What a strange animal we human beings are! It seems we are never fully happy with what is given to us, and we spend a copious amount of time trying to change it. Some things we are powerless to change, but some become more and more available with advances in technology.

3 DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAIR STRAIGHTENING KERATIN TREATMENT

Let’s talk about hair treatments for example. For generations, women in the western world, who had mostly straight hair, tried to make it wavy with the help of crazy contraptions and harsh chemicals.

Women who tried to straighten their hair in the past 30 years spent hours with harsh chemicals on their heads that sometimes caused skin burns.

JAPANESE STRAIGHTENING

The hair is saturated with a solution containing a chemical that breaks the bonds that give each strand its shape. It is them rinsed, blow-dried and flatironed.

Once a neutralizer is applied the hair is locked into this new straight configuration. The process can take up to eight hours the first time, touch-ups require three to four hours.

For three days after the treatment, you can’t get your hair wet or do anything kink inducing and while your hair will now be sleek and shiny you are left with one styling option: bone-straight. Even curling irons or hot rollers won’t restore volume or wave. Cost: $500 to $ 1,500.

RELAXER

Can soften coarse tight curls. It uses strong chemicals compounds that breaks various bonds in the hair. The solution is left for up to 20 minutes, rinsed and neutralized. Cost: $ 50-$ 250.

BRAZILIAN KERATIN TREATMENT

This hair treatment can be done in a short period of time and with predictable and fabulous results that last an extended period of time.

Keratin is a protein and what our hair is made of. It is the substance that makes the outer layer of our skin and is a key structural component in hair and nails.

Keratin treatment fills the gaps of the hair cuticles that are cracked, dry or damaged which is why it is one of the better dry hair remedies resulting in smooth, silky hair.

Keratin treatments go by many names; Brazilian Keratin treatment, Keratin complex, and many more.

The process is really simple and it can be done by a professional or by yourself at home.

HOW TO DO A KERATIN TREATMENT AT HOME?

• The hair is shampooed with salt free shampoo to remove all products and to open the cuticles of the hair.
• It is blown dry.
• Keratin solution is applied to the hair and combed through to get to every strand of hair.
• The hair is blown dry again.
• The hair is straightened with a flat iron.
• For 3 days after the keratin hair treatment the hair should be kept straight, without putting it in a ponytail of even behind the ears.
• But after that, you can expect 2-3 months of straight and shiny hair that does not frizz, stray or becomes unruly even after you washed your hair and let it air dry!

No more flat irons in the morning before going to work, no more worries when the air is humid that your hair will curl back up, no more being afraid of a few drops of rain.

Your hair will continue being straight in all its shinning glory.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT KERATIN TREATMENT?

Unlike other methods, the Japanese System for hair straightening for example, which changes the structures of the hair bonds with chemicals and heat, the Brazilian keratin treatment adds keratin to the hair and seals it with the heat.

Keratin hair straightening treatment can be used by people from different ethnic backgrounds with curly, kinky and wavy hair. It can be done on colored and highlighted hair. In fact it helps seal in the color for a longer period of time.

It is a great method for African American women who want to go back from relaxed hair to natural. They can smooth the transition out, until their hair is in the desired length.

Keratin treatment does not ruin the hair. It supplements it with additives that make your hair look as you want it to look.

HAIR STRAIGHTENING METHODS: JAPANESE OR BRAZILIAN?

Hair straightening methods have been around for generations. Once women use to iron their hair, with a regular iron, or wrap it around their heads to be opened only after the hair has dried.

The problem was that you needed to do that every time you washed your hair, and the process was time consuming and sometimes painful. The chemicals that were used for hair relaxing and straightening were usually very harsh and caused damaged if not treated correctly.

But then came the Japanese hair straightening method, also known by the name Yoko system and made life so much easier for many women with wavy, curly and bulky hair. The hair is saturated with a chemical that breaks the bonds which give the hair its shape. It is then rinsed, blow dried and flat ironed. Once the neutralizer is applied the hair is locked into this straight configuration.

The up and down sides of the Japanese hair straightening system:

• The process takes a very long time – sometimes when the hair is thick it can take up to 8 hours in a hair salon.
• Because the process is so long, it is also expensive.
• The hair stays in that shape until it grows out completely, which means you have to do touch-ups when the hair grows out if you don’t want to have a curly hair close to the scalp and bone straight hair thereafter.
• You can’t do much with the hair aside from having it bone straight. It will not yield to waves and curls. Straight is what you wanted and straight is what you got.
• It is somewhat dangerous to do it on treated hair. Bleached and hair treated with Henna don’t react well with the chemicals and colored hair might be too fragile to handle a relaxer.

Then, out of Brazil, came the Brazilian hair straightening system also known by the name Keratin Treatment , Brazilian blowout, Liquid Keratin and many more.

There are over 150 products that include some of those names and they have different amounts of formaldehyde in them.

The ups and downs of the keratin hair smoothing treatment are:

• When used with keratin, the chemicals don’t break the bonds of the hair, but relax it while the keratin fills in the gaps in the hair cuticle.
• The treatment is shorter, thus costing less.
• It is simpler to use than the Japanese system; therefore it can be done with do-it-yourself kits in the comfort of your own home, at a time that is best for you.
• The hair is not locked into one style. It can be set in many ways, not just bone straight.
• The treatment is temporary – usually last anywhere between 2 – 4 months, depending on the product you use. If not repeated, the hair grows as it has been growing without having to do touch ups and it doesn’t look weird.
• If you don’t want to deal with harsh chemicals such as formaldehyde, there are formaldehyde free keratin treatments. It will prevent the hair from frizzing and curling in humid weather.
• You can try, for example, our PURE KERATIN TREAMENT formaldehyde free: https://pure-keratin.com/on-the-go-keratin-treatm...