What Is Keratin Treatment?

Keratin treatment is a hair smoothing treatment that can be done either at home or at your regular salon; it uses protein-based products that help in smoothing the cuticle and the result is straighter and shinier hair. Keratin is a natural protein that is normally found in human hair and so, a keratin treatment is meant to restore this protein in any curly, damaged or frizzy hair. You may want to educate yourself about the pros and cons of keratin treatment so as to dispel any rumors you may have heard about this kind of hair treatment. If you have the know-how, you may want to attempt a do-it-yourself keratin treatment at home; it may be less expensive but its effects may not be as long lasting as when it is done by a professional hair stylist.

The main purpose of keratin treatment is to relax and smooth any curly or frizzy hair and especially if it is unruly and damaged; hair becomes frizzy as a result of broken or rough cuticles; this is quite common as a result of the curly bent of our natural hair. When keratin is bonded into the hair it fills up the rough cuticles and smoothes the out thereby reducing the frizz and temporarily straightening the hair. In general, when keratin treatment is done well at a salon you can expect the treatment to last between two and three months; this will depend on the strength of the particular product that you are using as well as how often you shampoo your hair. Most salon based keratin treatments are expensive, costing several hundred dollars but you can be sure that you will enjoy the results.
When you go for a salon keratin treatment, you should expect that the application will involve a blend of formaldehyde and keratin to your hair so that the keratin will be bonded using a hot straightening iron before any excess products are removed. Once the application of the treatment has been done, you should avoid washing your hair for at least 72 hours in order to allow the treatment to set properly. Once the time setting has elapsed, you will be asked to wash your hair with a special sulfate-free shampoo so as to extend the life of the treatment. After this hair smoothing treatment has been done, the resultant effect will generally be straighter, shinier hair that won’t require too much styling with heat or blow drying like you may have been doing before.
You may find some over-the-counter home based keratin treatments that aren’t as expensive as the salon based versions; these may be less expensive than the salon based ones with the only downside being that they will not last as long as the professionally applied ones. Most do-it-yourself keratin treatment kits don’t have formaldehyde, which means that they are milder and, therefore, less expensive.