Brazilian blowouts are all the rage right now. I have never had one, so when my friend Aleisha York asked for people to test on for Cosmetology school, I immediately signed up and requested one.  Aleisha attends Nova Academy. Here's something really cool - Cosmetology schools are now recognized as a legit school and workforce need, so prospective students can factor in federal aid to attend. Nova has been federally funded since July 2010, with financial aid available to those who qualify.

I showed up to Nova and was greeted with a smile and offer of coffee by Aleisha. She sat me down in the chair and we confirmed I would be getting a deep conditioning with a Brazilian blowout. A Brazilian blowout is a smoothing treatment that is customized to whatever type of hair one has. I have a lions mane. It takes a lot to tame it. My hair ranges from straight to wavy. It's not consistent. It was apparent that my hair needed this.

First, Aleisha put purple shampoo in to enhance the highlights in my hair. They needed some rejuvenating. Afterwards, she put in a deep conditioner. I was put under a hair heater for about 25 minutes while the deep conditioner did it's magic. Once that was complete, I was back in the beauty chair for the Brazilian blowout. It took about an hour but every minute was worth it.

Before:

After:

Here's what it looked from the back:

I am so excited about the results! Now you're probably wondering how much this cost? All together it was $32 (that didn't include the tip). Would I do this again? Absolutely. I do recommend that you give yourself and your cosmetology student plenty of time. They're there to learn and as a result, the attentiveness and amount of time you're in their chair might be longer than you might expect. The trade off is that you're supporting someone's learning while getting a service at a great price!

Aleisha shared that after her ten month completion of cosmetology school, she'd like to specialize and focus on curly hair techniques and services. She also loves the variety of doing color and cuts.

I asked Aleisha how it made her feel to make others feel beautiful. I loved her response:

AY: "I like pampering people in general, because I think making someone feel special whether you do it by touch, physically by making them look prettier or just saying something nice to someone it makes them feel appreciated and more confident. Just doing something fun for someone else, its fun for me and it makes me feel better."