Help! Chi hair straightening system

I am sooooooo sorry that I didn't find this forum before I had my CHI treatment done. I won't describe the same results that so many didi before me. Hair breaking, falling, looking like a doll hair, etc,etc, etc. I feel like killing myself or shaving my hair. It has been 2 weeks now and I have spent a lot of money buying all kinds of products to see if I can save whatever hair has been left. So far couldn't find any. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM ANY CHI TREATMENT if you love your hair... I hope this help someone before have the CHI done.

I'm glad I found this forum. I too had the CHI system applied about 5 years ago. I had all the same symptoms (bent hair, crusty areas and had some hair at the scalpline acually melt off).

I've read a few of the remarks on the Chi straightening systems. For those of you still thinking about having it done I want to say that I've had it done every 6 months for the last 2 1/2 years and it's wonderful. I have never had a problem and people I have worked with for years can't get over how nice it looks. I have red hair with natural gray highlights, something in the Chi makes the gray look like blonde and people ask me who does my hair all time. When it was curly you couldn't see the highlights. Anyway I've never had a problem but I am sorry for those that have.

I just wanted to throw in my experience here, in case it might help anyone else with their decision about whether to get the Chi chemical straightening done to their hair.  I had read these posts before I made the leap, but figured that it was probably a small portion of people who had bad experiences so I did it anyway.  Well, it may be that more people are happy than bald after having this done, but I fell into the hair loss category.  I definitely wish I could undo it and go back to a full head of wavy hair rather than this. 

My hair is naturally wavy-curly, and while I could straighten it with a blow-dry and flat ironing, it would wave again as soon as I stepped outside into any humidity.  So I was eager to try something that would give me straight hair, but I took six months to examine options and make a careful choice of treatments.  I have a friend who has been getting the Chi treatment for years and her hair was gorgeous, so I went to the same stylist she used.  I asked tons of questions about the process, whether it was right for my hair type, etc.  I even sent the stylist this forum link and asked if there was a chance this could happen to me, since losing my hair would be the worst possible outcome.  She assured me that my hair was the healthiest she'd ever seen (never dyed, not often blow-dryed or ironed, etc), that I would be thrilled with the results, and that she'd never had any clients have a bad outcome.  I believed her and got the treatment.  She also cut two inches off the ends of my hair after the treatment, so I would be rid of any previous split ends. 

Within two days, I knew something was wrong, since I could feel that my hair had bends as they began to grow out.  It felt rough like the fuzzy side of velcro on these patches of my scalp with bends.  About 5-7 days after the treatment, the hair with bends began to break off at the bent point.  Two weeks after the treatment, I counted one day to see how many hairs were falling out, because I had the sickening feeling that it was way more than "normal" hair loss of 50-100 per day.  I counted 340 in one day.  And I assume it was higher because plenty of hairs fall off behind my back without me noticing.  This was typical of my daily hair loss for the first month...which means I lost a lot of hair.  A lot of hair was lost in the shower when I washed it, and more when I blow dryed (which I had to do sometimes since it was cold outside).  So I stopped washing daily and tried to avoid blow drying it.  I tried conditioning it extra (which, frankly, was necessary anyway since my hair was much less elastic than it was before the treatment, so it would tangle like crazy if I didn't put something in it from root to ends to smooth it out).  This decrease in elasticity also meant I would find elaborate tangles in my hair that were tied in such tight knots I had to cut them out.  By the way - the test that is done to determine if the Chi chemicals have set long enough in your hair is to tie a knot in few strands and see if it bounces loose.  When it doesn't bounce loose (i.e., when the elasticity is gone), then your hair is "done." 

Now it's been about 6 weeks post-Chi, and the hairs that broke off at the bends are now about an inch long and they stick straight up, so the damage is visible when I wear my normal hair styles.  Most of the broken hairs seem to be on the top of my hair, around my face/hairline, on the crown of my head (near a cowlick), and along the part...but it's possible that the broken hairs are all over and they're just most visible here.  The worst part is on the very top of my head, just past where I can see in the mirror head-on, where there is a patch of hairs (about a two inch circle, I think) that are only 1 inch long and there aren't long pieces there to cover it.  I really hope other people don't notice this; I am not sure how noticeable it is from behind.  I am dreading the long process of letting these grow out...I'm sure it will take over a year.  And my hair continues to fall out every time I touch my hair and also when I don't.  I constantly find hair on my coat, my clothes, my arm, etc.  I haven't counted again because it is too disturbing to know how extreme the problem is.  I am hoping it's not as high as 340 hairs lost per day any more. 

That's the worst part, but what does not help at all is that my hair is not straight now.  It's still wavy in the back, but now it's a lumpy uneven wave instead of the pretty waves I had before.  If I blow dry it, the wave is not as visible, but I'm frustrated that my hair isn't straight after all of this.  Plus, it's super damaged.  The texture is different than before - when individual strands fall out, they are often wiry.  Or the thickness changes along the length of the hair, like the chemicals ate away at portions of the strand.  And many of the pieces that fall out have splits along the middle of the strand, which I have never seen happen in my hair before.  I had no idea how horrible having damaged hair could be.  I just hope that as my new hair grows in that it won't be affected by all this damage in any way.  If I don't blow dry it or flat iron it now, the ends point in every different direction and it's not cute.  So basically, after all of this, I still have to spend time styling it with heat to make it presentable. 

This is to say - you don't have to have damaged hair before getting a Chi to have this happen to you.  Your hair can be super healthy and it may fall out after the Chi.  You can also go to a reputable stylist who has never had a problem with the treatment before (by her own admission, granted) and who comes highly recommended by trusted sources and still have your hair fall out afterwards.  (I have told the stylist what is happening, and she initially sent me a bottle of conditioner, and then when I said I counted 340 hairs that fell out in one day, she stopped responding to me.  Classy, no?  I don't care about a refund, I just want my hair back.  And for this not to happen to anyone else.)  I don't know of any "mistakes" my stylist made, and since I had made my concerns clear to her, I believe she did a careful job on my hair.  The best I can figure is that the Chi chemicals are too strong for some hair, and I fell into that unfortunate group.  So be careful and don't make this decision lightly.  Bald is not a good look for those of us who aren't Demi Moore or Natalie Portman.  It wasn't that cute on Cameron Diaz or Britney either. 

I did the Chi transformation system (Straightening) a year ago. I had frizzy and thick hair. The result: it was straight but with the iron straightening, after washing it i still need to blow dry it. Not worth the money, the only advantage was that the blow dry will hold in humidity.

After one year I have to trim my hair every month due to excessive split ends.

Fortunately, I had no hair loss.

Nowadays I use, swarzkopf Zero frizz  shampoo and conditioner, and John Frida Frizz ease serum. They do miracles. I love these products as they do their job.

Hope this helps!!

thanks for all the great data.
I hope someone sheds light more on elchim hair dryer and spa company



Edited by imane - August 13 2015 at 5:56pm