Despite all the negativity the treatment is still highly popular among women who feel their tresses are unruly or who just want a break from long straightening sessions and dry hair since this treatment claims to fix those issues.
Most of these treatments were being applied in pricy salons where clients would expect to pay anywhere from $300 to $800 but with the dangerous ingredients they could expect their keratin treatment to last up to 4 months.
Now, most of these treatments are formaldehyde-free and less expensive and they can be found at beauty supply stores for the DIYers.
As the popularity increases with the notion that they no longer are dangerous, more women are opting or the at-home keratin treatments for obvious reasons. It seems there are more at-home keratin treatments than in the salons! Here are a just a few:
Keratin Perfect
Ojon Super Sleek Hair Straightening Treatment
Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy
Keratin Earth Hair Straightening and Smoothing System
All of these systems boast of results that last for 30 days or around 16 washes and it makes sense since most experts feel that to get the longer results, formaldehyde would be a necessary component of the treatment.
Despite not using formaldehyde in these products and many others, there are still some skeptics as they feel the formaldehyde is being replaced with chemicals not has harmful as the former but can still irritate eyes and lungs and skin.
Ultimately the choice is yours and as there are several bloggers trying, liking, loving or even hating these treatments, it just shows that all should err on the side of caution but many are happy with it despite all the negativity surrounding them.
Bloggers who have tried them seem to find them easy to use; they follow the instructions, and overall seem pretty happy with the results. There are even women who opted for an at home brand with formaldehyde because they want the straight hair longer!
The take away is to be smart about what you are doing and know the risks. Take care of your tresses; if you choose to try the at-home treatments, limit other chemical treatments like texturizers and color.
So, have you tried one? Would you try one? Share below!
Bettii Jones says
Im too scared of heat damage for dat
Yani Gallagher says
The real question is what’s the hair color
Natasha Hector Richardson says
I used the organix 30 day keratin treatment about half a year ago and my ends are still staight.
Sabrina Richmond Perkins says
Oh, wow. I hate that happened to you.
Brittany KissyFace McNeil says
Someone offered to do one for me.
Does it really work?
MsKat says
I used the Organix one before, and though I ‘toned it down’ from fear of my hair remaining straight or becoming heat damaged, it still actually worked. A little hair background: I have fine curly hair, all I have to do is see moisture and any straightness disappears. Even a relaxer didn’t keep my hair straight more than a couple weeks. Sometimes I have pressed it, and with plenty of oil and daily touchups it would maybe last a week. I used the keratin straightener, and it worked pretty well. I even perspired and it stayed straight. The things I did different than the instructions (it would have worked even better if I had used the instructions to the letter): I did use a light rinse out conditioner, as my hair gets dry easily. I evenly coated but did not heavily coat my hair with the keratin. I didn’t blowdry my hair, because I don’t; I do own a wet/dry mini flat iron, so when my hair was almost dry I used it for the first heat pass. I then used a regular flat iron, because it gets hotter, for the second pass, I didn’t apply the product all the way to my roots, but rather starting an inch from the roots, as I perspire too much and didn’t expect the root area would stay straight long so it would be a waste; also I figured if the rest broke off I would just have a short hairstyle for a while. All that said, I didn’t really have to touch up anything but a few spots near the roots and it lasted me 2 weeks, which was pretty good for me not using it as I was supposed to. Oh, the one thing I did to the letter was, open a window and aim a fan out the window to suck out the fumes-it smelled like coconut, but it still made me feel a bit scratchy, and produced a lot of smoke. I would do it again, if I ever feel like it!
Sabrina Richmond Perkins says
My girlfriend tried it twice on her daughter;s hair and she loved it. Hey, Sister Colorado girl!
Brittany KissyFace McNeil says
Lol! Heyyyyyy!!!!!
Thanks for that 🙂
Camjustine says
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and is a danger to those applying it and to those wearing it. I researched the chemicals in the formaldehyde free formulas awhile back and basically they are using either precursors to formaldehyde ( turn into formaldehyde) or the byproducts of formaldehyde. Look up the chemicals in the product and make sure they aren’t just formaldehyde by another name. The industry has done this switcheroo for decades with lye and no lye relaxers knowing full well that sodium hydroxide was known as lye while potassium hydroxide was basically the same thing but they could call it no lye. The hair industry is banking on people being ignorant of chemistry.
MsKat says
You are so right. I am a former stylist, the main reason I stopped was because the chemicals and fumes started bothering me. A discussion we had, referencing lye vs no lye (these formaldehyde straighteners were not around yet), was that whether it was lye or not, it had to have very similar properties in order to have a similar end result. The only good thing about changing a main ingredient was that people who had gained a sensitivity to it could buy time with a new similar ingredient…until they became sensitive to that. Only part of why people get burns or pain is because of relaxers being on too long; another part of it is people having a reaction to the chemical because they have become sensitive. The formaldehyde debate is exactly the same, as you have noted. in many items, formaldehyde was replaced with formalin, or some other “spin off” of formaldehyde. All it does is buy time, before the same reactions and issues begin to happen again. It’s all technicalities and details: they skirt the issue by not having ‘lye’ or ‘formaldehyde’ on the labels, yet the warnings and precautions are typically exactly the same. If it were any safer, the warnings and precautions would be different. We used to read and learn about everything in products we chose to use, and when people decide to use home products, they should do the same. There’s no excuse to be uninformed now, the internet has made it easy to find the information you need. As humans, we really need to be more informed about what we put in and on our bodies.
Nina Symone says
I used tresemme 7 day smooth system it worked great first time my hair stayed straight all day. And I still have my curls!
Sabrina Richmond Perkins says
Glad to hear it.
Camjustine says
Just looked up some of the ingredients in OGX straightening system and am surprised to say I only found silicone, protein (keratin) and propylene glycol (known yucky). No formaldehyde. Looks like companies have cleaned up their act a bit. The reviews of these products vary. I would think using protein on your hair without a moisturizing conditioner would make it brittle at some point so beware of that.
L says
propylene glycol IS the moisturizer in the above formula. it is what is in personal lubricant.
Michelle Nicole Charley says
I get Brazilian blowouts once a year and love it…. My hair loves heat so I have no issues but I wouldn’t get it done more than that. I deep condition my hair through out the rest of the year in preparation for my next blowout.
Sabrina Richmond Perkins says
How were the fumes?
Reenie says
Propylene glycol is nothing but anti freeze for your car…Everyone seems to have jumped on the band wagon for using this product in other products. It’s even in some foods Hawaiian Punch, etc…It’s gross
aiysha says
will it interupt the “going natural” process i am going through. i am doing just ok going natural but forsee some future problems. as i wait for my hair to grow out my relaxer, is this something that won’t hurt my hair?
Claire Britt-Cockrum says
Please, please, please stop throwing the baby out with the bath water! All products and tools are bad in inexperienced, undereducated, and unskilled hands. The best thing is to find an experienced, educated, skillful LICENSED COSMETOLOGIST to take care of your tresses! Don’t begrudge ab individual their economic dollars! Another important thing, please, please, please don’t underestimate the value of nutrition. Good nutrition in, good hair and skin out! ijs
http://www.lemonjellysalon.com
damond says
I’m confused cuz I brought a product tht a protein treatment tht has keratin in it is this the same thing In scared I’m going natural ma hair is already chemically damage I dont want this product to break it even more
Anonymous says
I keratined my hair twice a year for 4 years before I got pregnant and it was the absolute besttook me 45 min to wash/dry and style my hair. It always felt and looked soooo healthy and had great shine. Never got frizzy and kept my curls elongated even when dry. And my hair grew like a weed. As soon as I stop breastfeeding the first thing I’m going to do is keratin my hair