This past Wednesday, I tried my first-ever professional smoothing treatment at Cutler Salon in New York City as part of the launch for Redken’s new Smooth Lock treatment—one of the perks of being an intern at American Salon! As Rodney Cutler, Redken brand ambassador and owner of Cutler Salons, delivered the details on the new semipermanent in-salon service and at-home regimen that’s supposed to make hair management loads easier, I was put a little more at ease and thought, “Hey, maybe this is exactly right for me.” Growing up with a head full of springy curls, I’ve never once thought of getting any type of treatment, or any hair service for that matter, besides my regularly scheduled three-month trim; I think my dad is partly to blame for my fear of hair change, as he told me from a young age I could never, ever cut my hair, which really means no stylistic hair freedom whatsoever. But the new service was perfect for all hair types, including tightly curled hair like mine, for clients who wanted manageable, frizz free, easy-to-style hair.
Smooth Lock is a heat-activated, simple two-step in-salon process, beginning with the Smooth Activator to relax the hair by weakening the disulfide bonds that form hair’s structure and shape, and then followed with the Smooth Sealer to lock the relaxed, smooth form into a finished place. Stylist Stacy Ho worked her magic on me, and after giving me a much-needed trim and applying Smooth Lock, she twisted my hair around her fingers to create her own curls, then blow-dried with a diffuser to lock in the treatment and ensure its 10 shampoo longevity. The results? Beautiful curls that are soft and frizz-free—I’m definitely impressed!
To reinforce the effects of the treatment, Redken recommends that clients use the line’s take-home products: Smooth Lock Shampoo, Smooth Lock Conditioner, Butter Silk rinse-out treatment, Head Glide that works with heat tools to fight frizz and form a heat-protective barrier and Stay Sleek leave-in cream, which helps control frizz and provides surface smoothing that can increase the treatment’s lifespan to 13 shampoos with an in-salon service. —Aja Edwards