treatment, or else I may undo the whole thing, so I basically had what you call the "skull cap effect". Because of the relaxing nature of the treatment, your hair at the roots is greatly softened, giving you almost zero root lift. This leads to ultra-limp hair which seems to cling to your head. But the first hair washing took care of all of that.

All I did was wash, blow out until about halfway dry, add a shining product, and voila, I had pretty, wavy, frizz free and shiny hair that bounced all over the place.

How Long Does Cold Smoothing Last?

I asked my stylist this question, to which she replied "It depends on the person". The treatment may last anywhere from 4 months to 8 months, depending on the rate at which the individual's hair grows. She did advise that the treatment should be repeated after about two inches of growth, so for me that might just be at the 4 month mark, since my hair tends to grow like wildfire.

My Final Review of Cold Smoothing

If I had to grade how much I like and would recommend the cold smoothing process for anyone's hair that is looking for smoother hair, but does not want it completely straight, I'd give it a "10". If versatility without frizz is what you're looking for in a hair treatment, then this is probably your best bet.