If you google keratin treatment, you will find many hair brands selling keratin products. Most hair salons now offer keratin treatments. Keratin treatments (also known as Brazilian hair treatments) are a very popular way to straighten and smoothen your frizzy and unmanageable hair. The cost of keratin treatment differs from city to city. They normally range from $300 to $800 depending on the class of the salon (high-end salons charge more). Even though keratin treatments have been around for quite a while, there are still many myths surrounding keratin treatments. So let’s take a minute to expose the 7 biggest misconceptions or about professional keratin treatments.
Misconception 1: Keratin Is a Treatment
The word ‘treatment’ and ‘keratin’ go hand in hand. It's logical as when you get a keratin treatment, you are adding keratin to your hair. However, keratin in itself is not a treatment, but a protein and the main component in skin, hair, and nails. So keratin is already in your hair. 88% of your hair contains keratin. The less keratin (protein) you have in your hair, the more fragile your hair is.
Misconception 2: Keratin Treatments Are Only Intended to Straighten Your Hair
Most of the keratin treatments are offered as styling treatments: treatments that make curly hair shiny and smooth without having to do any chemical treatment that makes your hair straight (such as a relaxer). After applying the keratin, the hair is straightened out with a hair straightener to activate the formula. As a result, the keratin achieves the role of ‘heat protector’. The additional protein in your hair must certify that your hair is protected against the heat of the hair straightener. A common myth is that a keratin treatment will make your hair simply ‘wash and go.’ This is not fully true - what keratin WILL do, however, is make your hair easier to manage and cut your styling and blow-dry time in half.
Misconception 3: Keratin Will Cause Breakage
As you already know, your hair already contains keratin naturally. The answer to whether keratin treatments will cause breakage is therefore a ‘no’. However, keratin in combination with other ingredients may harm your hair. For example, do not use shampoos with sulfates such as ALS and SLS if you’ve had a keratin treatment. The keratin layer that surrounds your hair will vanish if you use regular shampoos. Therefore pick a sulfate-free shampoo to make the most out of your keratin treatment.
Misconception 4: Keratin Treatments Last Only for a Few Weeks
A keratin treatment should last up to 3-months – yes 3-months! After-care is a vital element in helping your keratin treatment last. Especially in the 2 day period after getting the keratin treatment done. During this time you shouldn’t wash your hair in order to let the keratin bond with your hair. The majority of people who complain about the treatment not lasting for long are often not properly advised on keratin after care. When washing your hair, make sure to use a shampoo and conditioner that are free from sulfates - just like the shampoo and conditioner provided in our ANSWR kit.
Misconception 5: All Keratin Treatments Have the Dangerous Chemical Formaldehyde
There are keratin treatments full of formaldehyde – a colorless pungent gas in a solution made by oxidising methanol. This chemical is also found in the air we inhale. It is unsafe to inhale high concentrations of it. When you go to the salon for a keratin treatment, you should ask your hairstylist about the type of products he/she uses. This way you can do your own research on the levels of formaldehyde the products have. Rest assured, there are many salon quality keratin products that are formaldehyde-free. It would be best to select them over those with traces of formaldehyde.
Our at-home keratin treatment is completely formaldehyde-free. When we started developing our smoothing treatment we were motivated to find not only a more convenient and affordable option but also an option which will not compromise our health and still be effective. As a result, 95% of the ingredients are natural and the rest is a blend of gentle acids that opens the hair strands and gives the user a time window in which the hair strands can be shaped. At the same time, it also treats the fibres of the hair with conditioning agents that provide softness and shine to the hair resulting in amazingly smooth hair. While the main ingredients are natural there are some gentle acids that allow the hair strands to open up so that the natural ingredients can be absorbed. Unlike formaldehyde, the acids in our treatment are not unhealthy and create no side-effects whatsoever.
Misconception 6: Keratin Treatments Are Not Safe for your Hair
Hair loses keratin naturally, the same way it drops melanin (which is responsible for hair color). When hair strands lose keratin they become weak or damaged in a similar way to the way hair strands turn grey when they lose color. Keratin treatments strengthen the internal structure of the hair by reviving the keratin in the hair, thus refining the condition of the hair. The very same way color treatment recovers color in the hair. Making keratin treatments safe, and good for your hair.
Misconception 7: Keratin Is Only Available in Salons
Can I do this at home? The answer is yes. You’ll first need to buy the correct products. Many treatments have the word “keratin,” but that doesn’t automatically make them “keratin treatments.” ANSWR is an at-home hair smoothing treatment for semi-permanent shiny, silky and smooth hair, with results lasting up to three months. The treatment is appropriate for all hair types. It is also safe to use on color and/or chemically treated hair. Our keratin treatment kit is formulated with rich amino acids and proteins that can repair and smoothen your hair in one treatment. The formula has healthy ingredients that help replenish and moisturise. Reviewers notice this product leaves hair prone to frizziness and humidity handier, which means less breakage from daily styling.
Safety Concerns
Experts agree that the main risk is not getting the treatment, but to the exposure levels of those applying the treatment. Some salons work with potentially poisonous gasses several times a week which is harmful to their health. We highly recommend you to try the ANSWR at-home Keratin Treatment. The treatment provides the same results as keratin treatments that are done at salons, for the fraction of the price. Unlike salon treatments, it has no horrible chemicals, as it is formulated on natural ingredients. ANSWR's mission is to provide a healthy and affordable alternative that delivers the same results without compromising your health and that can be done in the comfort of one’s own home.
