Today's topic is keratin hair treatment, which if you haven't already heard of then you must be living under a rock.
As us women discover new ways to cope with humidity and other weather conditions that leave our hairs frizzy and unmanageable, keratin has become yet another must on our long list of beauty rituals.
I just had a treatment applied a few weeks ago (third treatment in the past year) and I have paid a lot of money to have my hair look shiny and healthy.
I want to paint you guys a picture, I have done all three of these treatments with different professionals and different products because I haven't been satisfied.
Why haven't I been satisfied, you ask.
Expectations!
From the beginning, I heard all these incredible things about this treatment. It almost sounded too good to be true and it was.
So today's blog is designed to help you understand what keratin is and what it can and should do for your hair.
Let's start off with the definition of keratin, which is a natural protein that is found in skin, hair and nails.
With that said, you can expect keratin hair treatments to make your hair healthier, shinier and softer.
The treatment itself consists of applying the keratin product to your hair and activating the keratin with the heat of a blow dryer and flat iron.
Keep in mind that the very same things that strip our hair of its natural elements are some of the tools we need to use to infuse keratin.
The History of Keratin:
The treatment was developed in Brazil and made its way to the US around 2006. Since then women all around the country have been paying top dollars for 3-4 months of healthy hair that is easy to manage.
Why is it so expensive?
The treatment is expensive because the product itself is still costly. One bottle of 16 ounces can easily go for as much as $200 or even more.
Most salons will charge about $200 for one treatment depending on the length and thickness of your hair because it is a grueling process that can take up to 2 hours to complete.
Types of Products:
Since its introduction to the US, there have been many variations of the keratin mostly because of its ingredients.
A lot of the first keratin products contained formaldehyde, a colorless gas that has been recognized as a carcinogen. You can immediately tell if a keratin product contains formaldehyde because of the harsh smelling chemicals in it.
The original product that is used in Brazil is banned in the U.S., although you can find people who do the treatments from their home and have ways of getting their hands on the original product.
There are now keratin products that are formaldehyde-free, which will restore your damaged hair into shiny and smooth hair, but will not change the structure of your hair.
Treatment:
Originally BKT (Brazilian Keratin Treatments) was known as a method of straightening out your hair temporarily by sealing the hair with keratin and a flat hair iron.
However, formaldehyde is the actual chemical that straightens your hair and not the keratin alone, so if you're considering a method to straighten your hair, an original BKT is what you'd need, but it's something that I personally am against.
Besides the toxic chemicals that you can inhale, which can cause bodily harm, you also risk burning your scalp.
There are so many things said about keratin treatments and some things are true and other things are plain myths.
Truths:
- Keratin is not a miraculous product that will fix all of your hair woes.
- Keratin does provide smooth, shiny, soft hair.
- It helps control frizziness.
- Heat activates the keratin, so after every wash make sure you at least flat iron your hair for that soft, frizz free look.
- The keratin makes it easier for you to style or straighten your hair.
- Do not wet your hair for at least 72 hours.
- It doesn't straighten your hair (unless you are using keratin products with formaldehyde.)
- It doesn't last 6 months, at the most you are looking for a good 3-4 months and remember the less you wash your hair, the longer the product will remain in your hair.
- A lot of hair stylists will tell you to not pick up your hair, tuck it behind your ear or do anything that can cause a ripple. This is more of a guarantee for the work that they have done on your hair, because once the keratin is applied to your hair it forms a bond with it and will not come undone just because you decided to pick it up in a pony tail.
- Cut your ends before you do a keratin hair treatment. Again, it doesn't matter when you cut your hair (you can do it before or after the treatment) the keratin seals on the second it touches hair.
- Gather as much information about keratin as you possibly can.
- Make sure that the stylist you choose is an expert and can answer all of your questions.
- About a week before doing the treatment, do a deep conditioning hair treatment (Moroccan/Argan oil work great.)
- Either wash or ask the stylist to wash your hair with a clarifying shampoo and opt to not use conditioner.
- Keratin needs to be left in the hair for about 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, the hair should be blow dried and flat ironed to seal the keratin into your strands.
- Use a a sulfate-free shampoo to care for your hair after any keratin treatment. There are many shampoos that now come with keratin in them, so you can also use those.
- To prevent hair and scalp dryness, perform a deep conditioning treatment once a month.
I personally enjoy how smooth and shiny my hair looks after a keratin treatment and because I've pretty much had it in my hair for the past year I can tell when it's gone and it's time for another treatment.
I hope you ladies find this piece to be helpful and please let me know about your experience with keratin.
What do you love about it?
What do you hate about it?
After
This is a picture taken by my makeup maven and hair stylist Prissy. If you'd like to book an appointment with her for makeup or a keratin hair treatment contact her via her website: prissymakeup.com.
Catch ya later fashionistas!
"The hair is the richest ornament of women."
