The New Brazilian

The Brazilian Blowdry : A deep – conditioning treatment that lasts up to four months, and that actually works best on damaged hair? Oh, please. But these are desperate times, and I have nothing to lose – except more of my hair (I have heard that this sort of treatment can result in hair breakage), so first I speak to London-based Brazilian blow-dry evangelist Zoltan Vargyai.

A practitioner of this blow-dry for two years, Vargyai learnt the technique in Brazil, ‘where they’ve been doing it for over 10 years’. He is adamant that this is safe; previously, similar treatments used different chemicals. The formaldehyde, he assures me, is there to seal in the keratin (a protein naturally found in hair, skin and nails), and the key to getting great hair is to use less than 0.02 per cent of it in the solution; any more, and damage could be done to your hair.

After a wash and condition, the solution is applied, then dried, before sections are straightened repeatedly with irons. Then the hair is cooled, rinsed, conditioned and put under a dryer for 15 minutes. ‘You see the results immediately,’ says Vargyai.