It’s a rainy day here in Rhode Island, so I thought I’d share with you a fun little story.

I vividly remember the day I first found out I was going grey. I was at the Ryan Center at the University of Rhode Island, vocally warming up with my a cappella group, Afterhours.  We were preparing to sing the national anthem before a basketball game, and our hearts were all beaming with excitement.

As we were huddled in a circle on the floor, a fellow member reached over, pointed to my head, and proclaimed that I had a grey hair.


Shocked, I fiddled through my hair, found the culprit, and pulled it out. Sure enough there it was, bright as day. A silver strand, proclaiming my impending aging. 

Neither of my parents went grey before they were much older. I attributed my greying process to student teaching middle schoolers, and when I was hired to teach the patience testing age, I became even more grey.

I began dying my hair at age 22. Box color, often applied in a friends apartment, smearing it all over accidently. I would always forget what color I chosen the month prior, and ended up becoming a double for the horse of every color from the Wizard of Oz.

Some months I was a reddish brown, highlighting my celtic heritage.

Other times I felt a bit more sassy, and would opt for an almost black shade of brown.

I once tried highlighting my own hair, and ended up having the top of my head turn as orange as a pumpkin. Sadly, I had a concert that day, and performed for two hours, feeling as if all eyes were on me with my two toned hair. This, of course, was before ombre was cool, and even then, this could never have been considered ombre. It was just wretched.

Eventually, as I got older, wiser, and had a little spending money in my pocket, I decided that I should leave my hair color to professionals. The years of box color and botched attempts had made my hair a bit unruly, especially in the summer season.

Thanks to aging and poor quality dyes, my hair had lost a ton of protein. It was no longer shiny and smooth, unless I applied lots of product and heat styling tools. I usually dread the summer months, for my hair is either fuzzy and wild, or I spend an ton amount of time in the bathroom getting ready, nearly sweating my weight after the constant blow drying, flat ironing, and touch ups to have calm hair.

I finally decided that this Tall Mom needed to start taking care of herself a bit more. I’ve been eating better, getting in some exercise almost every day, and decided to make myself feel prettier. Part of this last bit included getting my hair taken care of.

Many of you have probably heard about brazilian blow outs or keratin treatments. Sometimes these services can be a bit tougher on your hair and have chemicals that are none-to-kind do you or your hair stylist. I’ve been turned off in the past, that is, until I learned about the Peter Coppola Keratin Concept, offered at Calma Salon in Cranston, RI.

The Keratin Concept puts keratin protein (which your hair naturally has) back into your hair – and reverses signs of damage, promotes overall hair strength, and gives hair a restorative boost and protection. This product is also 100% Formaldehyde-Free, which other products often have, yuck!

So what does this mean?  If you get a Keratin Concept treatment, your hair will be full-bodied and frizz free for at least 3 months.  Plus, your hair drying is cut by like 80-90%!  That alone is a life saver.

Enough of me talking, let me show you what I mean. 

I like to joke that my hair can tell you if it’s going to rain. I prefer to let my hair air dry during the warmer months to help keep it healthy, but air drying is rarely a pretty sight. This particular day when I visited Calma was a balmy humid day – and my hair showed it.

Yes, I left the house looking like this, and have several times before. No makeup (but my eyelash extensions were still rockin’ it!) and product-free hair. 

To be honest, I rarely noticed how fluffy my hair was. I was too busy chasing a toddler around the house to care. I felt like if I was able to actually fit in a shower that I had hit the jackpot.

But then I saw my hair from behind. 

As someone who once prided herself on having nice hair, this was a shock to see. 
I decided to get a Keratin Concept Treatment at Calma Salon. 
Before the keratin treatment, I sat down with Kathy and discussed my hair type, chemical history, and what result I could expect. She also informed me that the Keratin Concept is a smoothening therapy – not a straightener or relaxer.
The first step was to have my hair washed with clarifying shampoo. It actually was washed a couple of times to ensure that it was squeaky clean!
The keratin product was applied, and was let to sit on my head for a while. This is when it did it’s magic – infusing my hair with strengthening, silky goodness.
Plus I got to catch up on some Cosmo. This new mom felt like she was on a mini vacation.
After the product is washed out, Kathy blowdried my hair and then closed the cuticals with a flat iron.

My hair was left shiny flat and pretty!  I could have thrown it up in a ponytail right away, but was instructed not to get my hair wet for just 24 hours. 

Please ignore the fact that I desperately needed a haircut – that came next, but I just want you to see and understand the shine and healthy nature of my hair!

This treatment did not break bonds, but infused keratin into the cuticles, eliminating up to 95% frizz and curl – leaving hair softer, smoother, and shinier!

By replacing lost keratin, this made my hair more manageable and easier to blow dry.

The treatment lasts in your hair for about 3-5 months – which is perfect for me, since thats about how long our humid season is here in Rhode Island.

So how’s has my hair been holding up? BEYOND amazing. I swear to you. I have never been complimented so frequently on my (real) hair.

Here is now my routine:

If I want to be fancy, I wash my hair, add product, and blow dry (blow drying now takes me 7 minutes.) Then I style, and it looks fab.

But MOST of the time, I wash my hair, comb it, and let it air dry. Want to see what air dried hair looks like now?

Boom.

I honestly took this picture at 6:30 this morning, as I was writing this post. I showered last night (like most new moms have to) and let my hair air dry. This is the result. I woke up, brushed my hair quickly, and snapped this un-madeup picture, to show you how freakin amazing my hair is now.

I may be going grey, tired beyond belief because my kid’s molars are coming in, and I may or may not have just eaten Skittles for breakfast, but I feel slammin’ because I have some pretty hair.

Watch out world. I’ll be out running errands all day in this rain, and my hair is still going to look this good. All thanks to Kathy and the Keratin Concept!

(Note, each Keratin Concept treatment will be a different price – based upon your hair length and thickness. If your hair is like mine, it will be about $175/$200 and should last 3-5 months.) 


Want your own silky smooth Keratin Concept? 
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