Chi Enviro American Smoothing Treatment Review - Part 1

Product: Chi Enviro American Smoothing Treatment - Virgin and Resistant Hair 

What the product claims:  It eliminates up to 95% of frizz while making curly hair more manageable. It instantly adds amazing shine, silkiness and condition to the hair.

Retail Purchase Price: varies in salons who offer the service; however, I purchased the product from Ebay for $75.00. I'm a D.I.Y kind of girl :-)

My experience: I have been very apprehensive regarding the multitude of keratin treatments that have saturated the market over the last few years. I was concerned about the long-term effects caused by some of the chemicals in these products and wanted to find a treatment that would provide sleek results without the possibility of compromising my health. To be honest, I wasn't looking for straight hair or else I would have never stopped relaxing, but I wanted to be able to have the flexibility to wear my hair straightened without losing the style to frizz within minutes of stepping in not-so-optimal weather conditions. There seems to be very few reviews of this treatment on kinky hair on the internet. I wanted to be able to try it and see if it is a viable solution to combating the frizz-factor on my hair type.

The supplies to get started

The directions say to wash hair with the Purity Shampoo, rinse, then towel dry to 50% and add the treatment section by section. I shampooed in about 6 twists, rinsed, towel dried then blow dried each unraveled and detangled twist to stretch my hair a bit before adding the treatment. My hair would have been a tangled mess if I added the treatment right from a fresh wash.

This is my hair after the wash and towel drying

This is after blowdrying one side of my head with the treatment already applied. It felt stiff and very coated.

This is the other side of my head still sectioned with the treatment on it and waiting to be blowdried. The directions say not to section the hair and leave it straight at all times but if I leave my hair unrestricted and up to its own devices, I'll end up with a giant knot. So I sectioned my hair with plastic clips and kept it moving.

Finally finished!

First Impressions: Surprisingly, my hair was very soft and silky although it still felt coated with the treatment. I trimmed about an inch and a half to even up my ends. I didn't have to open any windows or be in a well ventilated area while I performed the treatment. There weren't any fumes that irritated my throat, nose, or eyes. It took me about 30 minutes to blow-dry my hair with a vented brush and 2 hours to straighten with an FHI Runway 1 inch flat iron. The directions say to go over each small section 5 times at 410 degrees to seal the treatment on the hair. I went over each section between 3-5 times at 370 degrees.


To sleep, I covered my head with a satin scarf, leaving the ends out then tucked all of it under a satin bonnet. The next morning, I unwrapped my hair and it was slightly wavy from the way it was tucked inside the bonnet. I didn't bother to flat-iron the hair completely straight as the directions recommend because I feel that is way too much heat in such a short time span. I completed some errands today in 91 degree weather and high humidity levels and my hair didn't frizz one bit! That was a welcomed improvement and I can't wait to see how the hair fairs over the next couple of months. I will wash my hair after the recommended 24 hour curing process and document the results in a Part 2 review.