Keratin hair treatments have become very popular and here’s an in-depth guide on everything you need to know about keratin for hair from protein treatments for damaged hair to the best keratin hair mask and hair products, to FAQs you need to check out if you want to try a keratin hair treatment.
This post mainly covers at home keratin treatments that anyone can do for a fraction of the cost of salon treatments while still achieving the same results.
P.s. shop my favorite products here.
Check out these posts, too:
- The Best Dry Shampoos for Dark Hair
- How to Stop Hair Breakage for Good
- Why You Need to Try Dry Conditioner This Year
What is Keratin?
Keratin is the primary protein in hair, skin, and nails. Many times when people refer to ‘protein for hair’ they are referring to keratin.
Keratin makes up much of your hair, which is why keratin based hair products and supplements are commonly used for growing healthier hair.
Benefits of Keratin for Hair
Some of the benefits of using keratin for hair include:
- smooths cells of hair strands for less frizz and more manageable hair
- shinier hair
- reduces look of split ends
- easier to style
- looks straighter
- repairs hair cells bonds, makes hair stronger and more resilient to damage
- requires less heat styling so not as much heat damage which can promote hair growth and minimize hair loss
- coats hair strands for less sun damage
Disadvantages of Keratin for Hair
While keratin has many advantages, there’s also some downsides, including:
- some people may have allergic reactions
- doing too often can dry hair out and lead to damage, hair breakage, and hair loss
- very straight hair can lead to loss of volume
- salon keratin hair treatments are expensive
How to do Keratin Treatment at Home
There are 2 ways of getting a keratin treatment: at home and a professional salon treatment.
If it’s your first doing a keratin treatment, you should go to a hair professional and have it professionally done.
If, however, you’re interested in doing a keratin treatment at home, then this is what you should do:
- Step 1: shampoo your hair thoroughly with a keratin based shampoo. You might need to wash it twice for squeaky clean locks. Do NOT conditioner your hair!
Here are a few of the most popular keratin based shampoos this year:
- Step 2: massage keratin treatment into hair
After shampooing your hair, partially dry it with a towel so that your hair is damp and wet enough to absorb the keratin treatment, and generously apply the treatment starting from the ends of your hair all the way up, stopping about an inch away from your scalp.
How much of the treatment you apply depends in your hair thickness and density, but roughly two palm fulls is enough for your whole head of hair.
Massage it into the hair and allow your hair to absorb as much of it as possible.
These are some of the most popular and best at home keratin treatments:
Important note: each of the keratin treatments above have specific instructions on how to use it, so make sure to follow them carefully because even though the steps mentioned here are the general steps, specific at home treatments have specific ways of applying them!
- Step 3: leave the treatment in your hair for the specified time. This is usually anywhere from 30 – 120 minutes, depending on the treatment you choose to use. While you let the product sit in your hair, you can brush your hair out with a wide tooth comb to get rid of any tangles and knots.
- Step 4: thoroughly rinse your hair until all the product is washed out of your hair.
- Step 5: blow dry and straighten your hair. When straightening your hair, use small sections of your hair to straighten slowly to lock in the keratin.
- Step 6: keep your hair dry and avoid washing it for at least 4 days to make sure the keratin treatment is fully absorbed into the hair. Avoid styling your hair any way other than straight and down – no hair ties, tucking hair behind ears, etc.
Best Keratin Hair Products in 2022
In addition to the essential keratin based products mentioned above, here are a few products that will help maintain your keratin hair treatment for as long as possible:
FAQs
How Can I Tell If My Hair Needs Protein?
The tell-tale signs that your hair needs protein and a keratin treatment is if your hair is stringy, limp, and dry.
If you have a lot of hair fall and breakage, you may need more protein.
Another common protein indicator is frizzy hair: frizzy hair can indicate lack of moisture and protein in the hair.
Can Keratin Damage Hair?
Yes! When your hair has too much keratin – the primary protein in your hair – it can dry your hair and leave it weak and brittle. That’s why you should only do a maximum of three keratin treatments a year because more than this can lead to protein damage.
Though keratin can be great for your hair, if you use too much of it, it can do more harm than good.
Is Keratin Good for Thin Hair?
Keratin treatments are essentially useless for thin hair because the treatment is meant to smooth hair and this is usually the opposite of what thin hair needs. People with thin hair usually want to add volume and texture to their hair because this helps make hair look thicker and denser.
In addition, because keratin treatment is quite strong, it can overwhelm thin hair and may lead to damage and hair breakage.
Keratin treatments are great for thick, unmanageable hair but people with thin hair should avoid it.
Can Keratin Thicken Hair?
No, keratin can not thicken hair but keratin treatments do protect it from additional head damage and breakage.
I hope this in-depth guide helped you decide whether keratin treatment is right for your hair and exactly what you need to do for the best diy at home keratin treatment.
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