From Japan to Le Jeune

Alain Lopez Salon Offers a Solution to Frizzy Hair

By Lizzie Wilcox

February 2020

Hair’s worst nightmare is humidity, which we have plenty of here in Coral Gables. You wash your hair, blow dry it, straighten it, but by the time you get to the office, it’s a poof ball. Or if you are unfortunate enough to get caught in a downpour, you can kiss your good hair day goodbye.

But there is a light at the end of the frizzy-haired tunnel, and it’s at Alain Lopez Salon. Located a few blocks north of Miracle Mile on Le Jeune Road, Lopez offers a unique service: Japanese Hair Straightening. Think keratin, but with longer lasting results and fewer chemicals. While keratin contains formaldehyde, Japanese Hair Straightening uses ammonium thioglycolate, which softens the bonds of the hair. Sounds scary, but it’s safe enough for frizzy-haired pregnant women. And while keratin users must return every two to three months, Lopez’s clients need to visit just once a year. And the Japanese Hair Relaxer (its other name) doesn’t damage hair. Men can get their hair relaxed, too. But man or woman, says Lopez, his clientele describes it as a “life changing service.”

According to Lopez – a Cuban native who had a salon in Coconut Grove before relocating to the Gables – he is the only purveyor of the treatment in Miami. The service can run anywhere from $400 – $500. “It’s not the cheapest,” admits Lopez, “but these are permanent results.” Well, for a year anyway, before the humidity gets you again.

“In this beautiful city that we live in, the weather is… tough,” Lopez says. On hair, yes, but we’ll take humidity over blizzards any day.