Most people looking for Keratin Shampoo are either trying to find the best one at the best price or are researching what Keratin is, how it can make their hair straight, or repair their damaged hair.
Today we'll walk you through
- The 3 best products you can use before and after a keratin straightening treatment.
- We''ll teach you what is meant by Keratin, Keratin Shampoo and conditioner, and Sulfate Free
- We'll present you with the best conditioning ingredients to use if you are trying to rebuild or repair damaged hair.
- As a bonus we'll share some information on Keratin treatments and what you should know before you decide to have your hair permanently straightened.
Quick Shopping links:
Quick Shopping links: If you are just looking for recommendations on products check these out:
Pre Keratin Treatment Shampoo
Mastey's
Use Me First
Purifying Shampoo
Post Keratin Shampoo
RevuCell
Revitalizing Shampoo
Sulfate Free
Post Keratin Conditioner
RevuCell
Daily Conditioner
Pre Keratin Shampoo
Most of the keratin treatment systems or Brazilian hair straightening systems will recommend a clarifying or deep cleansing shampoo treatment as a first step before undergoing the straightening procedure.
The reason why is because it is important to make sure that the hair is clean and free of any buildup that can interfere with the straightening process. Due to your normal hair care routine and environment your hair can have build up that can lessen the strength or interfere with the end result of a keratin treatment.
Your hair dresser will usually use the clarifying shampoo provided by the brand that makes the straightener. You can however ask her to use something a little gentler for your hair and hair color.
One of the biggest complaints about getting a keratin treatment is the fadage it causes to hair color. Making it look dull and sometimes even making it look lighter or hollow. So while the treatment itself straightens the hair and makes it feel silky smooth, it can also make your hair color that you just paid a lot of money for look old and faded like it needs a refresh.
Both the treatment itself and the clarifying shampoo used have something to do with that result. Most clarifying shampoos are harsh and strip the hair's natural oils causing dryness and damage. Clarifying shampoos also have ingredients that pull color or make it bleed out of the hair causing your hair color services to fade faster than normal.
To avoid this damage and protect your hair color we recommend using a Purifying Shampoo instead of a clarifier before your treatment. A sulfate free purifying shampoo like Mastey's Use Me First Shampoo will help to cleanse and purify the hair while protecting the hair from unwanted fadage. It removes all impurities and buildup while helping to preserve the hair's natural moisture and prolonging your hair color.
Using a purifying shampoo will not only protect your hair's health and color, it will also make your keratin treatment look even better.
WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR KERATIN TREATMENTS
You should really take a look around to find the best option for you. Looking for a gentler product without formaldehyde is best, but you need to pay attention as even some of the straighteners that claim to be formaldehyde free, still contain formaldehyde once heated during the chemical process.
Keratin Shampoo for after your straightening treatment
Once your hair has been permanently straightened you will notice a few things. It will be shiny, straight, and silky, but it may also feel as though it has a slight coating or shell over the hair shaft. This is the keratin and other ingredients that have been baked onto the hair with the high heat iron. While the treatment has bonded keratin into the hair it has also damaged the hair from the high heat and created a coating over the hair shaft.
It's important to understand that even though the hair looks shiny and healthy it will also now need help to condition and repair the new damage. You should provide hair repairing conditioning agents and moisturizing agents regularly after starting keratin straightening treatments.
Some of the things you want to look for in a post keratin shampoo:
1. Sulfate free, this will make sure that it does not dry out the hair or cause hair color to fade. It will also ensure a longer lasting result for your straightening treatment.
2. Shampoo that will clean, repair and moisturize all in one. You'll learn more about the protein and moisture balance later, but the main point is that hair needs a proper balance in order to maintain its health and luster.
3. Shampoo that is rich in vitamins and antioxidant to help nourish the hair and prolong its life and vibrancy.
A shampoo like RevuCell's Revitalizing Sulfate Free Shampoo will help to repair the damaged hair while prolonging the life of the straightening service. It uses gentle cleansers that will not strip the keratin treatment or strip hair color.
RevuCell's pea sprout extract and aloe vera base will also help to restart the anagen phase of any hair follicles that were stressed or stunted from the straightening process.
Conditioner for after your
keratin treatment
Most people that get a straightening treatment should invest in a conditioner that will help to prolong the service as well as detangle the hair. You don't want to increase the damage or breakage by over combing or breaking through knotted strands of hair.
Since you hair is now sleek and silky, you also do not want to weigh it down or make it look greasy, so it is important to pick a conditioner that detangles, nourishes, and gives life and vibrancy to the hair.
For this we recommend RevuCell's Daily Conditioner. Not only will it detangle and protect your hair without making it greasy or heavy, it is also rich in Rice Amino Acids that will help to repair the damage caused by the service.
What is Keratin
Now that you know all about what to use let me explain why. Keratin is one of a family of fibrous structural proteins that protects cells from damage or stress. Hair is made of protein which starts in the follicle and as the cells mature they fill up with keratin.
Approximately 91% of hair is protein made up of long chains of amino acids.
Keratin found in hair is called “hard” keratin and it's quite resilient. It's made from eighteen amino acids, the most abundant of which is cystine. Cystine gives hair much of its strength and resilience.
So when you are getting a keratin treatment, you are pushing keratin into the hair and filling up all the spaces that are in the hair from damage. The problem is that in order to get the keratin in there you have to use high heat and other chemicals that are not good for the hair or your health. You basically break the bonds of the hair, change it's structure so it's straight, and then fill the breaks with the keratin. The chemicals and heat help to do this and then seal the hair back up.
Other proteins for the hair besides Keratin
When you talk about options for hair repair proteins there are many that are used by hair care products and chemical services.
I'll list a few and what they are derived from. The main thing they are all trying to do is fill the damaged hair with protein or amino acids to help repair the damaged hair. That repair will allow the hair to hold on to other things it needs to be healthy and vibrant, like: moisture and hair color.
RICE AMINO ACIDS
Amino acids are the building block to protein and Rice is very rich in cystine amino acids to give hair the strongest natural repair.
USED IN all RevuCell products.
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
It's water soluble and derived from wheat, used in conditioners and shampoos.
Not Gluten Free
Hydrolized Silk Protein
Strong natural fiber able to hold 10,000 times its weight in water. Derived from silk worm saliva.
NOT VEGAN (read why we think using silk is a bad choice)
Milk Protein
Derived from milk and high in lactic acid amino acids.
NOT VEGAN
Animal Protein
Fatty acids that coat the hair. Leave build up.
NOT VEGAN
For a more in depth breakdown of these and other proteins used in cosmetics you can take a look at this study by Penn State University
What does hydorlyzed mean?
In simple terms it means that an ingredient that is “hydrolyzed” has been broken down to a smaller unit. This is done so that it can penetrate into whatever you are trying to get it into. In this case your hair.
Keratin Protein and Moisture Balance
for healthy hair
When looking for a keratin shampoo you want to remember that too much protein makes hair brittle.
You see filling the hair with keratin is the goal so that that keratin can hold on to other things that it needs to be healthy. If you just use proteins then the hair will become dry, brittle, and be prone to breakage.
You need to balance the protein with moisturizing conditioners to bring a natural equilibrium to the hair. By providing the hair with moisture and protein, the hair is able to hold on to the moisture more easily to help condition the hair.
Hair Color Tip
Damaged hair does not hold color well. Since the hair is full of holes in the keratin, color tends to fall out and fade very quickly.
Usually hair stylists will apply protein conditioners to the hair or recommend a repairing shampoo to help the color hold. But just using protein to repair the hair is not everything you need.
Remember you need to get to right amount of moisture in the hair to balance the equation. By having proper moisture in the hair that will help to hold the hair color.
If you have gray hair and it is hard to cover it with hair color, or it fades really quickly. A quick fix is to apply a moisturizing conditioner treatment like RevuCell Daily Conditioner before the color service. That will replenish the moisture in the gray hair making it softer and easier for the hair color to penetrate and hold.
The Effects of Home & Chemical Services on Hair
For more info on how shampoos, conditioners, straighteners an hair color effect the molecular structure of human hair check out this article by the National Institute of Health's, National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Sulfate Free Shampoo
to reduce damage & prolong service
If you want to find other shampoos for your post keratin regimen, you want to make sure that you at least use a sulfate free shampoo. Shampoos that are sulfate free tend to be less damaging and gentler to the hair. This is important because you don't want your Cheap shampoo to strip out the expensive keratin treatment or hair color service that you just paid for.
Shampoo to help repair keratin
in damaged hair
As we mentioned above, if you have damaged hair the best solution is to switch your shampoo and conditioner to something that will help to:
1. Repair the damage with amino acids (proteins) high in cystine
2. Moisturize the hair to provide a proper balance
3. Nourish the hair with vitamins and antioxidants
4. Use an organic or more naturally derived product.
Don't get stuck on the fancy word “keratin shampoo” because in the end the fancy word won't fix your problem. The ingredients in the product are what will make the difference.
Identify your hair's problem first, then treat accordingly. Your hair stylist can be a great help!
Bonus: The dangers of Keratin treatments
Over the years Keratin treatments have become very popular because of the reduction in daily maintenance for the customer. No longer do you have to straighten your hair every morning. Instead you go to the salon where your stylist puts on a gas mask, puts a foul smelling substance in your hair, then cooks your hair with an iron at temperatures hot enough to bake a cake.
If that wasn't enough to stop you from doing the service consider these Formaldehyde issues associated with keratin straightening systems from the Environmental Working Group
From the EWG Site:
“Hair straightening sessions are injuring clients and making stylists sick, so why are they still offered in salons across the country?Many salons straighten and smooth hair with what they call “keratin smoothing formulations.” These lotions are often called “Brazilian Blowouts,” based on a popular brand’s name.The truth is, they contain as much as seven percent formaldehyde, a toxic chemical, which the U.S. government in 2011 designated a known human carcinogen. Formaldehyde also triggers allergic reactions.“
And these OSHA warnings for hair professionals performing these services.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and several State OSHA programs are investigating questions and complaints from hair salon owners and workers about possible formaldehyde exposure from hair smoothing products. Some of these products have been labeled as "formaldehyde-free.
OSHA's Formaldehyde fact sheet
Personally the fact that my hair dresser is wearing a gas mask while performing the service, while I am not, would be enough to get me out of that chair. Add to it if she still wore the gas mask but instead of doing the service in the salon she performed it in the parking lot of the salon for the ventilation...
Hopefully that makes you think twice about the service.
Now I'm not making any judgment on you if you want the service, I just think it's important to know all the details, risks, and advantages before you go down that road.
Thanks for reading and please post a comment and share us on your social media.
Summary:
Today we’ll walk you through
1. The 3 best products you can use before and after a keratin straightening treatment
2. We’ll teach you what is meant by Keratin, Keratin Shampoo and Conditioner, and Sulfate Free
3. We’ll present you with the best conditioner ingredients to use if you are trying to rebuild or repair damaged hair
4. As a bonus we’ll share some information on keratin treatments and what you should know before you decide to get your hair permanently straightened.
