Hello everyone, hope this reaches you all well. Tonight I have to write about TR, really I've read way to many TR horror stories, and I feel the need to talk about it tonight! TR was created to make people's dreams of straight hair come true, not to be a nightmare! Steve Tcherkezian said it right, that the biggest problem would be so called TR technicians who think TR is easy....well with all these horror stories it's not turning out to be so easy. You want to know what the problem is? Clients just jump into the chair of anyone says "I do TR" or "I was trained to do TR" , clients you need to do your research and understand what is supposed to happen during TR. Clients are not the only ones to blame, we've got the TR products companies, teaching these so called technicians in one or two day seminars (be it at the salon or somewhere else) and then voila they are called "TR technicians" not to mention there are those who watch a video do it once, twice or never and then go out and say they know how to do TR....obviously these "Tr technicians" are not being trained properly either. Although TR technicians themselves are to blame, I can't tell you how many times people post about Tr gone wrong say they went to see their technicians and the technician says either A-"nothings wrong" B- "it will go away" or C- they won't take responsibility for it going wrong, blaming someone else. TR technicians you need to get out there and learn, I think you need to understand the structure of hair, how to do a proper strand test and overall what on earth you are doing to the hair during EVERY step of the TR or vertical smoothing procedure! Also tr technicians need to understand the chemicals they are working with and what can go wrong, and what NOT to do. Oh my one of the worst I've heard is of a so called TR technician applying step number one (the reforming solution) on a client 4 times because according to her "it (the hair) was being stubborn" that is an honest joke! Some technician doesn't understan that applying the reforming solution 4 times in one day DESTROYS the hair! The poor girl (the client) is suffering major hair loss, the bends and breakage! THe hair is going to continue to break and shed because the disulfide bonds were destroyed because she over-processed the hair and now the hair will not hold together! This is disgusting and I told the girl to go talk to her technician about it, to let her know what she did to her hair....but not to let that technician ever touch her hair again! This is sad...so I wrote something and I'm going to add it here....people at a certain beauty board think they understand TR but oh no...and we got one lady copying Steve's site word for word, she thinks people are dumb.....but I compiled a ton of stuff about TR, mostly the advice that I see given out wrong, but the answers should be common sense and knowledge for TR technicians, here you go! (I wrote this the other day after reading a beauty board fourm)Okay I want to tell everyone something....too many horror stories out there, there really are, clients you need to start to step up to the plate and stop trusting just anyone or any salon to do your TR...just because they say they do TR doesn't meant they are any good at it. Half of these people get a short like 2 day training course and voila they are TR technicians! Scarey thought is it not...just so you know those with the 2 day training need to practice and the salons want money so guess who the models are...you the clients. I want you all to do your research before choosing a salon and technician to do your TR, you need to ask question about their skill and ability. Ask them how long they have been doing TR...ask them how they were trained, ask them if they know the difference between all the kinds of chemical relaxers, be it ammonium thioglycolate (which is in TR and X-tenso) or sodium hydroxide (lye) or guadium (calcium) hydroxide (no-lye) and cysteamine relaxers, if they don't know say "bye" ask them to tell you the process step by step, tell them to explain the bends to you...there are two kinds, one is a mechanical bend caused by improper ironing that looks like and L and the other is a chemical bend causedby the reforming solution touching the scalp and these bends are zig zag in appearance.No the hair should not break or "fall out" excessively after TR....there should be no shedding more than normal. No the first step should not touch the scalp and no ammonium thioglycolate does not mix with sodium hydroxide(lye), guadium calcium hydroxide(no-lye) or cysteamine.Interview them in person because people steal other people's words and pass them off as there own, it's a small world and the copy and paste function works wonders for some.Once the cortex the hairs interior layer is damaged the damage is done, no product can really help.Don't let a billion people TR your hair...one person doing the whole thing is enough....it can be done by one persn and I've seen it done by one person. Having more than one person ironing the hair can result in different results because two people can put different tensions to it....haircuts are given by one person so why not tr? When people that have more than one person doing the Tr and complain that parts aren't straight well it's obvious why, two different people two different results. Also how do you the client know that the assistants are well trained, they are probably learning on you! THis is YOUR hair and you have one head and as Steve told me, "don't let a bunch of well-intentioned hairstylist perform the TR" you want the best technician out there, and from what I've read here some of you have found them, settle for the best because YOU DESERVE the best. Well-intentioned hairstylists may not do the job right.Make sure that the technican understands the science of hair and the chemicals they are using and what they are doing ASK QUESTIONS! and for those of you with more than one person doing it, please think twice...or interview them too. Through interviewing you can find out alot about them and their knowledge....write the answers down, go to a few places and get free consultations, don't let anyone sweet talk you or side-step the answers, if they do walk away. If you love your hair then you will do it....settle only for the best, because alot of so-called technicians do it thinking its easy and I must agree with Steve who says that "stylists who think it's easy" are a big problem, look at what has happened to people on this board, think twice and don't rush do it right.For those of you with the TR gone wrong complain to the salon and then to the BBB file a report, seriously, and people check the BBB for complaints against the salon /technician you are going to...but do the consultationConsultation involves strand tests...they test the porosity, structure, elasticity and strength of the hair...it's not a quick glance and "sure it's good"TR- stands for thermal reconditioning, TR gives pin straight results and it eliminates frizz and excess volume to the hair. The curl is completely gone! There are two solutioms put on the scalp the first being the reforming solution that breaks down the disulfide bonds and then the oxidizing/neutralizer that reconnects the bonds. The ironing step is also implimented and the hair should be dry when the iron is used, and in order to avoid mechanical bends the hair needs to be ironed at the right angle. Vertical smoothing/ or a smoothing service is a service such as L'oreal's X-tenso or Redken vertical which is like TR but does not use a flat iron. So what does it do,it reduces the curl, makes the hair more manageable, reduces excess volume and frizz. There is curl, it will just be looser, and if you want to wear it curly or straight you can do both. If you straighten it will take less timeI don't understand this mini-tr if mini tr is what I have described above then it's called vertical smoothing or a smoothing service because the cuticle is smoothed. If mini-tr uses the iron but for less time this is not a smart idea, TR was meant to be done one way, and it should be done that way.If your hair has been bleached TR should not be given.Also if the hair has been relaxed using anything other than ammonium thioglycolate you cannot have a TR.....again sodium hydroxide (lye) guadium hydroxide (no-lye) cysteamine DO NOT mix with ammoniumthioglycolate.....you know what thiolgycolate and sdoium/guadium hyroxide make? what we know as Nair....look up nair's ingredients should you not believe me! If there is still hyroxide or cyteamine in the hair NO TR or vertical smoothing for you until it has been cut out, anyone who tells you otherwise does not understand the science of hair...no matter how experienced the hyroxide needs to be cut out of the hair before it's tr'd and all of it!I hope that I have shed some light for you out there...really you need to do your research and I hope to have helped, as I do not want to hear any more horror stories, TR was created to make dreams of straight hair come true, not disasters.In the hands of a skilled technician dreams are possible in the wrong hands only disaster. I am just stating what I have learned, and I have learned from the best. Take great care and remeber it's you hair YOU decide!
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