Ask Us Anything
Everything You May Want to Know Before You Book
Our founder built this page so you’d never have to wonder. Search for anything, or open a chapter and read at your own pace — there’s no order you have to go in.
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01 Booking It Correctly Two minutes here and your appointment is set up perfectly
What you select when you book is what we reserve for you — so getting these right is how we make sure there’s plenty of time in the chair for your hair.
Select your real hair type and thickness
Booking asks for two things about your hair: your curl pattern, and how thick it is. Both change how much time we set aside for you. Neither one changes what you pay.
If you’re between two curl categories, pick the tighter one. If you’re between two thicknesses, pick thick. Extra time we don’t need is better than time we don’t have.
Guessing low is the single most common booking mistake we see.
Turn promotional messages on — this is how prep reaches you
When you set up your booking account, enter your phone number and email correctly, and make sure promotional messages are switched on.
That sounds like marketing. It isn’t. It’s the channel your preparation instructions travel through before your appointment, and your follow-up guidance after it — when to do your first wash, how to care for it, what to watch for.
If that setting is off, you don’t get any of it. You’ll still get your booking confirmation, so it looks like everything is working, and you’ll arrive without the instructions everyone else had.
If you’ve booked with us before and never received anything beyond a confirmation, that setting is why. Go and check it now rather than the night before.
Add your haircut at booking, not on the day
A haircut is $50 with any Smoothologist and adds about fifteen minutes. Select it when you book so the time gets reserved.
Don’t assume it can be added once your appointment has started. If the time isn’t on the schedule, it isn’t there to use.
Booking for a child is a different appointment
Children’s keratin is its own appointment with its own price, not a version of an adult one. There’s no texture or curl pattern to select.
$1,200 with Kaylie, or $750 with a Senior Smoothologist. Those are the only two options — our Smoothologists in training don’t work on children.
We always schedule extra time for children, so the appointment holds whatever their hair needs.
Tell us anything we need to know in the notes
The booking notes are where you tell us the things that change your appointment. If you’d rather your photos weren’t used on social media, say so there and they stay internal.
Same for scheduling requests, chemical history you want us to know in advance, or anything you’d find easier to write down than say in the chair. We read them.
Booking happens online, and only online
We can’t take booking requests by text or DM. Everything goes through the booking system so the right amount of time gets held for you.
If nothing is open when you want it, get on the day-specific waitlist rather than waiting for something to appear on its own. It moves faster than it looks.
02 Is SMOOTHED Right for Me? Honest answers about your curls, and what this can really do
The questions we think everyone deserves answered honestly, before they spend a penny.
Will I lose my curl pattern?
Some relaxation of your natural pattern is always possible. How much your texture changes depends on your curl pattern, hair history, goals, and the treatment strength we choose together at consultation.
Looser waves and curls generally relax more visibly than tighter coils. Tighter textures often keep more of their curl while becoming softer, less frizzy, and far easier to detangle.
The goal isn’t automatically to eliminate your texture. We customize to balance the smoothing you want against the movement you want to keep.
One honest note. We work hard to get stretch where we want it and not where we don’t, but it’s still common to come out without a perfectly uniform curl pattern. Curls also stretch at first and come back up over the following few weeks.
Maximum smoothing and maximum curl retention are opposing goals. Your consultation is where we find the balance that’s right for you.
Can I still wear my hair curly?
Yes. Plenty of our clients keep wearing their hair curly, wavy, coily, or in wash-and-go styles after treatment.
Your pattern may look softer, more elongated, or less voluminous than before. Exactly how much depends on your texture, treatment strength, hair history, and how you style after washing.
Some clients come to us specifically for the flexibility — natural one week, smooth the next.
Have Your Curls and Smooth Them Too™ means keeping your options open — not promising your pattern stays completely unchanged.
What can keratin realistically do?
It can reduce frizz, soften texture, shorten styling time, make detangling easier, and help your hair respond more predictably to heat and humidity.
It isn’t permanent straightening, and it isn’t a substitute for healthy hair habits. Your natural texture returns gradually as the treatment fades and new growth comes in.
Keratin makes your own hair easier to live with. It can’t turn your hair into someone else’s hair.
What if I don’t know exactly what I want?
You don’t need to arrive with the answers. Most clients know what’s frustrating them without knowing which result or strength fits their life.
Every appointment opens with a thorough consultation — how you wear your hair now, what you want made easier, how much texture you want to keep, your hair history, and what you actually want from the service.
You can arrive knowing only what you want to make easier. The consultation defines the rest.
I wear hijab. Is keratin worth it for me?
Often yes — and for reasons that have nothing to do with how your hair looks in public.
Hair spends a lot of hours wrapped, pinned, tucked and pressed flat. That’s friction at the hairline and nape, tension wherever it’s tied, and very little airflow. The most common things we hear are breakage where the scarf sits, ends that tangle without ever being out, and hair that takes forever to dry properly.
Keratin doesn’t undo any of that on its own. What it does is make your hair smoother, less prone to tangling, faster to dry and far less work to manage — which means less pulling, less detangling, less heat and less daily handling.
Plenty of our hijabi clients tell us the point wasn’t looking different. It was spending fifteen minutes a day on their hair instead of an hour.
Should I book a virtual consultation first?
It’s a good place to start if you’re unsure whether SMOOTHED is right for you, have a complicated chemical history, are worried about curl retention, or need help choosing the right appointment.
It’s a group call, usually thirty minutes to an hour, and your camera is optional — you only need it on if you want us to see your hair. All times are Pacific.
You don’t need one if you already understand the service and feel confident choosing your booking option.
03 Choosing the Right Appointment Finding the right Smoothologist for your hair, and what it costs
Which appointment should I book?
Booking runs in two steps. First you choose your hair — your curl pattern and how thick it is. Then you choose your Smoothologist.
Your curl pattern puts you with someone trained for your texture; your thickness sets how much time we reserve. Neither one changes what you pay.
Booking for a child? Children’s keratin is its own appointment, booked only with Kaylie ($1,200) or a Senior Smoothologist ($750).
Type 4C? If you want maximum smoothing and aren’t trying to hold onto your curl, an Established Smoothologist will do that well. If keeping your curl matters, we strongly suggest a Senior or Kaylie.
Booking if you wear hijab
Here are the facts, so you can decide what works for you.
We have five Smoothologists. One of them, J, is male. J works nine to five, five days a week.
If you’d prefer to be treated with no men in the building, you’ll need an appointment outside those hours. Taylor works early mornings — she is the only other Smoothologist outside nine to five. Request one of her early slots and add a note asking for the earliest possible time.
Photos. We photograph every client to track progress across appointments. Note at booking that you don’t want yours used on social media and they stay internal.
How does pricing work?
Every first-time appointment is one flat price, based only on the experience level of the Smoothologist you choose. Not your curl pattern, not your thickness, not your length, not how much product your hair takes.
Children’s keratin is the exception — $1,200 with Kaylie, or $750 with a Senior Smoothologist.
A haircut can be added for $50. After your first visit, your Smoothologist gives you a personalized maintenance quote based on what your hair actually needed.
Our average appointment runs three to three and a half hours. There’s no overtime charge unless yours passes four, billed at $50 per additional fifteen minutes — about 95% of our clients pay the price listed, exactly as listed.
Why do your Smoothologists have different prices?
Pricing reflects hands-on experience and the number of treatments each person has completed.
Smoothologists in Training offer a one-time introductory price. These are educational appointments supervised by Kaylie or a Senior Smoothologist, available for Type 1 and 2 hair only — curl patterns are the last thing a Smoothologist trains on here, not the first.
Established Smoothologists have completed more than 500 treatments. Senior Smoothologists have completed more than 2,000 and represent our highest team level. Kaylie books as our Master Smoothologist.
Choose the experience level, investment and availability that suit you. Everyone here is trained in the same method.
How do I know which Smoothologist is right for me?
Start with your hair — curl pattern and thickness. That points you toward people trained and scheduled for it.
Then consider your preferred investment, availability, experience level, and whether you’re comfortable being part of a supervised training appointment.
An Established or Senior Smoothologist is the better fit for a complicated hair history or advanced customization.
What services do you offer?
Professional keratin and hair-smoothing treatments, exclusively. A haircut can be added.
We don’t provide color, highlights, extension installation or maintenance, traditional relaxers, or permanent straightening.
Doing one thing is what lets us keep refining our consultations, customization and technique.
04 Timing Matters Picking a date that gives you the easiest introduction
When you book can matter as much as what you book. Here’s how to pick a date you’ll be glad about.
Should I schedule before a vacation?
If it’s your first keratin treatment, give yourself some room before an important trip.
Booking ahead gives you time to complete your first wash and learn how your hair behaves before you leave town. Especially worth it if your trip involves swimming, ocean water, humidity, frequent workouts, or professionally styled hair for photographs.
Where you can, book your first treatment at least a couple of weeks before major travel.
Can my hair smell after the first wash?
Some clients notice a temporary sulfur-like scent once their hair gets wet after a treatment. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but we’d rather you know it’s possible before booking.
When it does happen it’s usually most noticeable while hair is wet, and it typically fades over subsequent washes.
If avoiding every possible surprise matters for an upcoming occasion, leave enough time for several washes first.
Should I schedule around swimming or heavy workouts?
Yes. Salt, chlorine, frequent washing and heavy sweating all shorten the life of a treatment.
If you already know you’ll be in a pool or the ocean for days, training for a race, or doing hot yoga right after your appointment, book the treatment afterward instead.
Get your workouts and swimming out of the way beforehand. Picking the right date protects both your time and your investment.
Should I schedule around color?
Yes. Color and keratin work well together, but the order matters.
Keratin can lighten, pull or shift artificial color and sometimes expose extra warmth. If you color darker or cover gray, most clients prefer to do that after their keratin. Darker color can generally be scheduled after your first wash.
Highlights and bleach are different. Allow roughly two to four weeks between highlighting and your keratin. We also don’t recommend highlighting straight after keratin, because bleach breaks the treatment down.
Should I wait until after my wedding or event?
Sometimes the most responsible advice is to wait.
If this is your first treatment and your wedding, photoshoot, reunion or graduation is days away, there may not be time to complete a first wash and learn how your hair responds.
We’d rather build a long relationship with you than encourage a risk before something that can’t be repeated.
If the event is less than two weeks out and you’ve never been treated here, waiting until afterward usually offers more peace of mind.
When is the best time for a first treatment?
When you can actually experience it without immediately working against it.
Pick a stretch where you’re not flying out tomorrow, swimming every afternoon, training for a race, booking fresh highlights, or getting ready for something big.
The goal isn’t to fit a treatment onto your calendar. It’s to pick a date that gives you the easiest possible introduction.
05 Color, Bleach and Chemical History How keratin plays with color, bleach and everything before it
Can I color darker after keratin?
Yes. Darker color, glosses, toners and gray coverage can generally be scheduled after your first wash.
Keratin can lighten, pull or shift artificial color and sometimes expose warmth, so many clients prefer to do keratin first and refresh color afterward.
Can I get highlights or bleach after keratin?
Bleach breaks down and removes a keratin treatment, so we don’t recommend fresh highlights straight after your smoothing appointment.
If highlights are part of your regular routine, plan both services together so they aren’t working against each other.
Should I get highlights before keratin?
Highlights are generally best done before keratin, but freshly bleached hair needs recovery time before another intensive service.
Allow roughly two to four weeks. Your in-person consultation decides whether your hair is ready and how gently to work.
Fresh bleach and fresh keratin shouldn’t be stacked closely together. Give the hair time in between.
What if I’ve had another smoothing treatment or a relaxer?
Working over relaxed or previously smoothed hair is safe, and in most cases you’re still a candidate. There’s no waiting period and nothing to grow out first.
What we do need is your history. That includes Brazilian Blowout, Cezanne, Keratherapy, Keratin Complex, Peter Coppola, Enzymotherapy, Japanese straightening, relaxers, at-home kits — anything.
Bring the product name, the date, and anything you remember about how your hair responded.
If you don’t know what was used, tell us everything you do remember. Complete honesty about your history is what lets us make safe decisions for the hair in the chair.
Can I come to my appointment with extensions?
No. We don’t perform keratin treatments over any type of extension.
That includes tape-ins, K-tips, I-tips, fusion, hand-tied and machine wefts, sew-ins, beaded rows, microlinks, clip-ins, halos, installed wigs, box braids and every other system.
Your extensions must be fully removed before your appointment, and your natural hair must be free of all residue — tape adhesive, glue, keratin bonds, silicone, beads, thread, removal product and any leftover buildup. If a comb won’t run cleanly from roots to ends, the hair isn’t ready.
If you arrive with extensions or residue still in, we won’t be able to perform your treatment, and we can’t use your reserved time for removal.
Don’t assume removal is complete just because the visible hair is out. Check the roots and lengths for adhesive, bonds, buildup, thread and trapped shedding.
Should I use Olaplex, K18 or other bond repair?
Bond-repair products are useful for hair that’s recently been bleached or chemically compromised, but they aren’t automatically necessary for every keratin client.
Keratin already deposits strengthening protein. Layering strong protein and bond repair on top when your hair doesn’t need it can leave it stiff, dry and coated.
More strengthening product isn’t better. Moisture, protein, bond repair and keratin need balancing against what your hair needs right now.
06 The Day of Your Appointment What the day actually looks like, hour by hour
Plan for three to four hours. A haircut adds about fifteen minutes.
Step by step, what actually happens
01 · Your consultation — 15–20 min, with the wash. Your hair history, your short-term and long-term goals, what frustrates you, what you love, what you want to keep. If Kaylie is in house she steps into almost every consultation. The consultation is the skill — being able to have that conversation well is a large part of what makes a stylist senior here.
02 · Your before photos. Your stylist decides the strategy, then you head to the front window for before photos and video. We photograph every client for our own records. If you’d rather we didn’t post yours, note it when you book. Booking with Kaylie means being filmed for social media.
03 · The shampoo. Thorough, but not a scrubbing shampoo — we’re working with a chemical that day, so we’re not using nails or digging into the scalp. Which means you need to arrive with a genuinely clean scalp.
04 · Application — 20–30 min. Some treatments go under heat and some don’t. Some are applied fully, some partially. It depends entirely on your hair that day.
05 · Processing — 45–75 min. Your downtime. Bring a laptop or a book.
06 · Rinse — 5 min. 07 · Blow dry and flat iron — 60–90 min.
08 · The haircut — 15 min, $50. 09 · Going home with a pamphlet of the rules, and texts and emails timed to land when you need them.
Will I leave with a perfect silk press?
Everyone leaves with fairly smooth hair. But if you’re keeping your curl, you may not get a perfect silk press — and that’s deliberate.
You might leave with ends that still feel textured. That doesn’t mean the treatment didn’t work. It means it did exactly what we wanted, and your curls will be there when you wash.
If you need very smooth hair for an event, get treated well beforehand, wash once, then book a professional blowout.
Two messages decide how your treatment goes
We don’t really send emails. We text. Before your appointment you’ll get two text messages from us, and neither of them is your booking confirmation.
They carry your preparation instructions and links you need to open. Open them, and click the links. People who skip them arrive unprepared for something we could have told them a week earlier.
Emails get filtered, buried and ignored. Texts get read. Make sure the phone number in our system is current and that we’re not blocked or filtered.
And one after — the post-wash video
About a week after your appointment we’ll ask you to send a short video of your hair after its first wash. That’s the part most salons skip, and it’s a real reason our results are what they are.
Seeing how your hair actually behaved at home is what tells your Smoothologist exactly what to adjust next time.
Why this doesn’t end when you leave
Keratin isn’t like color. You’re not showing us a photo and watching us copy it onto your head. It’s a treatment that keeps changing quietly after you go home, and gets better with every appointment.
Over a decade of doing this, the thing our founder noticed most was how many clients simply didn’t know what to expect — and how unsettling that was. So we walk you through it: the rules after keratin, when and how to do your first wash, how to care for it going forward.
We’d rather hold your hand than hand you a mirror and wave.
07 Practical Things Parking, food, working, privacy — the small stuff that makes the day easy
How long should I plan to be here?
Plan for three to four hours.
Every treatment has a stretch of 45 minutes to an hour and fifteen where the product is processing and your hair simply needs to be left alone. Your Smoothologist works with another guest during that window rather than sitting idle, which is how we keep appointments available and prices where they are.
So there may be points where you’re waiting for your stylist to come back to you. It’s built into the day.
Don’t schedule a flight, dinner reservation or childcare cutoff close to your expected finish. We won’t rush the hair in the chair to accommodate plans made afterward.
How private is the space?
We want to be completely straight with you about this, because it matters more to some clients than others.
SMOOTHED is open to the public and it’s an open space. There are two large garage doors and two big mirrored stations. We can’t offer a genuinely private appointment right now.
What we can do: seat you on the far side of the station, out of view from the street and the rest of the room.
What we can’t promise: complete coverage the whole time. Walking to the shampoo bowl, moving to the processing area — your hair may be visible to other people in the salon.
We’d rather tell you now than have you find out mid-appointment. A truly private option is something we want to offer, and it’s one of the reasons we’re working toward a larger space.
Can I work during my appointment?
Yes. Plenty of clients bring a laptop and work through parts of their appointment.
There’ll be stretches where you can answer emails, read, study or take a quiet virtual meeting. There’ll also be times your Smoothologist needs your attention or your head at a particular angle.
It’s a shared space, so please use headphones. Complimentary Wi-Fi, and an outlet may be available near your chair — bring your own cables.
Should I eat before my appointment?
Yes. Arrive well fed and hydrated, especially for a longer appointment.
You’re welcome to bring a drink and a simple, low-mess snack. Please avoid strong odors and anything that could spill near tools or product.
Treat the appointment as a long block of time for yourself. Eating beforehand makes it far more comfortable.
What should I wear?
Something comfortable that you wouldn’t be upset about coming into contact with professional hair product.
We work carefully to protect your clothing, but salon services always carry some risk. Skip expensive white, delicate fabrics and anything sentimental.
Save your favorite outfit for after your appointment, not during it.
Where should I park?
We’re on 30th, but 30th is rarely where you’ll find a spot. Drive right past us, circle the block, and look on Myrtle. There’s almost always something open, and 29th is the backup.
Arrive ten to fifteen minutes early to find a spot, gather your things and get settled.
Can I bring someone with me?
To keep the salon comfortable for everyone, we generally ask that only clients receiving services stay in the space unless arranged in advance.
If someone’s driving you or traveling with you, there are excellent restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques nearby to explore while you’re with us.
Parents bringing a child in are a different story — we’ll always make that work.
Will the salon smell?
Our treatments generally have pleasant fragrances, and most first-time guests are surprised how different the experience is from what they expected.
Like any professional salon service, some vapor is produced during application, drying and heat activation. We’re built around airflow and ventilation, with fresh air moving through the space continuously.
Formaldehyde-free doesn’t mean fragrance-free. If you’re especially sensitive, let us know before your appointment.
How should I prepare before I arrive?
Don’t worry about memorizing any of this.
Before your appointment we’ll send detailed preparation instructions specific to your hair type — how to arrive, what to avoid, and what to expect afterward.
Just read the texts we send and follow them. We’ll guide you the whole way.
08 Life After SMOOTHED Your first wash, and what changes over the months that follow
The goal was never perfect hair. It was to make your everyday routine easier — so you spend less time thinking about your hair and more time on everything else.
What should I expect after my first wash?
The first wash is where you start learning how your hair behaves outside the salon.
Most clients notice less frizz, faster drying, easier detangling, softer texture and a routine that takes less effort. Your natural pattern may look softer, more elongated or less voluminous than before.
It won’t necessarily look exactly as it did leaving the salon — that finish included professional blow-drying and styling.
The first wash is the beginning of understanding your results, not a test you need to pass.
When should I wash the treatment out?
At least 24 hours after your appointment, and no longer than seven days.
Leaving it on longer doesn’t give you a stronger result. Pick your wash day within that window based on your schedule and your Smoothologist’s instructions.
If your hair gets wet from sweating or swimming before you meant to wash it, it’s better to go ahead and wash than to let the treatment repeatedly dampen and dry.
I wear hijab. How do I handle the first few days?
This is the part worth planning for, so read it before you pick your appointment date.
Between your appointment and your first wash, your hair is highly impressionable. Creases from tucking, dents from pinning and bends from a tight wrap can all set in.
The simplest solution is timing. Your window is 24 hours minimum to seven days maximum, and washing at the 24-hour mark is completely valid. Book a day where you can be home for the first 24 hours, wash the next day, and skip the problem entirely.
If you do need to cover during that window: keep it loose and flat, wear it straight down rather than tied or bunned, and choose silk or satin over cotton. After that first wash, none of this applies.
Tell your Smoothologist at consultation that you wear hijab. She’ll build your wash timing around it rather than handing you the standard instructions.
Do I have to blow-dry after every wash?
No. The treatment is meant to give you options, not another exhausting routine.
Type 1–2 hair often looks its most polished with leave-in conditioner, heat protectant and some heat activation after washing. You can still air-dry when it suits your day.
Type 3–4 hair can air-dry, wash-and-go, or diffuse. Lightweight leave-in and curl products are usually enough.
When will I actually see the benefit?
You’ll feel it in your routine straight away. You won’t see it in your hair for a few months — and that’s the part most people don’t expect.
The change in your actual hair comes from all those months of not fighting with it. Less heat, less pulling, less detangling, less daily handling. That adds up quietly.
Around the three-month mark, when you come back and we smooth you out again, is usually when it lands. Clients see the length retention, the density, and hair that’s less damaged and softer than it was the first time they sat in our chair.
The first appointment is the easier routine. The third appointment is where you see what the easier routine did for your hair.
Will my results stay the same forever?
No. Keratin is temporary smoothing, not permanent straightening.
Results soften gradually as you wash, sweat, swim, use product and move through life, and new growth arrives with your untreated texture.
Most clients don’t get the harsh line of demarcation you see with permanent straightening.
There’s no single correct maintenance schedule. Come back when the time and effort your hair takes stops fitting your life.
Can I swim after my treatment?
Yes. You can swim and live your life. You just need to understand the tradeoff.
Chlorine, salt water, repeated soaking, sun and frequent shampooing all shorten the life of the treatment. One swim won’t destroy it, but regular exposure makes it fade faster.
Before swimming, wetting your hair with clean water and applying leave-in helps it absorb less pool or ocean water. Rinse thoroughly afterward.
Never let protecting a treatment stop you enjoying a vacation or a beach day.
How does sweating affect my treatment?
Sweat contains salt, and repeated heavy sweating shortens the life of a treatment.
The first 48 to 72 hours matter most. Get strenuous workouts, hot yoga and sauna visits done before your appointment wherever you can.
If you have to do an intense workout soon after, wash the treatment out first rather than letting it get repeatedly saturated with sweat.
Whenever You’re Ready
We’d Love to Meet Your Hair
If you’ve read any of this, you already know more than most people walking into their first appointment. Book when you’re ready — or come to a free group call first and ask us anything.
All of our TikTok Shop commissions go toward keratin treatments for children whose families can’t afford them — and we match every dollar. When we’ve saved enough for a treatment, we give one away.