Were you expecting me to come to this post saying how badly my hair broke and thinned out? Luckily for me, that is not the case at all. In fact, my hair is doing quite awesome after my Keratin Treatment some time ago.
My hair seems to behave as it always has, I don’t have any crazy breakage, in fact I feel I have way less because it has been easier to get through my hair. Also, as I expected with washes and time, my hair is on the road to feeling extra tight again. Which is why in my case, I do not feel like Keratin Treatments are a light relaxer as some have claimed they are. Once you relax your hair there is no washing it out. What I do feel is that some Keratin treatments are stronger than others and contain higher doses of formaldehyde which is why some people may end up experiencing damaging and traumatic results.
In my last post Keratin Treatment: What Is It & Why is There So Much Controversy Surrounding Them? I wanted to be real with you guys and give you all the facts. Even though I have no problem with You Be Natural which is the treatment I chose, there are many people who have had bad results with Keratin in general so I didn’t want to provide only my bias view. Some treatment options are so harsh that they even require the stylist to wear a mask while applying them, which is a clear signal that this may be some stuff that you don’t want to mess with.
The thing is, all Keratin Treatments have formaldehyde in the mix some way and some how, otherwise the treatment wouldn’t perform its magic. My suggestion is if you are curious about trying Keratin,go for a system that has a very low dose of formaldehyde. If you decide to go for an at home kit, again follow all the instructions to avoid over processing (to avoid damage) or under processing (and getting no results).
As for curl pattern change, for me it hasn’t changed much. In the beginning it made my hair looser, so it was easier to style and detangle. Straightening my hair was also easier and my hair frizzed up less. Nevertheless, my curl pattern was not altered. It did not leave me with straight hair and it did not some how make me have spirals that I naturally do not have. I still have naps and I am proud!
For me it did its job and made my hair more manageable. Will I do it again? Only time will tell. I would apply twice a year as I have found other ways to keep my hair easy to maintain and easy to style. See my post 5 Steps to Maximum Hydration for 4c Hair.
Update 10/6/15: It has been a year since I wrote this post as this blog was written in September 2014. The last time I used Keratin was 7 months ago. I am no longer using it, as I don’t find it necessary.
Although, I did not experience any adverse effects from using keratin I just decided that it’s not for me. In order for a keratin treatment to be effective, formaldehyde must come in contact with this product and I don’t want to expose myself to this chemical if I do not have to. I knew this prior to using the product the first time, but just researching it more made me feel that I would rather turn to other ways to make my hair more manageable.
As of now, I live in crochet braids which has been an awesome long term protective style for me. So on average I only have to deal with detangling my hair once a month. When I am not in my crochet braids I keep it simple and my go to style is a afro puff ponytail. Since my hair is protectively styled the majority of the time, the issues I had with detangling and matting are no longer a concern.
The stylist at Supercuts said it was a product line called “It’s a 10”. She said there was keratin in it.
Hello, I am glad that you did not experience what I have. I went to Supercuts for a wash and conditioner since I was on vacation in California and did not have access to all my equipment and products. ALL I wanted was a wash and conditioner. The stylist put a conditioner in my hair with keratin. I was alarmed and asked wasn’t it going to make my hair straight and she said “absolutely not.” My hair is thinning and fragile now, the curl pattern is gone and it is breaking. This was in August and now its October. I will need to chop off five years of growing it naturally.
Its only hair but I am very disappointed because I was proud of the growth since my hair always breaks off and goes bald in the back from the perms I used to wear. Any suggestions before I BC?
Are you sure this was from a keratin conditioner? Keratin in and of itself is not a bad thing. In fact our hair is made up of keratin, which makes it great for strengthening our hair. What makes a Keratin Treatment potentially harmful is the formaldehyde found in the product. Keratin Conditioners do not contain formaldehyde. The only way I could see this, is if it was a part of a Keratin Treatment System somehow.