Hair treatments
Two directions: up and down

Why the treatment name matters less than you think

The industry sells names — dozens of them, often the same chemistry behind different labels. What decides your result isn't the name on the menu; it's your hair. You can impose a shape on almost any hair. You cannot impose bounce — that has to be earned from healthy bonds. Two people asking for the identical treatment can need completely different things, because porosity, elasticity and history differ.

So choose the technician, not the treatment

What's possible is set by your hair, not by the menu. A real specialist tests elasticity, porosity and history first, then chooses the method — and will gladly recommend a softer result, or say no, to protect the hair rather than chase a finish that damages it. Pick the person who diagnoses before they promise.

An expert reference — not a service list

Across more than three decades — since 1991 — Zoltan has met the makers, tested the products, visited the factories, and tried these treatments first-hand. This library is his independent expert commentary on the whole texture-service world, Down and Up. It does not mean every treatment here is offered in the salon: some Zoltan performs, many he does not, and a few he would honestly talk you out of. What you get on every page is a specialist's straight view — what a treatment really is, who it suits, and where it falls short — so you can judge it for yourself.

↓ Down — straightening & smoothing, every method

Seven families, one page each, plus every regional name inside them. Start with the ultimate guide if you want the comparison first.

• Keratin treatmentSemi-permanent coating, loosens curl ~50%
• Brazilian BlowoutThe branded US original
• Brazilian blow dryThe UK name for keratin smoothing
• One idea, many namesWhy the labels differ, the chemistry does not
• Acid straighteningGlyoxylic-acid systems
• Amino acid straighteningAmino-based smoothing
• Collagen straighteningProtein coating, marketed as repair
• Cysteine treatmentAmino-acid smoothing without aldehydes
• Protein treatmentRepair first, smoothing second
• Glass hairThe mirror finish, and what makes it
• Hair laminationGloss-and-seal treatments
• Hair polishingSurface shine services
• Cinderella treatmentJapan’s short-lived gloss
• Straightening shampooShower progressive — does it work?

• Hair rebondingAsia’s permanent pin-straight
• Permanent hair straighteningThe umbrella term, decoded
• Soft / volume rebondingStraight with root lift
• Hair smootheningIndia’s favourite: relaxed, natural fall
• TexlaxingDeliberately under-processed relaxing
• Chinese straightening terms离子烫 and friends

• Japanese hair straighteningThermal reconditioning — where it was perfected
• Straight perm (sutopa)Japan’s lighter straightening
• Kamishitsu kaizenThe acid-wave “hair quality improvement”
• Sannetsu treatmentAcid heat treatment

• Magic straight permStraight with life in it
• Volume magicStraight lengths, lifted roots
• Down permKorea’s men’s hair secret

• RelaxerHydroxide systems, lye and no-lye
• Silk pressPin-straight with no chemicals
• Dominican blowoutHeat-and-technique straightening

• NanoplastiaSmooth to very straight, 4–6 months
• Hair botoxRepair and de-frizz, no botulinum
• Escova progressiva / definitivaThe Brazilian original
• Progressive blowoutThe progressiva, exported
• Plástica dos fiosBrazil’s “hair plastic surgery”
• Cirugía capilarThe Spanish-language name for it
• TaninoplastiaTannin-based smoothing
• EnzimoterapiaEnzyme smoothing
• Cauterização & blindagemSealing and “armouring”
• Selagem térmicaThermal sealing

• Emerging techExosomes, cryotherapy, graphene — verified only

↑ Up — perms, waves, curls & volume

The other direction. If straightening takes hair down, perming takes it up — adding curl, wave, body and volume. The perm guide is the reference for the whole Up world; the pages below are what you can actually book.

• Wavement ColdClassic perm — curl that is there wet and dry
• Wavement HotDigital perm — curl arrives as it dries
• Root volumeLift and body rather than pattern
• Fringe & partialFace-frame, fringe wave, under-layer
• Perm rods: size vs shapeSize is only half the story
• Wavement Cold for menThe men’s classic perm
• Are perms actually back?What the 2026 booking data says
• The new perm brandsWhat changed, what is marketing

Guides that apply to both directions

• ConditioningHair is dead — what a conditioner can and cannot do
• Home careYour treatment leaves finished, then it starts being spent
• Measuring hair lengthWhy your number keeps changing
• The teCsture ScaleHow every treatment is graded