The hairdresser published a video of the failed treatment, so that the possibility of such a thing could be better understood and something similar could be avoided.
Hairdresser and hairdressing trainer working in Lappeenranta and nowadays also in Helsinki Anni Kosusen the permanent straightening done for the client failed due to a strong chemical reaction.
Kosunen decided to publish a social media video about the situation as a warning example to his hairdresser colleagues, so that the understanding of the behavior of strong chemicals would increase.
Kosuse has two decades of experience as a hairdresser, and she has been doing the keratin permanent straightening in question since 2009. The service is more special, and it is not available in almost every place in Finland.
Many new customers find Kosusen and apply for his chair through the videos he publishes on his social media profiles. That’s what happened this time as well, when he was contacted by a new customer from another city.
Hairdresser Anni Kosunen publishes social media content on Instagram and Tiktok with her @hiusmittäää account. Photo of the interviewee/Anni Kosunen
A surprising chemical reaction
– At first, we normally did a consultation where we went through the basic questions. The client’s hair was really dry, frizzy and rough-looking, but naturally curly hair is always like this, and therefore the situation did not seem alarming in any way.
– She had dyed her hair herself at home with colors intended for store consumers, but that is not an obstacle. This treatment can be done even if the hair has been dyed, explains Kosunen.
Kosunen chose the lighter and milder consistency of the two options for the treatment, because the customer’s shoulder-length hair felt dry.
The video shows how quickly the chemical reaction in the hair started to progress.
– The situation progressed very quickly. The active time of the substance starts immediately on the surface of the hair, which is of course very familiar to me and therefore always the case, Kosunen recalls.
– When about 7–9 minutes had passed, I noticed that the hair looked really light, swollen and weird. When I tried the hair every now and then it didn’t feel hot or strange in any way, but it looked really porous.
This is what the hair looked like just minutes after applying the substance. Screenshot from the interviewee’s video
According to the product manufacturer’s instructions, the substance can be left on the hair for 15–25 minutes.
– I had time to perform the procedure within this time frame, so I just continued. And this is the mistake that I then made, although of course I should have stopped immediately. When I had applied the other half of the substance, I saw that this hair was not behaving normally, and I told the client that we should go to the wash station right now.
– While washing it, I realized that the hair is now really damaged. It was practically nothing more than a soft mass, and its structure was completely damaged. This was the first time I’ve seen that hair can react to this treatment like this, he says.
The hair completely lacked tensile strength, meaning it would no longer withstand combing at all.
– I already admitted and apologized to the customer at the wash station that the hair is now damaged, and I don’t understand what exactly happened here. I then tried to go even further to map out whether there is some specific chemistry here that would explain the reaction.
You have to be careful with chemicals intended for hair coloring and treatment treatments. Today, hairdressing salons have many different mineral removal products that can be used to remove minerals from the hair by chelation. Illustration image. Unsplash
Washing water matters
At this point, it became clear that the customer living in the countryside washes his hair at home with water from the well. Kosunen underlines that it is not the customer’s job to know, even when asked, what kind of chemicals his hair has been in contact with.
– I don’t want to blame the customer for the situation. It’s really not the customer’s fault, Kosunen emphasizes.
– When I ask how the hair has been chemically treated, he doesn’t need to know how to tell me that there might be minerals in the hair. Not all customers really know that minerals from tap water can damage hair.
Kosunen emphasizes that really damaged hair is difficult to handle and may break easily.
– It can become so to speak matte in texture, and it lacks all the shine.
Kosunen still can’t be sure if the well water used as washing water was the problem or if something else caused the strong chemical reaction.
– Even well water can be clean and even cleaner than city tap water. It’s hard to say what ultimately caused the reaction.
After noticing the hair’s unusual reaction, Kosunen directed the client to the hair salon’s washing area so that the damage could be controlled and minimized. Unsplash
Immediate corrective actions
After an unsuccessful permanent straightening treatment, the client’s hair did not need to be cut, but other corrective measures were taken.
– We did everything we could at the wash station. I applied a generous amount of about half an hour’s worth of Bond Fusion treatment to the hair, which corrects the hair structure, so we kept it for about three times the time compared to the manufacturer’s recommendation.
During processing, the hair dropped a really strong-smelling, brown liquid from the hair into the sink. It could have been hair dye or minerals, Kosunen tells about the course of events.
According to him, the repair treatment was able to help the condition of the hair somewhat and it became a little more manageable. The interruption was also stopped.
– Finally, at the wash station, I did a so-called cold treatment with a neutralizing agent on the wet hair, although it is normally applied only after drying. In addition, I did a mineral removal treatment on the hair. So we didn’t have to cut the customer’s hair, Kosunen concludes.
Kosunen published a social media video about the situation as a warning example to his hairdresser colleagues. Unsplash
Kosunen remembers one case from a decade ago, where a client’s bleached hair did not react as desired to permanent straightening. Since then, over the years, he has deepened his knowledge specifically about the use of various chemicals, so that mistakes would not occur in customer situations. That’s why the situation surprised him.
The professional warns his colleagues
Kosunen urges his hairdresser colleagues not to ignore one important work step.
– So make it testable! This is also how the manufacturer recommends it to work. Especially if there is any uncertainty about the situation, we recommend a testing phase for a small area, he stresses.
– In real life and in my own business, on the other hand, it is completely unsustainable to have test sections done on all the customers’ hair here in all their different changing stages of life.
Fortunately, the customer reacted to the situation with a brisk attitude and calmly.
Kosunen, on the other hand, says that he is quite shocked by the course of the situation. He wanted to publish a video of what happened as a warning example to other hairdresser colleagues.
– When I have received inquiries from other hairdressers over the years about whether it would be worthwhile for them to start offering the service in question and whether it would be worthwhile for them to train for it, I have stressed that indeed that training is important. However, here we are dealing with strong chemicals and certain things must be taken into account, he underlines.
– That substance is clearly very sensitive to react with such things, which are not so visible in normal business work.
Many Finns dye their hair with home products intended for consumers. Illustration image. Unsplash
According to Kosusen, the permanent straightener in question contains the same ingredients as bleaching agents, such as potassium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide or guanidine carbonate, which react sensitively with minerals in tap water. However, there are fewer of them in lightening agents.
According to Kosunen, many consumers wonder why hair needs to be treated with different mineral cleansers.
– Many customers imagine that it’s just additional sales and, in their opinion, extra financing. It really isn’t, but it can potentially prevent such really powerful chemical reactions. Hairdressers will certainly always only do it if they have reason to do so and suspect that there are those mineral residues in the hair, he emphasizes in the end.