Brazilian Blowout Review – Is it Worth it?

I received my first ever Brazilian Blowout, and WOW. All I can say is why haven’t I gotten one of these before?!! Instead of giving you the review right after I got it done, I decided to wait a few months so I could share the long term effects! ALL THE PICTURES ABOVE ARE TAKEN 3 MONTHS AFTER I RECEIVED THE TREATMENT – and my hair is STILL blow drying straight and shiny!

It’s been 3 months since I got it done back at the end of March, and I’m still reaping the benefits. Now, it’s not as perfect as the first month, but I still notice the benefits of less frizzy and smoother hair. Without having to read any further, I’ll summarize with: 10/10 highly recommend, made my life SO MUCH EASIER spending less time “doing” my hair! I could NOT STOP petting my super silky smooth hair the first few weeks of the blowout. I was AMAZED with how smooth my hair felt in a pony tail too! Overall, LOVE.

If you want to see how my hair looked in every day life those first few weeks after the blowout, check my Instagram Story highlights of “Brazilian Blowout” and “Cruise.” I went on the cruise the day after I got it done so the effects really show there!

Why Brazilian Blowout?

The main reason is to get rid of frizz, make your hair smoother with an extreme shine, and overall make it faster to dry and style. For me – I had a few trips coming, including multiple tropical destinations, and didn’t want to spend a lot of time “getting ready” or “doing my hair.” The Brazilian Blowout completely got rid of my frizz and my hair dried 100% straight and frizz free with a blow dryer. The first 2 weeks it even airdried pretty straight, when normally my hair dries extremely wavy and frizzy. After a month, it would turned to light waves if I airdried my hair.

What is a Brazilian Blowout?

The actual treatment is a liquid keratin formula that bonds to each hair strand when heat is applied during application. Your hairdresser should be certified in the 3 step Brazilian Blowout process:

1. 1. Ionic Cleanser: First your stylist will soak your hair, then add an Ionic Cleanser, which is a sulfate free, oxide free, color safe spray that cleans the hair by removing buildup and unblocks the cuticle.
   2. Add Solution: Now that the hair is REALLY clean, your hair will be LIGHTLY towel dried – it needs to be pretty wet for the next solution to set in. Using a color applicator, your stylist will apply the amino acid-enriched, polymer system that smooths and conditions. The frizz is eliminated by creating this protein layer around each hair strand, which also helps out a protective layer around damaged hair!
   3. Blow Dry / Flat Iron Process: Then the stylist will blow dry your hair with a round brush, then straighten it with a flat iron in order to “lock in” the solution. This is where you can work with your stylist on customization of how “straight” you want your hair to be. The higher the heat, level of tension and times they pass over it will determine how smooth and straight your hair will be. My opinion – go for it to majorly straight! Maybe I’m more of a bang for your buck kinda girl, but I’d rather go all in than halfsie and have it not last as long.
   4. Your stylist will then wash your hair to get all the solution out, without shampoo, and follow up with conditioner. She will blow dry your hair one more time and you are good to go for at least 3 months of FRIZZ FREE HAIR!!! The first month will be EXTRA magical though!

What hair types are good candidates for a Brazilian Blowout?

I had the misconception it was a service mainly for those with curly hair, to help straighten it. Why yes, this can help those with curlier hair, good candidates are those with frizzy, damaged or processed hair, according to their website.

What kind of hair do you have?

My hair is naturally wavy, no ringlet curls or anything. My hair gets especially wavy / frizzy (major baby hair situation that always stand out!) in humidity. When I blow dry it normally and don’t use a round brush, it usually dries with frizz. My hair holds curl well, and I color it blonde every 3 months or so.  I have a TON of hair so it’s thick as a whole, but my hair strands are actually fine, not thick or coarse as a texture. So apparently it’s possible to have fine AND thick hair!

Note on my favorite Hair Dryer – I upgraded to the DryBar ButterCup Blow Dryer, because it came with a ton of extra accessories / DryBar product for the same price as some of other expensive blow dryer brands. For a cheap blow dryer alternative, I LOVED the Conair Infinity Pro for $25 here from Ulta or here from Amazon – it’s powerful and dries my hair faster than other hair driers. 

BEFORE & AFTER PHOTOS

I didn’t really take “before” photos, so I found a few random shots of my previous natural texture if I didn’t style it.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Here are examples of my hair “in real life” with only a simple blow dry – no round brush or smoothing products needed. The third picture is my hair in a ponytail – it felt so much thinner and sleeker pulled back than it normally does because my hair was so smooth!

MORE Q&A

How long does it last?

The website says up to 12 weeks, or 30 – 40 washes. It’s been 3 months, and I’ve only washed my hair approx. 25 times, as I usually only wash it twice a week. When I blow-dry my hair, it still blow dries perfectly straight, frizz free, and shiny, so it’s lasting me over the 3 month mark. When I’m outside in humidity, my baby hairs around my face start to get curly again, but it didn’t happen in the first month of the blowout.

What can you do to make it last longer?

I definitely recommend using the Brazilian Blowout Acai Shampoo and Conditioner. It is sulfate free and safe for color. I actually mix the Brazilian Blowout Shampoo with purple shampoo – my stylist specifically recommends Fanola No Yellow for $12 – even over more expensive brands like Kevin Murphy Blonde Angel.  I think this has really helped extend the life of my blowout and extended past the 3 month mark.

What’s the cost?

It really depends on the salon, but most likely Brazilian Blowouts range from $200 – $350.

Can you still curl your hair with a Brazilian Blowout?!

YES! Your hair can be heat styled any way and won’t take away the frizz and shine effects of the Brazilian Blowout. My hair curled perfectly fine! The first 2 weeks the curl didn’t hold as well because my hair was so shiny, so I used more hairspray than normal. However,  most of the time I didn’t even feel the need to curl my hair, as my hair looked already looked straight and styled after a quick blow dry! This is usually unheard of for me, I used to never do photoshoots or go out without curling my hair first, until I got the Brazilian Blowout treatment. Another note – before I used to only blow dry my hair at night, because it still looked frizzy, and sleeping on it overnight gave it a “smoother” look. Now I don;’t have to do that and I’m ready to go right after blow drying it!

Did you have any side effects, like hair breakage or an itchy scalp?

No, I haven’t had any adverse effects such as hair breakage, it feels just as strong!

On the itchy scalp – I already have a very sensitive and dry scalp in the first place, and I didn’t notice any extra itchiness or dryness over the course of the last 3 months. Someone messaged me on Insta saying this happened to them, so following up with a no 🙂

Where do you recommend in Nashville / finding a salon in general?

I highly recommend my stylist at Local Honey, Valerie Lewis! She is certified in Brazilian Blowouts,  and I trust her with everything for my hair from cut to color. Expert blondie if you are looking for a recommendation in Nashville! If you don’t live in Nashville, to find where t get it done, I would first check with your normal salon – they usually have someone certified in the technique. If want to shop around, I would look for the qualification and if they are offering any special discount to try and get the price lower.

As I started this review with, I highly recommend a Brazilian Blowout! If you have any more questions, please comment below and I will be happy to answer!

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