Japanese Straightening on African American Hair

A reader had a question about how Japanese straightening, AKA thermal reconditioning, can turn out on this texture of hair.  I answered her as follows, and keep in mind, it’s always best to get a face to face consultation so they can tell you with your specific hair type if this process will give you the results you desire or not.

Question :  I read your article on your experience with this perming system.  Do thermal/Japanese perms work on African-American hair?

Answer : Hi Xxxxx.  When I had mine done at a Japanese-run salon, they did have pictures of African American women who had a very nice turnout from the system (they used Liscio), but it’s always prudent to ask the salon what their typical turnout is on your type of hair, and even to have a face to face consultation so they can give you an estimate.  From what I understood, it really depends on the texture of your hair, how thick, how long, and how naturally curly it is that determines the results.