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| Borrowed from Celebrity Beauty buzz |
So I have a girl friend who is really considering doing a Brazilian Keratin treatment. She has been natural for a about a year and she has beautiful natural hair. I know that every now and then us naturals go for the straight styles, but many do so without the risk of chemicals and/or a lot of heat.
So what is Keratin? Yes I googled!!! Keratin is a protein and forms the main components of fingernails, hair, and the thin tough outer layer of the skin according to the 'The Probert Encyclopedia of Medicine.' Keratin is also found in animal parts such as horns, beaks, hooves, and claws according to an article by Summers (2009). So it sounds pretty natural, right? According to the article by Summers (2009), their are five chemical components to keratin, but lets not forget that keratin is a protein, so the chemical elements found in the protein are; (1) carbon, (2) nitrogen, (3) hydrogen, and a protein called (4) cysteine, which contains (5) sulfur. To get the full break down of this chemistry please read the article CLICK HERE.
Alright so thats Keratin as a protein, what about keratin as the hair treatment? According to Hernandez (2010), keratin is a semi-permanent straightening product that straightens the hair through a process of blow-drying and flat-ironing. This treatment can last up to 30 days to several months (Hernandez, 2010). So what are the 'chemicals' that are in the keratin treatment? First we have Formaldehyde (methanal or formalin, which is watered down formaldehyde), which is an organic compound that I found on wikipedia. "Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable and pungent gas naturally produced in the body (in very small amounts) and present in the air and many food and beauty products, according to The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The Cosmetics Ingredient Review Panel says .2 percent or less is a safe concentration of the chemical" (Hernandez, 2010). Ok, then there is Aldehydes another organic compound found on wikipedia. And one other that I will name is Acetaldehyde (ethanal) which is chemical compound that I again found on wikipedia. To read this article please CLICK HERE.
I also talked to a stylist today, her name is Tish and she been natural for many years, she works at Salon Blu here in Raleigh, NC. I have no idea how long she's been natural, because I was really just seeking information for my girlfriend, which is why I'm writing this to begin with. Tish told me that keratin has very little chemicals in it and is designed to take the frizz out your hair. She also said that it can be used without blowing out the hair or flat-ironing to slightly loosening the curls and De-frizzing. She encouraged me as I was getting information for my girlfriend that she use cool heat to blowout the hair and then flat-iron the hair which really helps the strands of hair absorb the treatment. So if you want the full effect of keratin, heat is necessary for the treatment to straighten the hair strands, and if you are going to spend $200 to $300 to get the treatment I would hope you get the full affect of it!!!! I did ask Tish does the keratin treatment destroy the natural hair curl pattern. She said not at all, but the keratin works (if you must compare it to anything) like a hair rinse (semi-permanent dye), it gradually washes out. So depending on your hair type, texture, strength, and so on, will determine how long the treatment will stay in your hair. Tish has soft natural hair and her treatment lasted 8mos. I did not ask how often she washed her hair.
Tish mention two types of Keratin treatments; (1) Extreme De-frizzing treatment also called chocolate at their salon (can't wash hair for three days) and (2) The Brazilian Keratin treatment (can wash hair immediately after treatment and extremely safe to use with color).
This is all the info I have!!! So I hope it helped and let me know what you think!!!
Hernandez, K. (2010). Keratin hair treatment chemicals. Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_5990144_keratin-hair-treatment-chemicals.html
Summers, V. (2009). What are the five chemicals in keratin? Retrieved August 30, 2010 from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5673454_chemical-elements-keratin_.html
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