Treatments &amp; Repair

Colour DamageRepairOlaplex

Color-Damaged Hair: Signs, Recovery Timeline & What to Expect

Colour damage is one of the most common things we see, and it's almost always recoverable with the right plan. The key is stopping further damage first, then giving your hair the time and care it needs to rebuild from the inside out, rather than rushing straight back into more chemical processing.

Olaplex vs K18: Which Bond Repair Treatment Is Right for You?

Olaplex and K18 repair hair damage through fundamentally different mechanisms. Olaplex targets broken disulfide bonds in the cortex. K18 uses a biomimetic peptide to restore damaged polypeptide chains deeper in the hair structure. Both work. Which one is right depends on the type of damage you're dealing with and what result you need.

OlaplexK18Bond Repair

K18Bond RepairDamaged Hair

K18 Hair Treatment: What It Does, How Fast It Works & The Cost

K18 is a molecular repair treatment that rebuilds the protein structure inside damaged hair using a lab-made peptide. It works fast (about four minutes on clean, damp hair, no rinse), and it's especially good at reversing the weak, stretchy, “mushy” feeling that bleach and over-processing leave behind. It strengthens hair from the inside rather than coating it, and the effect builds over the first several uses.

Olaplex Treatment: What It Does, Whether It Works & Is It Safe

Olaplex is a bond-repair system that rebuilds the broken bonds colour, bleach, and heat leave behind in your hair. It's used two ways: mixed into colour or bleach to protect your hair while it's being processed, and as a standalone strengthening treatment. It rebuilds strength and cuts breakage rather than smoothing or moisturising, and despite the headlines, mainstream evidence doesn't show it causes hair loss.

OlaplexBond RepairColour

Hair Botox: What It Really Is, What It Costs & Who It Suits

Hair botox is a deep-conditioning “filler” treatment, not an injection and not a relaxer. It works a blend of proteins, keratin, and oils into the hair to fill damaged spots, smooth frizz, and bring back shine for roughly six weeks to four months. It contains no actual Botox, and it won’t straighten your curls; it softens and smooths the hair you already have.

Hair BotoxRepairFrizz

Bond Repair for Hair: What It Is, How It Works & Whether You Need It

Bond repair is the family of treatments that rebuild the internal bonds holding your hair together: the ones colour, bleach, perms, and heat break apart. Instead of coating the surface like a conditioner, bond builders such as Olaplex and K18 reconnect structure inside the strand, restoring strength and reducing breakage. It’s most worth it for coloured, bleached, or damaged hair; healthy hair needs it far less.

Bond RepairOlaplexK18

Protein TreatmentProtein OverloadMoisture Balance

Protein Treatments for Hair: Do You Need One, or Is It Moisture?

A protein treatment deposits protein into the hair to temporarily rebuild severely weak, stretchy, or over-damaged strands. It's powerful, but it's easy to overdo: too much protein makes hair stiff and brittle, the opposite of what you wanted. The real skill is knowing whether your hair needs protein or moisture, because the signs look similar and the fixes are opposite. Most damaged hair needs a balance of both.

Brazilian BlowoutSmoothingFrizz

Keratin Treatments: What They Do, What They Cost & Are They Safe

A keratin treatment is a semi-permanent smoothing service that works keratin into the hair and seals it with heat to cut frizz, soften curl, and shrink your styling time for about three to five months. It doesn't straighten your hair forever; your natural texture returns as it grows out. The one thing genuinely worth understanding before you book is the formula's safety profile, which we cover honestly below.

KeratinSmoothingFrizz

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Brazilian Blowout: What It Is, How Long It Lasts & Is It Safe

A Brazilian Blowout is a brand-name smoothing treatment that coats the hair with a protein layer to cut frizz and add shine, while keeping your curl. Its big selling point is convenience: there’s no waiting period, so you can wash and style the same day. It’s gentler and shorter-lasting than a classic keratin, usually around ten to twelve weeks, because it smooths the surface rather than restructuring the hair.

CezanneSmoothingFormaldehyde-Free

Cezanne Treatment: The Formaldehyde-Free Smoothing Option, Explained

Cezanne is a brand of formaldehyde-free, keratin-style smoothing treatment. It reduces frizz and softens curl with milder chemistry than a classic keratin, which is why cautious clients and sensitive scalps often choose it. Results last up to around five months, more than a Brazilian Blowout, with gentler chemistry than traditional keratin. The straightening is moderate rather than dramatic.

NanoplastiaSmoothingStraightening

Nanoplastia: The Long-Lasting Formaldehyde-Free Straightener, Explained

Nanoplastia is a formaldehyde-free smoothing-and-straightening treatment that uses amino acids and organic acids to restructure the hair from the inside, giving strong results and the longest wear among modern smoothing services, often four to six months. It straightens more than a keratin and avoids formaldehyde, but it can strip hair colour, and the acid it relies on (glyoxylic acid) has some emerging safety questions worth knowing about.

BixyplastiaSmoothingProtein

Bixyplastia: The Smoothing-Plus-Repair Treatment, Explained

Bixyplastia is a newer smoothing treatment that tries to do two jobs at once: soften frizz and moderately straighten the hair, while replenishing the protein that damage and chemical services strip away. It sits between a keratin treatment (which mostly smooths) and a Hair Botox (which mostly repairs), and it’s aimed at hair that’s dry or damaged but still wants some straightening. Results build with repeat visits.

Japanese StraighteningThermal ReconditioningPermanent Straightening

Japanese Hair Straightening: Permanent, Pin-Straight & The Honest Risks

Japanese hair straightening (also called thermal reconditioning) is a permanent chemical service that breaks and reforms the hair's internal bonds to make it pin-straight. Unlike a keratin treatment, it doesn't fade: the treated hair stays straight until it's cut off, and only new growth at the roots reverts to your natural texture. It gives the sleekest results of any smoothing service, but it's also the strongest, longest, and highest-risk one.

Hair RelaxerPermanent StraighteningTextured Hair

Hair Relaxers: How They Work, The Safety Questions & Your Options

A hair relaxer is a permanent chemical straightener, used mostly on tightly coiled or curly hair, that breaks the bonds in the hair to loosen or remove curl. The treated hair stays straight until it grows out, so only new roots need re-doing. Relaxing is a personal choice many people are happy with, but it's strong chemistry with a real risk of scalp burns and breakage, and it's currently the subject of active health research and lawsuits, so it's worth understanding before you decide.

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Wella SmoothFiller: The Demi-Permanent Smoothing That Keeps Your Texture

Wella SmoothFiller is a demi-permanent salon smoothing treatment that cuts frizz and makes hair easier to style while keeping your natural texture, so your waves and curls stay. It lasts up to about three months, fades with no regrowth line, and has no washing restrictions afterward. It’s faster and lower-commitment than a classic keratin, and at Backstage it’s $125.

Wella SmoothFillerSmoothingFrizz

Deep ConditioningMoistureDry Hair

Deep Conditioning Treatments: What They Fix (and What They Don't)

A deep conditioning treatment is an intensive moisture mask that brings softness, shine, and bounce back to dry, dull, thirsty hair. It works on the moisture side of things. It's not a repair treatment, so it won't rebuild broken hair, but for everyday dryness it's one of the quickest, cheapest, lowest-risk ways to make your hair feel good again. At Backstage it's $55 and about 30 minutes.

Moisture TreatmentDry HairHydration

Moisture Treatments for Very Dry Hair: What Actually Helps

A moisture treatment is an intensive, layered hydration service for hair that's severely dry, porous, or chronically thirsty: a step up from a standard deep conditioning. It layers humectants and oils, often with heat or steam, to drive moisture deep and seal it in. It's genuinely restorative for parched hair, but it works on moisture, not structure, and it is possible to overdo it.

Hair SteamingSteam TreatmentDeep Conditioning

Hair Steaming: What It Does and Whether It's Worth It

Hair steaming uses gentle, warm steam to open the cuticle so a conditioning or repair mask can sink in deeper. It’s not really a treatment on its own. It’s an amplifier that makes other hydration and repair treatments work better, especially on coarse, curly, or high-porosity hair that resists moisture. A cool rinse afterward seals everything in.

Fusio-DoseKérastaseCustomised Treatment

Kérastase Fusio-Dose: The Customised In-Salon Treatment, Explained

Fusio-Dose is Kérastase's customised in-salon treatment: the stylist mixes a concentrate with a booster, chosen for your specific concern (repair, hydration, smoothing, or shine), for fast, visible results in minutes. It's a lovely quick “results-now” boost, often added to a colour or before an event. The honest caveat is that it's temporary, typically lasting around five weeks.

Perms Today: What a Modern Perm Is, Costs & Who It Suits

A perm chemically adds lasting curl or wave to your hair by reshaping its internal bonds around rods. It's permanent on the hair that's treated (only new growth grows in straight), and modern perms range from defined curls to soft, beachy waves. It's genuinely good on healthy hair, but it's strong chemistry, so the one rule that matters most is candidacy: bleached or over-processed hair is usually a no. At Backstage a perm is from $150.

PermCurlsWaves

Digital PermHot PermBeachy Waves

Digital Perm: The Soft, Beachy-Wave Hot Perm, Explained

A digital perm (or “hot perm”) uses heated rods to create soft, loose, beachy waves that look most defined when your hair is dry. Compared with a classic cold perm (which curls tightest when wet), it gives a more relaxed, natural S-wave. It’s still a chemical perm, so the same candidacy rules apply: it needs healthy hair, and bleached or over-processed hair is usually a no.

Beach Wave PermBody WaveVolume

Beach Wave & Body Wave Perms: The Softest Way to Add Volume

A body wave (or beach wave) is the gentlest kind of perm: large rods and milder processing add soft volume and loose, natural movement rather than tight curl. It's the most subtle, lived-in texture service, and it's a favourite for fine or flat hair that wants lasting body. It's still a chemical perm, though, so it carries the same candidacy rules: healthy hair only, and no bleached or over-processed hair.

ChronologisteKérastaseLuxury Ritual

Kérastase Chronologiste: The Caviar Luxury Hair Ritual, Explained

Kérastase Chronologiste is a luxury, caviar-infused hair-and-scalp ritual sold as a premium sensory experience: a rich masque, a scalp treatment, and a relaxing massage that leave hair glossy and soft. It's lovely as an indulgence, but it's worth being clear-eyed. The value is in the experience and immediate shine, not in any lasting structural repair.

Tokio InkaramiJapanese RepairProtein

Tokio Inkarami: The Japanese Luxury Repair Ritual, Explained

Tokio Inkarami is a Japanese luxury repair ritual that uses high concentrations of proteins and ceramides (“Inkarami” technology) to deeply condition damaged hair and add intense gloss. It’s positioned as a premium “best repair” experience, and it’s genuinely lovely on damaged, dull hair. But it’s a cosmetic protein repair, not a bond rebuilder, and over-using protein-rich treatments can stiffen hair.

MilbonInPhenomePost-Colour Repair

Milbon Treatments: The Japanese Post-Colour Repair Ritual, Explained

A Milbon treatment is a Japanese multi-step professional ritual (often the InPhenome post-colour system) that rebuilds and seals the hair after colouring for a soft, repaired, glossy finish. It’s a premium colour add-on that conditions and restores cosmetically. Like other protein-led treatments, it’s about restoring condition and shine rather than rebuilding the hair’s internal bonds.

Luxury Hair TreatmentSignature RitualHair Spa

Luxury Hair Treatments & Signature Rituals: What They Really Are

A “signature” or luxury hair ritual is a premium salon experience that combines several treatments (usually a scalp treatment, a repair or conditioning step, a gloss for shine, and a relaxing massage) into one pampering visit. The good ones are genuinely lovely. The thing to know before you book one: the value is in the experience and the combination of real treatments, so it's worth understanding what's actually inside it.