Every now and again along comes a product that makes you go ‘Jislaaaaik!’ Scott Cornwall Str8 Ahead is one of them.
The other day I was sent a box of Scott Cornwall Str8 Forward, a semi-permanent hair straightening kit that can help straighten out your locks for up to three months. Initially, I struggled to find a willing test monkey. Some girls were put off by the fact that once you’ve used it, you can’t wash your hair for a whole three days. You’re also not allowed to tie it up or you’ll create a permanent kink in it. You can, however, use oodles of dry shampoo and a flat iron to banish any ‘bed head’. Then, once that waiting period’s over, you can go back to treating your newly straightened ‘do as per usual.
Anyhoo, my friend Tam who teaches make-up artistry at an academy took the box to school and found a student willing to give it a bash. Her name’s also Leigh, which just goes a long way to proving that all Leigh’s are well and truly awesome. Now, enough blabber… let me show you the results so you can ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ over their utter fantabulousness…
Leigh’s locks before:
…and after…
It only took two hours to do and any not-being-able-to-wash-it dramz were totally and utterly worth it. Tam says Leigh is THRILLED with her new look. She also likes that her hair feels nice and soft, kinda like it’s just been flat-ironed.
Now get a load of this last piccie… this is the real ‘proof in the pudding’ shot right here; Leigh’s hair after it’s been washed and left to air dry all by itself…
Seriously girls, this is one KILLER GOOD product. My friends who initially turned it down are now all eating their words, including Tam.
If you want to learn more about it, pop on over to the official website. Want to buy it? You’ll find it in Clicks for a mere R160. Now what are you waiting for girls? Send this link to every curly-haired girl you know; this product might just make their day and save them a fortune on other more expensive straightening treatments.
Love, love
Leigh
A little update; I now see you can actually buy Str8 Forward online from the website. Even easy peasier…
Lipgloss is my Life 
That is actually seriously impressive. I did this Bio-ionic hair straightening treatment a few years back. Had to do it at a salon, it cost me about R1800 and it took a whole day to do. Also I couldn’t wash or tie up my hair for 24 hrs. The result did last about a year though – so that was pretty awesome. But for only R160! This is a winner.
This is seriously AWSOME!!!! I was about to pay nearly R2000 to have this done in a salon and here you come along and save me thousands of rands!!! Love your blog and keep up the good work:-)
Insane, right?! I can’t believe how good it looks. If you do use it and want to send me your before and after I’d be very happy to put them up on the blog. This is one product every girl should know about 😉 x x x
Wow that is pretty amazing! It’ll make the professional hair straightening systems like bioionic and brazillian blow-out obsolete. I have straight hair and use a hairdryer for 2 minutes without a brush muahahahaha, but for my mother this would be awesome, I am going to buy her some!
Thanks man 🙂 your blog is entertaining and helpful.
It’s one of the most exciting products I’ve seen in ages. Seriously 😉
I love u so much right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :):)
I did this on Friday – it takes a long time, just over 3 hours. I am on day 3 today, so I haven’t washed it yet.
I took before pics (natural air dry) and will do the others tomorrow (natural air dry). I will send them through – but PLEASE excuse my roots!!!!! Really really bad.
I have not taken pics of the “after” straight after the treatment, because my hair was flawlessly straight as I expected it would be.
I threw the packaging away … do you know how long must I wait until I can have my roots highlighted?
I thought I would highlight, and then do the str8 forward extra conditioning as soon as I am allowed to (do you know the waiting period here?).
The treatment I did on Friday was not actually recommended for bleached hair – but I did it anyway as I was already at home, and I had highlights ages ago (which you will see by the shocking photos I post :P).
Hello skat! I’m dying to see your piccies! Ja, it’s not recommended for bleached hair, but ag wat… it’s just kinda like putting your hair through two chemical procedures at once… kind of like getting a perm AND a colour, which isn’t great, but so many people do it. If you find your hair’s taken a bit of a knock, try Kerastase Masquintense for coarse/thick hair. My hair’s super fine, but I grab that the mo I damage/overprocess it and find it really goes a long way towards helping to fix things up again. Also like that the coarse/thick hair forumula and nice and concentrated so you only need a pea-sized amount as opposed to a whole bloody handful of the ‘regular’ formula.
Anyway, please do post your piccies, I can’t wait to see what they look like. Have no clue as to how long you should wait before colouring, but if you visit the product’s site, you’ll find lots of in-depth q and a’s. Am sure that’ll be a popular question.
Mwah,
Leigh
X x x
Leigh!! I came to work to let my hair air dry naturally, so I could take photos for you. 3 people have commented. One of which was laughing. No one has seen my natural hair before.
It is not good. I am going to send you the ‘damp’ picture because I cannot sit like this all day! I have closed the office door X_X
I think my colleagues are sending others to ‘walk past’ and see the horror.
I am dedicated to an accurate review, so I will try and let it dry a little longer.
So, tonight I will wet it and see if it easier to straighten and dry. If that is easier then it was worth it.
P.s. at Clicks it is R169.
Noooo! I’ve had two other friends use it with great results since, but hey, there’s no guarantee. Please send me those piccies and I’ll put them all up. I appreciate your honesty. X x x
I still want to have highlights in 2 weeks. Then I want to try the extra conditioning.
Like I said the one I used was not recommended for bleached hair.
This is an ongoing procedure and review 😉
Leigh!!! You are the light in my life and i lurve you! Ok that sounded a little weird but this little gem you discovered has me wondering whether it’s better than an orgasm!!
After reading your blog a week or so ago i decided to give it a try on my frizzy (although not uber curly) hair. I bought a box and headed to my aunt’s little salon where she agreed to apply for me (gotta love having an aunt in the industry). It took just under 3 hours including a cut, with little fuss. I read out the instructions to her and we popped open a bottle of bubbly. 3 hours later there wasn’t a strand out of place or a sober lady in the salon.
i thought “yippee” but wanted to first see how it looked after a wash and no styling. That would be seen this morning. I was running super late so didn’t have time to heat style my hair or glob some anti-frizz serum in. Guess what, that serum hasn’t even left my bag today and my hair looks like it did yesterday!! EVERYONE at work has commented on how great it looks and my aunt is so super impressed she’s decided to add it to her offering – throwing out the “expert” products and offering a more affordable alternative. She was either drunk or so impressed on saturday that she decided not to charge me the R400 we’d agreed upon for the time. My hair hasn’t looked this good since i forked out R1500 for the Brazillian Keratin blah blah two years ago!!
My only concern was dirty hair for three days, but i used the Batiste Dry Shampoo and it didn’t even affect the product – both are my new best friends i tell you.
I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE this product.
Oooh, sooo good to hear and thanks so much for letting me know. So far just about everyone who’s tried this has had great results. The only ‘meh’ review I’ve heard comes from my friend Phil who found it didn’t manage to leave her super curly hair as straight as Leigh (the girl who I pictured on my blog), but she doesn’t regret using it in the least ‘cos it’s deffo improved her hair and left it feeling softer and easier to manage. But ja… so glad you’re a happy bunny. Going to send your comments on to Eclipse, the PR co. They’re going to be just as thrilled as you are. 😉 X x x
I saw it at clicks and am so tempted to try it plus theres also the New Aussie range of products…. So the question is… Which product is better?
Babe, that’s like comparing apples and oranges. The one is a home straightening kit and the other is a line of new shampoos and conditioners. I haven’t tried Str8 Forward myself and have heard mixed reviews, but mostly positive ones regards the results. As far as Aussie goes, they’re my favourite non-salon shampoo and conditioner brand hands down. X x x
In June 2012. I decided to do my daughters hair using Str8 forward super straight. I did the whole 3 hours and more, including the 3 day no wash, no tie. Both myself and my daughter has or should I say HAD soft curls, but not unruly.
The first time it did not work, as it said on the instructions. If there is a bit of waves or curls, do it again after 2 weeks. We waited about 3 weeks and I did it again.
I did my hair as well with the Str8 Extra conditioning because I colour my hair.
The lesson I learnt PAY that R2000 or more to have your hair done in a salon. Cheap is not always better.
Or be happy with what you have.
Our hair is gone what I will say “Kroes” We have waves in our hair. Which we did not have before. Air dried and it look like we just got out of the tuble dryer. I’m so disappointed in this product. Atleast we had curls that fell into place. Now we have hard hair, that smells terrible. It takes much longer now to blow dry or using the iron
Leigh. How do I get this out of my hair .. :((((
Ag nee! I’m so sorry to hear this but I’m glad you left a comment. This seems to be one of those products that either works like a bomb and you love it to death or it simply doesn’t work with your hair and you end up frikken hating it. I think it’s important that people know this beforehand.
In regards to getting it out of your hair; it gradually washes out (this is why it lasts up to three months) so you can get rid of it faster by washing your hair more often. I reckon that every time you jump in the shower or bath, wash your hair twice if you’ve got time. A las, I know, but it’ll go a long way towards getting rid of it quicker. You should also invest in a nice treatment product ‘cos any straigtening treatment will give your hair a knock in the same way that getting highlights or bleaching it does. So ja, make a point of finding something with keratin or hydrolized protein in it; it’ll help ‘strengthen’ your hair and tame frizz.
Wishing you all the best,
Leigh
Thanks Leigh for the advise.
I generally wash my hair every second day. (No las if I want to get rid of it so the more I wash the better for me) and that’s the reason for trying this product, as my hair is long and I thought it will help with the drying. The arms get tired.. 🙂 Both my daughter and I.
Thank you once again
When Tess tried this product, she felt it dried her ends out – so she’ll prefer to stick with the ‘new & improved’ Brazilian treatment.
I, on the other hand, found this product left my hair softer than it had ever been – even tho I omitted the GHD bit because my hair is too short to GHD. This may be why the product didn’t last as long as it promises. Three months, my ass. More like 1 month. But it’s still a winner at the price.
I’m contemplating moving onto Bionic tho. Gonna have to close my eyes at the price and just swipe that poor over-used credit card.
I have just bought this product and can wait to try it. After the 3 day “waiting period” can I use normal shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair or do I need to use a specific product? Please help
Normal is totally fine. Hope you get fab results x x
Thanks so much. Took me 4 and half hours to do my hair but so far so good. I love it. I still have a few fly aways but guess that just my hair. Thanks so much for ur help.
Was just wondering if there are any special products u have to use to maintain the treatment? I know that after a brazilian blow out u have to use sulphate free products. Does this treatment require that? Does the packaging mention it? Because i can’t find anything referencing after care on the net. And i need all the info before i do this 🙂 thanks for a great blog!
Nope, no special products required. Just use a shampoo and conditioner that gives you a bit more TLC, like one for colour treated or ‘damaged’ hair x x
oh, goodness. Took some time to do my hair. I like it coz it give my hair volume to. Im definately gona buy me again after 3 months.
I tried this this weekend. My hair was dry as ever and then after the Keratin felt much better. the minute i washed out the Keratin, can’t even think of combing it till its dried. Once blow dried (not with a brush) I GHD’d and did the cement fix part. After that again dry after applying the 3 min Keratin and washing it out. So basically now my hair is dryer and more knotted and i still have to blow dry and ghd, after which i look great. If i leave it to dry naturally i look like a gollywog. Scary stuff. I did bio ionic a few years ago and walked out looking terrible. not to mention that i eventually had to cut my hair short because it was so damaged. I hope that i can rescue my hair after this. But at least it was worth the try. Maybe japanease technology just doesn’t work for me.
I think that if you have a certain type of curl you can just forget about any product making you wash and go. A sad reality. I don’t even have a apiral curl just a wavy texture but no win. But you will never know until you try.
I am totally blown away by this product –it worked so well on my hair !!
Hi Leigh! I bought this awesome produckt on Tuesday. And sofar its looking super! Just a quik question… I know the instruction pamflet sais that you not allowed to wash or get your hair wet for a total of three days. I’d just like to know if I leave it for an extra two days will that give my hair an greater affect or not?? Thanks hey! I abselutely love this produckt.!
Hi there! Sorry for the slow reply, I’ve only just seen this now. Personally, I’d follow the directions to the tee. I have no clue if leaving it on longer would work better and I’d be scared that that could damage your hair or something. Probably not, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Good luck x
Ok cool. I think I’d then rather follow the direcky directions. Thankyou so much for replying.
Okey so I’ve washed my hair and the end result was abselute fantastic. My hair is not curly at all now just a little bit wavey, but that’s nothing a stratener can’t fix. Thankyou so so much for posting about this produck. Kind regards Zoeygirl1 aka Shirley.
Oh good! I’m glad it worked out for you. Always love to hear about something working out for someone.
How often can u reapply this product? How do u do the skin patch test?
How would you apply it to your hair? Section by section?
Should I have someone to help me do it?
I’m sure. You’d have to read the instructions. Maybe you can google it and find it online somewhere. Good luck!
Hi, I bought the product today, but i think my info pamphlet got lost or its not in the box, so please can you give me the step by step directions on how to use this product!!!! And also all the do’s and dont’s……PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Ag nee! If I were you I’d contact them directly. Perhaps there’s a number on the box? Alternatively, if they have a website (google will help you find it) you might find more detailed instructions there.
Do I count the day that I do my hair as day one or do I start counting from the next day?
Regards
Yes, that would be day one.
where can you get this? in the u.s.
I have no clue. My blog’s South African. Perhaps google can help you out?
Hi Leigh
I have super curly frizzy hair :(, I need to relax my hair monthly, to ghd it can take up to three hours. I have shoulder length hair but non the less. Will this product help my crazy hair and do you have any tips for my type of hair? Thank you
Hi Shenaaz! You could give this bash but the results tend to vary from person to person. If I were you, I’d go to a salon I trust and get a Brazilian blow out. Three hour long ghd sessions on a regular basis will end up destroying your hair. Good luck!
HI Leigh, love the blog, I just did this on Monday and today is day 3 without washing my hair (OMG!! lol), do you know if a special shampoo is needed after the treatment? I’ve tried searching, but no luck on getting an answer.
They don’t specifically say you have to use a special one but I’d still use a sulphate-free shampoo as you would with a Brazilian. You can find these at Dis-Chem and if you trawl through my twitter pics you’ll even see a piccie of one. Either way, the more you wash your hair, the faster your results will fade so maybe make friends with a good dry shampoo. I’ve tried them all and Batiste is deffo the best.
Hello Leigh,
I really enjoy your website.
I started using this product last year – I have mild curly hair with TONS of fizz. My hair is long and takes about 45 mins to an hour on average to blow dry straight and keeping it straight generally involves a lot of spenditure on fizz free products which brings me back to why I started using this product in the first place.
The first time I used the product, the results lasted just a little over 3 months. The second time I used the product, it lasted 8 months. The third time I used the product, it lasted 11 months before the fizz even started to emerge. My hair was never 100% straight when drying naturally but the product definitely removed bulk of the hair, and more importantly, the fizz, and I think if I dry it roughly with a hair dryer, I get it pretty much straight just running my fingers through my hair.
For me, this product has made my hair feel healthier, soft and is by far more manageable now – quick drying with a hairdryer takes approx 10 mins and then another 10 mins to quickly smooth over with a flat iron for a sleek look and my hair remains dead straight until I wash it again. Not even a kink.
I have thrown away the expensive serums and products that promise fizz free hair, the only products I use now is a good quality shampoo / conditioner and treatment simply because with the chemical process of the straightening, it puts back all the nutrients lost.
I need to share with you that even though this product is amazing in every which way possible, the steps need to followed through sufficiently.
Step 1 – Apply the straightening cream – its is essential to keep the hair as straight as humanly possible and that means one needs to run their fingers down the hair in small strands at a time as often as possible before the developing time to ensure that the hair remains straight.
When doing the straightening process with a flat iron, it is essential to use a good quality iron and when straightening to use small pieces of hair at a time to avoid the “sandwiching hair” which is very easy to do when in a rush.
This process takes loooooooong however the time invested is just so worth it.
I also believe that while this product may not work 100% the first time, it may be worth it to wait out the 2 week period and try again. It might also be worthwhile to enlist the help of a friend that has some skill in flat ironing hair 🙂
Hey Charlene! Thanks so much for this comment. I’m so glad you’re getting such awesome result and I know my readers will really appreciate your tips. You’re a gem! Leigh x
Hey, i just bought this product over the weekend. I always home colour my hair. How long after I colouring should I wait before applying this product. Cant wait to use is. I have lotsa thick hair and should one application be enough to cover my whole head?
Hi Chantelle! So sorry for the super slow reply. I only spotted this now in my spam folder. Not sure why it ended up there ;-P You’ve probably used this by now and I’d love to hear your thoughts. If not, I’d get two boxes to be on the safe side, especially if your hair is long. If you don’t use the second, you can simply save it for next time. If you’re home colouring to go darker, I wouldn’t worry. If you’re bleaching, however, I’d be nervy. Bleached hair’s bonds are already weakened and Str8 Forward (which weakens them further) might send it over the edge.
Can I order str8 forward on-line?
I’m not sure. I wrote this so long ago and haven’t seen that product in years. Sorry man!
Hi I used this product a few years ago and now I can’t seem to find it…It really worked for me…Does anyone know where in JHB I can find it?
Hi hun! Unfortunately this is now discontinued in SA.