The Chemistry System by Redken Pampers Your Hair

Hair treatments were often messy affairs that required a life of leisure -- but not anymore! The newly revamped, Redken Chemistry (formerly called "The Redken Chemistry System") offers a fast (about 15-minute plus blow drying), in-salon treatment that is personalized by your stylist with a range of options, to pamper and protect your hair.

A treatment that's fast and tackles a variety of popular hair issues is a valuable time saver you should know about. So, as tourists and New Yorkers were preparing to witness the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, I was at the Redken Exchange on 5th Avenue, watching David Stanko demonstrate Redken Chemistry on his model, Margaret.

Redken Chemistry uses a formula that's much more intense than what you'd get in a tube or jar for at-home use, so it's only available in authorized salons. It's a two part treatment that repairs, protects and conditions the hair from the inside, out. The first part is a five-minute treatment called the "shot phase," and then the stylist employs a "Shot Phix Phase" offering intense treatment that seals the treatment bennies into your hair, with potent ingredients (that last about another 10-20 minutes). It also rebalances your hair's pH level (healthy hair hovers around a 4.5 pH), and seals the cuticle to leave hair in its healthiest condition.

Your stylist will choose one of two Shot Phix spray-on lotions: 3.5 (for chemically treated hair) and 5.5 (for slightly distressed and mechanically distressed hair). There are six shots in all that can be combined (up to three each treatment) to make your hair, manageable and marvellous, targeting strength, moisture, color, protection, softness and frizz control. That's a lot of mileage out of just one treatment!

The chart above is a bit difficult to read, but it shows the basics your stylist might follow for your hair. For example, if you hair is weak and damaged, you can add a "Strength Shot" There's an "All Soft Shot" for dry/brittle hair; a "Dandruff Control Shot" for dry/flaky scalp (all the shots can be blended together except for the "Dandruff Control Shot); Extreme Shot Phase is for deep treatment for weakened, distressed hair; Smooth Down Shot is a deep treatment for very dry, unruly hair; Color Extend Shot protects color-treated hair to help the color last longer; and the "Real Control Shot" works to repair damaged areas of the cuticle so really distressed hair looks and feels smoother, stronger, and more manageable. The Clear Moisture Shot offers deep treatment for normal to dry hair.

In this photo (sorry, it's taken with my Blackberry camera), David is explaining how he's going to apply Redken Chemistry to Margaret's hair (on just one side so you can see before and after results). David Stanko is very talented and extremely charming man and a color expert and educator. His work has been featured in top fashion publications, including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, In-Style, Latina and Elle, and nearly every North American trade magazine. David wet Margaret's hair and added a couple of pumps of the Color Extend + All Soft shots, massaging them into her curly, dense hair. After about five minutes it was time for several pumps of the Phix phase. *Your stylist can still add additional conditioner if necessary.

Here's Margaret's hair after a quick blow-dry. The Redken Chemistry-treated side appeared clean, bouncy and lustrous, while the untreated side looked a bit limp and dull. You could really see the difference...and it didn't take all day to do it, either!

Last June, I visited David at the Angelo David Salon in Manhattan (43rd Street between Vanderbilt and Madison Avenues) to check out another Redken product, Redken's Shades EQ. This January, after I'd just colored my hair, I went to see David for my own, Redken Chemistry experience. You can ask for a Redken Chemistry treatment any time you feel like it, but a great time (actually, a "must-have") is right after you've had any chemical treatment on your hair.

For my newly colored and always "wild" (to put it nicely) hair, David suggested a "Protect Shot" to help seal in my brand new hair color and help it last longer, and an "Anti-Frizz Shot" around my temples and ends to keep my unruly frizz a bit smoother.

I didn't take a "before" photo to show you, but with Redken Chemistry and David's skill, my hair looked and felt wonderful! The treatment will last at least a shampoo or two (maybe a bit longer with the coordinating Redken take-home products).

Redken has a myriad of take-home products that correspond to the treatment you've just had, to prolong the good works a bit longer: Clear Moisture, Extreme, Color Extend, All-Soft, Smooth Down and Real Control. The wall of products at the Angelo David salon is colorful and reminiscent of a box of crayons. You can find Redken products and other salon-style products here. Be sure to get yours from a reputable source such as your salon. You don't have to have additional services to get products--authorized salons will be happy for you to just come in and get your goodies and go home if you don't want anything else. Please read my blog post on Diversion--it's a serious issue you should know about!

A Salon treatment like Redken Chemistry varies in cost upon your salon, but they're generally about $15-$25.00. The treatment will take less than an hour of your time, and considering that if can make you look and feel great for weeks, it's a good value. Everyone needs a little bit of pampering and everyone wants great looking hair.

Give Redken Chemistry a try! To locate a salon featuring Redken Chemistry, please visit http://www.redken.com/or call 800.REDKEN8.

Are Salon Treaments Worth It? My Visit to Angelo David Salon With Redken's Color Expert David Stanko

The reception area at Angelo David Salon

At the Angelo David Salon on 43rd Street Between Vanderbilt and Madison Avenues, you can buy lots of home-use hair treatments. In-the-salon treatments are an added cost, and you may wonder whether or not these treatments are worth the extra. To find out I visited Redken's Color consultant David Stanko at the Angelo David Salon (48 E 43rd Street, 2nd Floor, between Madison & Vanderbilt).

David Stanko is a color expert. His work has been featured in top fashion publications, including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, In-Style, Latina and Elle, and nearly every North American trade magazine. He clearly loves working with and thinking about color. "I'm always doing people.s haircolor in my head: the woman sitting across from me on the subway, the girls who pass me at a sidewalk café, even the guy walking his dog on my way home, " he says..."and every silent encounter is its own technical critique session: Where did this one.s color take a wrong turn? Where could that one have taken the extra step from good enough to really great?" Among his accolades, David was honored by HaircolorUSA in both 1999 and 2000 as "Best Educator" and "Most Inspirational Educator." If anyone knows whether in-salon treatments really work, it's David. But I wasn't just at the salon to enjoy David's expertise (although that was great)! I was there to try two Redken in-salon treatment/color products: Shades EQ and the Chemistry System.

The Chemistry System:


I first learned about the Chemistry System at a Redken-sponsored event with David Stanko and Tracy Cunningham ( Redken's Creative Consultant For Color). The Chemistry system is a customized treatment that can help you calm frizz, get shine, tame flyaways, help your color last longer, and even strengthen hair. The treatment can transform your hair in just about five minutes. Even better, your stylist can target a few different hair challenges by mixing one or more formulas or "shots" to give your hair exactly what it needs. All the shots can be blended together except for the "Dandruff Control Shot," for truly personalized hair solutions. There is a "Strength Shot" for distressed hair, a "Protect Shot" for color-treated hair; a "Soft Shot" for dry/brittle hair; an "Anti-Frizz Shot" for very dry/unruly hair; and a "Dandruff Control Shot" for dry/flaky scalps. New to The Chemistry System is the "Real Control Shotbooster" for dense/dry/sensitized hair. It repairs damaged areas of the cuticle to instantly transform even straw-like strands, leaving your hair smooth, manageable and strong. To keep the treatment working even longer, there's an optional, take home a haircare maintenance system (smaller-sized products) that correspond to the treatment you've just had. David Stanko is a big fan of The Chemistry System. According to David: “The Chemistry System is one of the biggest breakthroughs I’ve experienced in my career.....Consumers will see more manageable hair, and those with color treated hair will notice longer-lasting color results and vibrancy as well as improved condition."

Along with The Chemistry System I tried Shades EQ.


Shades EQ: At the Total Beauty Summit last month, I was fortunate to have my hair colored by Dusty Simington from Salon Gregories. Alas red shades tend to fade the fastest (especially on wavy, thick, coarse hair like mine) and I knew that the gorgeous copper color just wasn't going to last forever. By the time I met David Stanko (two celeb stylists in just about five weeks), my color was fading from copper to brassy strawberry. David suggested I try a Redken Shades EQ color/treatment along with the Chemistry System.

I quickly found out that Shades EQ is the #1 long-lasting no-ammonia demi-permanent haircolor in the U.S.A . It's not new (just new to me) and it's actually been around for more than 2o years. It is used in-salon to glaze, refresh or correct natural or color hair. "Demi-permanent" means it will last about 4-8 weeks and fade out eventually. If you coat your hair with several treatments of shades EQ, however, the color begins to build up and lasts longer. There are 55 shades of Shades EQ including clear, which just leaves a great gloss on your hair. With all these individual shades, a good stylist can mix up a color that's yours, alone.



David Stanko at Angelo David Salon

While David worked his magic on my hair, I asked him what he thought would be trendy color this Fall. He immediately said: "more subdued, subtle color." David sees a trend towards less bold and chunky color. He envisions monochromatic color that's almost single process but with added, subtle hints or tones to add interest. He said he thought the end of bold and chunky color might be due to the fact that the nation as a whole is subdued at the moment. But subdued color doesn't mean no color. This is still a little luxury that women feel they can and should indulge in. Nearly 50% of Redken’s business results from professional haircolor.


A Tour of Angelo David Salon, with Angelo: I'd never been to the Angelo David salon before, so the very charming Angelo --the owner of Angelo David Salon, stopped graciously took me on a quick tour of the salon. Located in the heart of New York City, at 48 East 43rd St., one block from Grand Central, the salon caters to on-the-go clients, but also has a relaxed, user-friendly atmosphere. Unlike many salons where people definitely come to gawk and to be seen, customized services here are delivered in cozy main salon or in spacious, private rooms. As he describes it, Angelo's overall approach to hair and extensions is unique, and holistic. Clients may come in for a hair makeover for a special event or to solve a specific problem. A thorough assessment and a plan of attack is created before any work is done, with the clientss age, expectations, skin coloring, lifestyle and needs taken into consideration,a long with suggestions for appropriate hair, color, style, and even whether or not extensions are needed.

The salon is best known for Angelo's Couture Hair Extensions and Additions.™ but also for customized cuts, one-of-a-kind color, glamour styling services, relaxing or therapeutic scalp treatments, brow designing and shaping, lash extensions, age-defying facials and laser hair removal. There's also a manicurist on hand to pass the time productively, or just in case you need a last-minute touch-up on your nails. Also value-added is the informative and friendly staff. Meghan, the woman who assisted David with my hair, offered a clear and detailed description of the products, and how they work. I am sure she would provide the same level of information to any interested client even though as a beauty writer, I am super-curious about everything. I think it's important to be an educated consumer, and know something about what is planned for your hair, and why, and how, and what is in the products the stylist uses--never be afraid to ask!


In Summary: Are In-Salon Treatments Worth It?
Yes!

I'm not exactly sure what David custom blended into my treatment, but it left my hair soft, smooth, super-shiny and swingy. A week later, my hair is still full of bounce and body, still shiny, still soft, and even though the weather has been horribly humid, it's still relatively non-frizzy. I felt as though I walked in with my usual, hard to manage hair, and walked out with someone else's great hair!

But what about trying to accomplish the same results at home? I really don't think so! Even if you can purchase these treatments in a beauty supply store, they are simply not going to work the same way in your hands as in the hands of experts. Beauty supply store color and treatments may be "pro-style," but it might not mean pro results for you. For staters, you can't be sure that the products you buy aren't outdated or bootleg, and they may not have been stored properly, or they might not even be the genuine product you think you are getting. Additionally, in-salon treatments are often more powerful (and more effective) than do-it-yourself products, but that can be a good or bad thing, depending upon how it's mixed and applied. Without an extra set of skilled hands, there's also no good way you can do that on your own (e.g. how are you going to get the products distributed evenly to the back of your head unless you have really long arms and are practically double-jointed?). The Redken products David used on me were excellent and they worked. And while in-salon treatment like these do cost more, having them applied to your hair with some consistency can help your hair look better --- actually improve it. The treatments last longer so they become a reasonably economical option. Walking out of a salon with hair that looks and feels great....? Priceless!

*if you want to find a salon in your area that features the Chemistry System or Shades EQ visit redken.com or call 1-800-REDKEN8.

To contact the Angelo David Salon, call: 212-883-6620