Is your hair frizzy, frizzy, and difficult to manage? Keratin treatment is one of the best ways to smooth and change the texture of your hair, but it is not only effective in straightening your hair. Keratin treatment is versatile and offers several advantages over other types of long-lasting straightening treatments. This article will help you understand everything you need to know to decide if this product is right for you and even help you understand how you can save a lot of money and time by doing the treatment at home.
How It Works
Your hair is made up of a protein called keratin, which gives the hair structure, but the presence of bonds between each protein gives your hair strength and shape. Hair with many bonds (disulfide bonds) between cysteine will not only be stronger, but also more curly.
Keratin treatment creates new bindings and repairs previously broken bonds due to injury. This has two beneficial effects: rejuvenate your hair and repair damage.
Advantages
Keratin hair care has many benefits, some of which are unique to this type of straight hair. Keratin treatment can:
- Straighten and smooth curly hair
- Add shine and softness to your hair
- Repair the damage
- Improves porosity and hair strength
- Make your hair easier to style
Unlike hair straighteners, keratin straightening can be used on damaged hair. In fact, for this reason, it is an ideal way to straighten colored hair. While heat conditioning is also generally safe for previously dyed hair, keratin straightening is possible even on severely damaged hair.
It also has a more natural smoothing effect. Special treatments designed for curly or wavy hair can help significantly reduce frizz without removing too many natural curls. No matter which method you use, whether it’s a full straightening or just smoothing your curls, this treatment will make it easier to style your hair. It also balances porosity by filling gaps in the protein structure, which absorb too much dye when you dye your hair.
Cost
The application of keratin treatment is time-consuming, which affects the cost if you wish to have keratin treatment done in the salon. Expect to pay at least $200, possibly more, depending on factors such as the length and thickness of your hair, the experience of the stylist, and whether you need to provide any other services at the same time.
However, this treatment can be performed relatively easily at home, and if you are confident in your ability to apply, this can save you up to hundreds of dollars. If in doubt, look for a reputable salon that uses quality brands like Goldwell Kerasilk.
Application
Your stylist will evaluate your hair before actual use to determine which treatment best meets your needs based on how smooth and straight you want it to be, as well as how rough and thick the texture of your hair is. Very coarse or frizzy hair may require a stronger formula and longer use.
Careful evaluation is the best way to guarantee good results and must not be ignored.
Pretreatment
Before undergoing keratin treatment, it is necessary to wash the hair thoroughly with a clear shampoo. This removes build-up of oils, minerals and hair care products, ensuring proper results. If your hair is not completely cleaned like this, the results may be uneven or damaged.
Treatment
Once you have washed your hair and chosen the right treatment, you can get started, which is the beginning of a rather lengthy process that can take 1-2 hours to fully complete. Your stylist will first gently dry your hair, then quickly and evenly apply keratin care while the hair is still slightly wet.
The treatment needs to wait about 15-20 minutes for it to work, at which point it will start to build a new bond on your hair.
Blow dry and iron
Heat is the most important catalyst in keratin treatment, after which hair needs to be blown dry and straightened with a hair straightener. When blow-drying, it is necessary to follow the direction of hair growth, using a concentrated nozzle to limit the area where hot air flows to make the hair flat.
For most products, hair is not rinsed before this step, as this significantly dilutes the intensity of the treatment. Some household products do rinse at this time, and such treatments will be less effective for rough or curly hair.
Final Steps
Keratin treatments need to be left on the hair for at least 1-2 days, preferably up to 72 hours, before they can be washed off from the hair. During this time, you also need to keep your hair straight and avoid getting wet. If it gets wet accidentally, this will not cause damage, but may affect the quality and durability of the results.
During this time, pay close attention to the appearance of your hair and make sure to re-straighten areas of your hair that are not completely smooth at any time. Watch the video below to learn more about how the whole process takes place in the salon.
How to Do Keratin Treatment at Home
Keratin hair care is easy to do at home, which can save a lot of money. If you’re willing to go down this route, you should still pay more for quality products.
Treatment is safe
Use only products based on glyoxylic acid. If the therapeutic agent contains formaldehyde or methylenediol, as in the case of old Brazilian blow-on products, avoid it altogether. Most manufacturers no longer use these formaldehyde variants, but you still need to pay attention and check the ingredient list because this treatment, while effective, releases toxic fumes.
However, even newer, milder treatments can release some fumes, so treat the product like a dye or bleach and always make sure there is adequate ventilation in the area where the treatment is used and applied. If you have asthma or other respiratory conditions, discuss it with your doctor before using it at home or in the salon.
Application steps
Now that safety is no longer there, keratin hair care is the same process, whether at home or in the salon.
- Start by washing your hair with a clarifying shampoo.
- Dry with a towel and gently blow dry until just wet.
- Apply the solution slightly away from the scalp and smooth it over your hair, then keep it flat and straight.
- Blow dry hair in sections carefully in the direction of hair growth.
- Straighten hair in segments until completely smooth.
- Allow the product to fully blend into the hair for up to 72 hours, leaving the hair smooth and dry, then wash off with shampoo.
Aftercare and Maintenance
Follow-up care after any keratin treatment is important. From this point on, how you care for your hair will determine the duration of the effect, and the treatment requires you to do something simple to achieve this.
To maintain keratin hair care:
- Avoid salt water and products containing sodium lauryl sulfate as much as possible. These compounds can be peeled off from the hair faster, shortening the duration of the treatment.
- Use keratin shampoo and conditioner. Products specially designed for your treated hair help to inject more keratin into the hair each time you wash it, prolonging the results. They also do not contain ingredients that may be harmful to the treatment.
- Do not dye your hair for 2 weeks after the treatment, but it is also okay to dye your hair immediately before the treatment. Premature use of dyes or bleach can reduce its durability.
- Protect your hair from excessive sun exposure or pool water.
Other general hair treatments also help prolong results, including the use of leave-in conditioners and serums to keep hair hydrated and protected from moisture and heat when using styling tools.
Alternatives
While keratin treatments are very effective and easy to use (albeit time-consuming), they are one of three different types of chemical straightening methods that can be used to achieve long-lasting results.
The other two options include thermal repair and relaxants. These are permanent treatments, but they can cause damage to the hair and cannot always be used for previously dyed hair.
Keratin hair care is a better option for you if your hair is dyed or damaged, while if you don’t dye your hair often and want a permanent effect without being washed off gradually, the other two options are better. Compared to the softening effect of keratin, they all produce completely straight hair.
