The main product I used for this process was the Keratin Earth Hair Straightening System. It comes in a box of 4 products:

A shampoo, a treatment complex, a moisture mask and a conditioner.

The process was simple:

First, I washed my hair with the shampoo twice.

Then, I dried my hair with a towel and applied the treatment complex to my hair. I coated my entire head twice and combed the product through my hair. After 20 minutes, I rinsed the product out with the shampoo I used earlier and towel-dried my hair.

I then applied the moisture mask and left it on for 3 minutes.

Then, I washed it out, applied conditioner liberally, and rinsed everything out.

Next, I used a hairdryer until my hair was about 90% dry. Next, I used my brand new hair straightener.

This is the ghd Limited Edition Pink Cherry Blossom styler. In collaboration with the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Breast Cancer Foundation, ghd has released a limited edition Gold Classic styler It is a gorgeous straightening iron with pink detailing, that comes in a box decorated with the most gorgeous cherry blosssom print in hot pink. Inside the box is a heat resistant satin, structured pouch embroidered with pink cherry blossoms, that houses the styler. ghd stylers are well-known for being extremely effective, and for producing strands that are much more silky, and styles that last much longer, than your average heat styler. The best part? Each purchase in Australia and New Zealand sends $20 to the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

I also love to curl my hair in a little at the ends, so that it doesn't look poker-straight and unnatural, and this styler did it wonderfully well because of its rounded-style barrel. It is exceedingly simple to use, and because it functions so beautifully, very little 'skill' was needed on my part to produce silky-straight tresses.

If you are interested in purchasing this limited edition beauty, you can get it at ghd retailers or on the ghd Australia website (shipping is free). Other straighteners are, of course, also available on the site. It retails at AUD 289.

A little background on my hair-type before I share with you my thoughts on the Keratin Earth system:
I have thick hair that can get a little coarse and frizzy at the ends without proper haircare. It is quite straight, but has a wave to it on the bottom lengths of my hair. Whilst I love curly/wavy hair, the condition of my hair is better described as having a weird 'kink' to it, which looks pretty odd. I hate having to heat style my hair, so normally I just leave it as it is.


The Keratin Earth system promises that it is safe on all hair types, including colour-treated, permanently-styled hair, which is one of the reasons I was so drawn to it. In fact, it claims to be able to improve the condition of the hair over time and continued use. Another thing that drew me to it is how little effort is needed to maintain this treatment. You can wash your hair, and even go swimming in the ocean, immediately after you have completed the process.

It is recommended that you use the system once a month, though it also says that treatment can last up to 90 days, depending on hair type.
Personally, I think I will only re-treat after 90 days, because my hair is not as curly or frizzy as some others, and I think the treatment should be able to last the full 90 days. I will keep you posted via Twitter and Facebook if I see any changes to the condition of my hair.

*Please also note that Keratin Earth is more of a relaxant than a straightener. Whilst reading through the instruction booklet, I came across a paragraph that says that Keratin Earth is meant to make hair more manageable - very curly, frizzy hair will turn into loose curls and waves, and slightly wavy hair becomes straight. So depending on your hair type, please manage your expectations!

Here's the final result:


A couple of tips I have to share about my hair-straightening process:

• If you have flat hair that you think lacks volume, go over your hair only once or twice with your straightening iron. This will help keep the volume in your hair.
• My hair felt dry and coarse after my 'treatment'. This was easily fixed with a little L'Oreal Paris Mythic Oil - my ends softened up immediately after I applied the hair oil, and have stayed soft and bouncy since.
• I curled the iron in on itself a little bit at the ends of my hair. This created a little bit of a curl at the bottom of my hair, giving it a little shape.
• To preserve the end result, I highly recommend using the Yuko System shampoos sold at Tsumiki Design - read my review of their Color Lock In System shampoos here.

• If the area is wet, apply baby powder to absorb any moisture
• Have a soothing ointment or cream at the ready to calm your skin and avoid any further irritation. Parissa is great for this because they have their very own Azulene oil that comes with most of their products to soothe the skin
• Apply pressure immediately after stripping the wax off. This helps to reduce the irritation and pain
• Practice on easy-to-reach areas like your arms and legs, before moving on to harder-to-reach areas like your underarms or bikini
• Begin to exfoliate the area that you waxed about a day or so after your treatment. This prevents ingrown hairs. A dry body brush or exfoliating shower-gloves are perfect for this

Nair Easiwax Wax Strips

These were very effective (I was helping a friend wax) and affordable, and remove almost every single hair, no matter how coarse. If you have sensitive skin, you might want to try a different product, because this can be quite harsh on the skin. My friend had raw, red skin for hours after we tried these.

The strips are easy and quick to warm up, and you only need to have them on for a quick second before you strip them off. The smell is pleasant, and they leave behind a little film of lotion/oil that makes the skin feel soft and smooth after treatment.

Some hairs ended up being broken instead of pulled off at the root so the overall wax didn't last too long because of this. I recommend this wax if you have a lot of coarse hair in the area you will be waxing, but not if you have sensitive skin.

The Body Shop Sugaring Hair Removal Wax Strips

This product is very gentle on the skin. It smells amazing, and works better on less coarse hair. If you have coarse hair, I suggest trying a stronger, more effective product. I used it on my legs, and was pleased to see that it reached every hair and removed everything perfectly. 

The strips take a while to warm up, but overall the waxing didn't take too long. The process was of course slightly uncomfortable, but relatively easy and quick.

My skin also felt immediately soft and smooth after treatment. I experienced a little less post-treatment redness with these strips, so I definitely recommend this for sensitive skin types.

Parissa Hot Wax

This is a little bit more luxe than your typical wax strip pack, but also requires more time and effort. This hot wax needs to be heated over a wax heater or on a stove on low heat. It comes with the items pictured above, as well as a little bottle of azulene oil (not pictured because it was rolled between the instruction sheet and fell out and broke when I tried to take the instructions out).

The wax smells slightly medicinal (nothing offensive) and takes about 5-10 minutes to heat up. After that, you will need to wait a while for it to cool down before you apply it to your skin.

This wax doesn't require strips, as it is pliable when almost cool and can be stripped off on its own before it dries and hardens completely. It is a little tricky at first, trying to figure out when exactly to pull the wax off, but once you get used to it, it's easy. The wax tends to get a little difficult to work with closer to the end of the treatment when it has started to cool, so I suggest working a little more quickly with this one. The instructions don't say whether or not it is safe to re-heat the wax, but I did try it and didn't face any problems.

Overall, I find the results to be almost perfect, which is very pleasing. My skin felt a little dry after, but I suppose the azulene oil would have fixed that right up (I wish I hadn't broken mine!). If you like salon-perfect finishes and a more luxe feel, I definitely recommend this. It is perfect for coarse hair and didn't overly irritate my skin.

I hope this post helped! x