We all want what we can't have. I was born with dark, curly, thick, Middle Eastern hair. Until I became a teenager, my hair was "cute" and always received compliments. I'm sure my mom had a hard time styling and combing it, but at that age you just put your hair in a couple braids and you're done.

As you get older, some may argue that girls with curly hair look sexy and exotic looking, while straight smooth hair just looks professional, put together and presentable. This may all be in my head since I have extremely curly hair and hated it growing up. Once in a while when I go to the beach or I'm late to a summer event, I leave my hair curly and I'm surprised to find that I can't have a single conversation without each person saying how much they love my curls. To me it's fun for the beach, but for a "grown up" presentable young lady, I have this vision that straight hair gives me the look of an ideal woman.

The first time I got a blow-dry, I felt this sense of power. My friends asked me if I was wearing a wig. My hair was long straight and shiny. I was still not experienced enough with a blow-dryer to achieve that same look as the hairdresser, but I wondered how I can look like this every day. My first thought was marry a hairdresser, but I explored some other options.

The first thing I tried was relaxing my hair. This was a process that really damaged my hair and as the roots came out, the bottom of my hair was straight and the top was curly. Needless to say this was not cute at all. My hair was still frizzy but had this wave that wasn't straight and wasn't curly. A few years later, I heard of a Japanese treatment called the Yuko. I found a salon in Korea Town, and although I could barely understand a word my hairdresser was saying, I would do anything to have straight hair. This treatment made my hair so straight, that the front of my hair looked extremely flat and although yes I had straight hair it just looked like it was stick to my head. I tried everything to make my hair straight; I even had a friend iron my hair with an actual ironing board.

I finally heard about a new treatment called Keratin. Needless to say, I was first in line to get this done. I must admit that I have read and heard that these treatments may be harmful to your overall health which makes me doubt myself every time I go in for a treatment. If you do end up trying this for yourself, either to remove frizz or make your curls more relaxed, here is what to expect.

Day 1- Your hairdresser will wash your hair and put in the treatment, blow-dry and flat iron your hair stick straight. During the blow-drying process the steam is what can be harmful to your health so make sure there is plenty of air circulation. 

Day 2- The next day you wash your hair only with a conditioner, provided by your hairdresser. Your hair will be frizz free and look wavy if it's air dried. If you do wish to style it straight, it will probably take a quarter of the time it normally takes you to do your hair. My hair usually takes about 20 minutes, which is a dream come true!

Day 3- Wash your hair from this day forward with a SULFATE FREE shampoo. This is the most important thing to remember. If you do use a sulfate shampoo, your money will literally go down the drain, since the treatment will start to fade. 

2-3 Months- After a couple months you will notice your hair going back to its curly state but this is a gradual process. It doesn't grow out curly but it’s more like it slowly gets wavier and wavier. In case you decide not to do it again, your hair will look even all throughout.

You can also wear your hair wavy and air-dry it. Your hair will look a bit flat at first but as you keep washing out the treatment, your hair will regain its volume.

I hate to reveal my secret weapon since I consider myself a health freak and all about enhancing natural beauty. Especially in the hot summer days when I hate to spend hours blow-drying, I really feel like I can't live without my Brazilian Blowout. 

Aline Agopian