Goldwell Kerasilk Nightmare

by Sherry
(Houston,Tx)

I had the Goldwell Kerasilk Treatment at a hair salon and wish I could go back in time 3 months. I have previously had Brazilian Blowout twice with no bad effects. But I let my hair grow out to recover my gorgeous, natural wave.

I am Caucasian with medium skin tone and reddish highlights in medium brown hair. However, frizz came along with that. I had read up on GKT and it allows you to keep your curls. My first worry started during the treatment; the comb was sticking to my hair and I could feel hairs tearing, but when I expressed this, the hairdresser assured me that hair was not coming out. This was at the nape primarily. When all was done, my hair looked fabulous, though it did not have the silky slip that Brazilian Blowout creates. I was surprised that the hairdresser blew it straight since my goal was to have my curls/waves maintained. I got immediate compliments at my gym. Then I started to work out and as I started to sweat, there was an awful stench- a mix between dead animals and fruit. I had never smelled anything like it, and I’m a chemistry teacher. It made me want to vomit. I realized, as I slunk off to the showers that the smell was coming not just from my hair, but through my pores all over. I washed thoroughly, repeatedly with soap and the stench lessened. It was still in my hair though because I did not want to do anything to mess up the expensive treatment. For the next 3-4 weeks, every time the hair got a little damp, the smell was there. I even curtailed my dancing (my favorite hobby) because I didn’t want to gross anyone out if sweat got on my hair. Also, using a wide-toothed comb through freshly washed hair was somehow “sticky” for about 2 months and resulted in hairs being tangled and pulling easily from the roots as a tangled clump. It’s sooo odd. I called Goldwell not just about the smell, but about something else far more horrible that was happening. My hair was very damaged-looking after the second shampoo about 5 days after the treatment. I had called the salon for a refund and they flatly refused- they did not even invite me in for an inspection. Anyway, my hair started falling out in massive amounts. Each time I washed it, I would literally have clumps in my hands. I freaked and began looking for answers on the internet as the salon and Goldwell took no responsibility. The fallout continues to this day, on a lower scale, but all told at 400-500 hairs per styling for over 2 months even with high quality repair conditioning efforts, I have lost about 1/8 of my volume and mass.

Last week, I had my new stylist (not from the bad salon) cut off the bottom 4 inches of my formerly beautiful hair. The color is still beautiful (even stylists compliment me on it- I am of the age where I have been dyeing it myself for years) and I hope that the hair will grow back. I am disgusted that the Goldwell representative’s only solution was for me to ask the salon to give me a conditioning. I sure don’t want to put more of their product in my hair! A friend who is also a stylist and teacher of hairdressers said that the stylist had used too much product; she said this is such a common error with that particular product that their school will not allow the students to pour the product themselves- she knew this the minute I described my symptoms and after she asked me how much product was in the dish. It was about cup and a half (400 ml or so). Her shocked look before she told me how much would have been appropriate for my hair was priceless. I am so livid about all this. At first I just wanted a refund. As it was a Groupon purchase, I tried to get their help as well. No refund was given, but it wouldn’t have given me back my lost hair anyway. If there is ever a class action suit, I’m joining. For now, I’ll just live with what I have. I took pictures on day 3 but things got so much worse. Oh, and the idea of maintaining my curls, laughable! I have a 5-inch wide streak of curls down the back and all else is minimally wavy when air dried (my previously favorite way to go). My hair was equally curly/wavy all over prior to the treatment, with frizz that was handled with gentle products and a warm 1 1/2 inch curling iron. The frizz is coming back a little and I am only losing about 50 hairs per shampoo and 100 hairs per brushing with a wide tooth brush. The broken hairs have mostly gone away after an Aphogee 2-step treatment a few weeks ago. So I feel I am on the road to one day having my hair health back. I am thinking of having a chemical hair analysis done to try to understand this all better. For reference, I take no medications, including aspirin or other seemingly innocuous drugs.