We love it when our clients take the time to offer us feedback! Here is a comment that was submitted yesterday in the 'Share your experience' box on our website:

I promised Laura I would give an update, so here it is. Laura gave me the Keratin treatment on Wednesday. She did an excellent job. I loved my hair walking out of the salon. I had to wait three days to wash it. Saturday was the big test. Would I be able to cut my styling time in half??

I am so excited to say that it only took me about ten minutes to style my hair and walk out the door the way I like it. I was absolutely amazed. On top of that, my hair stayed completely straight without any frizz or curl. I am so excited about this treatment, and will do it again next year, just in time for the humid weather to start. Thank you so much to Laura for doing such an amazing job. You rock!!!!!  :) :)
-Name withheld for privacy

Are you noticing that your hair isn't as shiny and healthy as it was ten years ago? It's true, with age comes hair that is drier, breaks easily and lacks body and shine.
The recent issue (May 2010) of More magazine tackled this problem in an article titled "Ch-Ch-Changes!" More offered up a six week plan to bring back the silky texture we all love. Here are some highlights from the article, with tips from Michael's included (direct quotes from More in italics). Update (5/26/10) More's article on tips for aging hair is now available on their website. Disclosure: All product recommendations in this blog are by Michael's professionals:

Trim, then tame
Visit your stylist to get rid of damaged ends, then explore conditioning treatments. "Nearly every stylist we spoke to said for the most dramatic results, you can't beat an in-salon keratin treatment."

We've blogged about keratin treatments several times, but the treatment infuses keratin into your hair follicles to promote healing, block humidity, and prevent environmental toxins from entering the hair. It leaves hair smooth, frizz-free and manageable.

Give your do some downtime
After a keratin treatment, you should not wash your hair for 72 hours to allow the treatment to soak in. When you do wash your hair, use a sodium-free shampoo like Keratin Care. Salt will strip your hair of chemical treatments, which means your keratin, or color process for that matter, won't last as long.

Also, skip a day or two from shampoo. Your hair produces natural oils which help keep it moisturized. If you must, rinse your hair in luke warm water, and use a small amount of conditioner just on the ends.
**Personal note: Jodi talked me into shampooing every other day, and I'm finally able to keep red color in my hair, after many attempts that faded quickly. And as an added bonus, my shampoo and conditioner last twice as long!

Finally, go easy on the heat. When you do rinse or shampoo, use luke warm water, not hot water. When you blow dry or flat iron, use a thermal protectant like Iron It by Michael's, Aquage Beyond Shine or Trilliant by Sebastian.

Color Care
After taking great care of your hair, you might want to amp up the color a bit. The More article recommends 'Ask your colorist if (s)he can use an oil-based bleach, which processes hair more gently than a traditional bleach." Michael's uses Wella color processes, which are oil-based, and condition your hair as they color.

More magazine is a great resource for 'women of style & substance.' They celebrate women over 40, and offer tips on fashion, beauty, love, careers and more.

What do you think of these tips? Do you have other tips to share? Let us know in the comments!

We aren't the only ones talking about Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy - our designers have found articles about it in US Weekly, and a quick search on Keratin by Coppola's website features many articles highlighting Keratin treatments!

Visit keratincomplex.com to check out all of the attention this amazing process is getting. And if you look closely, you'll see that our price point (starting at $220) is much lower than many other salons:

Remember back in January when Michael's Salon announced we were giving away a free Keratin treatment? For those with curly, frizzy, or hard to manage hair, a Keratin smoothing treatment can cut styling time in half! We asked our blog readers to send us a photo and a paragraph about why they would like a free Keratin treatment.

Jessica Burton of Centerville was selected, and here's her before and after photos from today's Keratin makeover:

Jessica is a stay at home mother to her son with special needs. Taking care of a child with autism and ADHD is a full time job; the only break she gets is when he goes to preschool for a couple hours in the morning. Jessica is very involved with her church, playing piano and volunteering several days a week.

"Between taking care of the house, my son, and doing things for church it leaves me with almost no time to try and tame my unruly hair," Burton said in her entry. It took almost an hour to apply product, blowdry then straighten her locks. "If I don't blow it dry and take the time to fix it, then it's just a frizzy wavy mess. I love wearing my hair down - and my husband loves it too - but with not having any time to fix it, it usually ends up in a ponytail."

Hopefully your ponytail days are over, Jessica! Today, Abby gave Jessica a Keratin smoothing treatment - and she loves the results. "It doesn't feel like my hair anymore, it's so smooth and soft!" After a Jane Iredale makeup application with Jill, Jessica was thrilled with her morning at Michael's. "I've never really had a makeover before. Jill and Abby were both so friendly and nice, they really made me comfortable throughout the whole process."

Jessica was very appreciative of today's makeover: "I'm so glad that I found Michael's Salon! I started coming here after a horrible experience at a discount haircut place. Caribeth fixed my cut and I've been a client ever since!" We're glad that you found us too! We're confident your Keratin treatment will cut down your styling time so you can spend more time with your husband and son - or pampering yourself!

We'll check in with Jessica in a few weeks to see how big a difference the Keratin treatment made on her daily beauty routine. If you want more information about the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy, www.keratincomplex.com or ask your designer here at Michael's Salon.

Have you ever wished that your hair was more manageable? Softer? Smoother? Shinier? Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy by COPPOLA is the answer - and it's available in Dayton, Ohio at Michael's Salon & Spa.

The above picture is of Michael's designer Brooke, who was frustrated with her frizzy, hard to manage hair. Here's what she had to say after receiving the Keratin Smoothing Treatment:

"I will get this done for the rest of my life! I love how smooth it makes my hair, and it takes me less than half the time to style my hair. I barely flat iron at all now - just to shape the ends."

This revolutionary smoothing system infuses Keratin deep into the hair cuticle, eliminating up to 95% of frizz and curl, leaving hair smooth, shiny and luxurious. Results typically last 3 to 5 months depending on hair type.

Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy is gentle enough to use on all hair types: color treated, chemically processed, bleached or highlighted. It is available at Michael's Salon - Call 435-4701 to schedule your consultation today.

Here are more before and after photos taken by our designers at their Keratin training class: