T

ake it from someone who knows.
Summertime humidity wreaks
havoc on curly, frizzy hair. When
moisture levels are low, we can
douse our manes with enough gel to tame
the beast, temporarily. But leave the house
on a muggy morning, and "bad hair day"
takes on immense proportions.
For every beauty dilemma, however,
there eventually comes a solution. Enter
Hiro Kitiyama of Yuko System of Beverly
Hills, the ultimate experts in hair straighten-
ing. Salon Sydney owner/stylist Stacey
Weinberg personally convinced Kitiyama to
fly to Birmingham to train her team of pro-
fessionals in Yuko's revolutionary Japanese
method of hair straightening and repair.
"The only cities offering this service until
now were Los Angeles and New York," she
says. "The waiting list in Beverly Hills is
eight to 12 weeks."
To better understand this de-frizz
process, touted by celebrities in the
New York Times, I visited Salon Sydney to
watch the hair transformations of Julie
Dorfman, Bonnie Solomon and Melissa
Shulman.
"I have my hair blown out at a salon once
a week," says Shulman. "I'm hoping this
will be my solution." The key to the
method is a computerized flat iron, heated
to 355 degrees, that purportedly conditions
and straightens the hair simultaneously.
Each small section of the hair is handled,
treated and ironed separately, requiring 3-4
hours to complete the process.
"First, we make a hair diagnosis," says
Kitiyama. "We determine what the hair can
take, whether it's highlighted, what its tex-

Bonnie Solomon goes from

thick and wavy to silky

straight at Salon Sydney.

Trends on page 12

STYLE AT THE JN • JUNE 2002

1

• 11