Hair damaged by hard water CAN be fixed w/Malibu Makeover

[simplyhair]

Everyone who read my thread on Sunday knew how distraught I was. Big hugs to everyone who chimed in with advice.

I just could not rest and be at peace with damaged hair. Why didn't the ION Crystal Gel Treatment work? So, my mind started to wonder :scratchch. If ION is a "knock off" of Malibu, then shouldn't they be the expert on what in the world is wrong with my hair. They should know for sure if the bumpy things I see and feel on my hair are the cuticles raised or actually minerals stuck on my hair

I waited until Tuesday morning to give them a call. My first point of contact was Teresa. She is a licensed stylist and listened to my hair problems and stayed on the line and answered all my questions.

I explained to her everything I mentioned in my thread above.

Brief description of our conversation:

Me: I have had hard water for three years. My hair is bumpy and sticks together all the way down the hair shaft. Are the bumpy “things” my raised cuticles?

Teresa: NO, those bumpy things you see are hard water minerals that have been deposited and built up on your hair.

Me: Really?

Teresa: Yes, your hair has a negative charge. The minerals in hard water have a positive charge and will attach to your hair.

Here is a link with a diagram of what she is explaining.

Me: Well, I read that hair damaged by hard water cannot be fixed or corrected.

Teresa: NO WAY! It surely can be corrected.

Me: It can?

She goes on to explain that the Malibu Makeover will completely remove all the minerals. She did an excellent job of diagnosing a “prescription” (that’s what I’ll call it) on how to “cure” my problem. She said to go ahead and let my stylist perform the Makeover, tell the stylist to use at least two packets, and process me under the dryer for the maximum 40 minutes. The stylist will then apply the Power Protein Rebuilder and I would be good to go. She promised and guaranteed until she was blue in the face that I would see results.

I left the conversation a believer but little skeptical because I didn’t want to shell out $25 for a treatment that might not work.erplexed So, off I went to find a cheaper price than my stylist.

I called to several salons that offer the Malibu Makeover. The prices ranged from $10 to $25 and higher per packet. So, I got a steal when my stylist said she would give me three or four packets for the same $25. I love that she does not try to milk me for a ton of money!

After all of this back and forth on the phone , I still was undecided about making an appointment with my stylist. I need a second opinion. I called Malibu Wellness again and asked for a different rep. This time, I spoke with Deb. She confirmed everything Teresa said and sealed the deal for me. At this point, it is so worth it to get it done. Why put a price on a cure to my problem. My stylist took me right away.

EDITED 04/01/2012:
I've had a couple of people ask me about my success with the Malibu Makeover. I believe it's best to come back and give an update and edit this post. I don't want others to spend their time and money on something that "might" not work when the issue could stem from something else.

Below are some of my responses I gave to a couple of ladies:

Initially, I thought my hair was acting strange because of the hard water. And it probably was to a certain degree. I really believe my hair was extremely dry from using a no-lye relaxer and being underprocessed.

I'm just not all that confident that the MM was a solution. I "thought" the Malibu Makeover cured my hair. I know one thing, it does strip your hair supposedly of the deposits which is good but I just can't confirm that my hair was back to normal...because it wasn't even after the water softener was installed.

I think my hair was just done in with being relaxed and stylists not applying the relaxer correctly or rinsing it out correctly...know what I mean? It just all took a toll on my hair when my original stylist moved away...it was down hill after that.

My former stylist (the one that moved) used to put the Keracare 5 in 1 Reconstructor on my hair and let it sit after rinsing out the relaxer. (Deep conditioning is still possible at this time because the upper mantle of the hair is still alkaline--approximate pH of 10.0--and the cuticles remain partially open.) It's the step before the Neutralizing Poo. The new stylists NEVER did that step. I mean, my former stylist would do that step on my hair even if we didn't use a Keracare relaxer. In my mind, it just had to be this missing step in the relaxing process with the new stylists because my dry hair issues did not change once the water softener was installed.

So please do not do this treatment based on my review. Sorry if some of the paragraphs are jumbled or do not flow because I copy/pasted from different places.

 

[mscocoface]

Isn't it wonderful when you find the right solution to your hair problems?

 

[simplyhair]

Process

My stylist examined my hair. She applied the treatment (gel formula) and it was very, very warm…if not just plain hot. Nothing that you can’t stand though. She loaded me up and massaged it in. I sat under the dryer for 40 minutes then rinsed. She applied the Step 2, which is the Power Protein Rebuilder, combed it thru then rinsed it out. She could not stop playing in my hair. So, I touched my hair and I could not believe it was my hair. It was so soft. She gave me two cornrows and I went home.

When I took my hair down the next day, I could not believe my hair just fell apart. I did not have to fight to pull the strands apart. My hair did not stick at all except at the ends (I will explain later). You should have seen me going thru all the strands because I knew without any doubt; my hair was going to stick somewhere. Remember, my hair was sticking literally from the top of my head to the bottom. It was sticking more than real Velcro.

Disclaimer:

I mentioned that the ends were still a little sticky. I called my stylist and asked her why this was still happening. She said the ends should not be sticking because she gave me a good trim a week ago with my touch up.

I called Teresa this morning and she confirmed that the ends are the oldest hair, it has been thru more relaxer run off in comparison to the newer growth up the hair strands. She said to think of the relaxer as Super Glue that is being applied to minerals. Now, think of doing that every 8 to 16 weeks with a relaxer on these harsh minerals. Compound that with heat and other things we do to our hair. Therefore, it is possible that I will need a second treatment. She said it is rare but since I had three years worth of buildup, it would be a good idea to have another one.

This post is so long and I could go on forever with information from Teresa and Deb. Teresa was kind enough to walk me thru a “regimen” on how to do mini treatments at home and keep the minerals off my hair in between each touch up. They even have products specifically formulated for relaxed hair.
When I said I was confused a million times, Teresa never got frustrated with me. She always explained, explained, and explained until I got it! I tell you, the customer service is TOP NOTCH!

I was really at a breaking point with my hair. I am so thankful I stepped out on a limb to try this treatment. I cannot keep my hands out of hair. It feels so soft and light. It just does not feel like my hair. I cannot even tell you what my hair was suppose to feel like since it has been covered in minerals for years.

I hope this will help someone who may be suffering like I was.

 

[simplyhair]

Isn't it wonderful when you find the right solution to your hair problems?

Yes it is.