Revitalize and Rejuvenate: Keratin Treatment with Hair Extensions

All About Keratin

The first time I ever received a keratin treatment, I was 17 years old. At the time, Keratin treatments were a new thing and hairstylists were trying them out on clients. Before I got a keratin treatment, I did some research on them. At the time, there wasn’t much information on the procedures, but they were known to straighten frizzy, or nappy hair. I wanted my natural hair to be silkier, softer, and smoother without all the unnecessary heat. My hair stylist told me that a keratin treatment would help me achieve this. The procedure was much longer than I expected but I left there with silky and smooth hair. The great thing about the treatment was that it lasted for a long time. I didn’t have to get another treatment for about three months after receiving my first one. Then, after my second treatment, it lasted even longer. It was a great experience, and I’m excited that we know more about it. I’m here to tell you all that you need to know about Keratin Treatments whether they are on your hair or extensions.

What Is A Keratin Treatment?

Keratin Treatments come from the protein keratin that is found naturally in your hair. It’s high in amino acids and makes your hair tough and elastic. Most stylists will explain keratin as a biopolymer, which gives form and structure to your hair. Even though the Keratin is naturally occurring your hair, the liquid keratin blends with your natural keratin to help restore what you lost over time. Keratin treatments help the hair contain the moisture and stay hydrated and healthy. The keratin treatment originated in Brazil where it is considered to be a progressive blow-dry. The keratin treatment is known to shorten your regular blow-drying and straightening process by 40% to 60%. It’s been said that keratin treatments also should reduce the frizz within the hair. Despite the weather conditions, a keratin treatment can help your hair remain straight and unfrazzled. Of course, results vary depending on the texture of your hair. For example, if you have incredibly kinky hair, then the keratin treatment may not last long. Your professional stylist should be able to discuss the expectations and the results during a consultation. Overall, a keratin treatment can be beneficial if you consult with a hairstylist that has significant information about the procedure.

Is A Keratin Treatment Safe?

Within the past years, OSHA released a report regarding the toxic chemicals found in several salon hair treatments, including keratin treatments. One of the ingredients found in keratin treatments is formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is toxic and can cause immediate, short-term irritation to the eyes, skin, and upper respiratory tract. Long-term effects of formaldehyde include potential nasal cancer or leukemia. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer consider formaldehyde to be a human carcinogen. You should not use any products with formaldehyde considering that it is incredibly harmful. Most stylists will claim that you can get rid of frizz utilizing the keratin treatments but these treatments are likely only useful because of the toxic ingredients in them. These treatments are unregulated because there aren’t any rules that hair salons are required to follow. If you don’t want to use these harmful chemicals, then it is essential to consult with your stylist and see if they have something that is natural, and non-harmful. Make sure this is coming from a stylist and salon that you trust. Professionals will state something as natural without having any idea of whether the product is healthy for you.

What Is The Keratin Treatment Process?

When I went to get my keratin treatment, it took quite a long time. I was in the salon for about four hours. First, your stylist will shampoo your hair with no conditioner. Then, you will rough-dry until your hair is about 80 percent dry. Your stylist will apply the keratin treatment in small sections then let it sit for about 15 minutes. Then, they will blow-dry the product into your hair then flat iron your hair into sections. This part will take the longest. After all of that, your hair stylist will rinse your hair for five to ten minutes to remove the product from your hair. Then, you will shampoo again, apply the keratin sealing serum, and blow-dry. During the process, there will be an odd smell. The smell comes and goes during the entire process. It’s not a funny pungent smell, but it does not smell right. Usually, by the final blow out, the smell should be gone entirely but sometimes the scent can last until your next wash. You should not wash your hair until about four days from the original keratin process. The entire process requires that your hairstylist use a lot of heat on your hair. Just when you think the straightening process is over, your hairstylist will go over your hair about 3-4 more times. If you don’t want to use heat on your hair, then the keratin treatment is not for you. Also, during your keratin process, your hair will flake. It’s entirely reasonable for your hair to flake during your keratin process. Your hair flakes because of all the product that is in your hair during the process. There’s no need to worry about it. Overall, the process is time-consuming and exhausting, even if you’re not the one distributing it. It’s important to think about lifestyle when considering getting a keratin treatment. We’ll talk more about lifestyle needs after I tell you about keratin with extensions. Yes, it is possible, and sometimes, it’s even safer to do on extensions rather than your real hair. It also can help your extensions last longer.

Keratin On Hair Extensions

When I first heard about the Keratin treatment, I thought you could only do it on natural hair. I never thought it could be performed on extensions of any kind because of the length of the process, and the many steps that it takes to achieve a proper treatment. However, the hair industry is always evolving, and we now have ways to accomplish a keratin treatment on hair extensions. It’s important to decipher between each type of extension and how you can add keratin to your routine while taking care of them. For general purposes, we’ll keep it simple and talk about braids, weaves, and wigs. Also, another fundamental fact is that synthetic weaves and wigs will not be able to withstand a keratin treatment because they cannot be styled like human hair. The extensions, outside of braids because they don’t need much but a quick wash and condition treatment, will consist of human hair only.

Braids with Keratin

Despite the fact that I described the Keratin treatment as a long and lengthy process, it doesn’t have to be anymore. Hairstylists and developers have created different products that keratin in them so that they can still straighten and smooth your hair without the unnecessary time length. Keratin infused shampoos and conditioners are best for people that have busy lifestyles. To use keratin treatments on your braids, you’ll need to follow three easy steps. Use a keratin infused shampoo only around your edges, and in places with dirt and residue. Don’t use too much shampoo because it can dry your hair, and give you awful, itchy results. Rinse the shampoo out and then apply the conditioner onto your actual braids. Apply the conditioner from root to ends, and let it sit for about five minutes. Rinse the conditioner out, then dry. The drying process is probably the lengthiest process because braid extensions hold onto moisture. When I need to drain my braids, I usually let them air dry and sundry. If I have somewhere to be, I use a hairdryer. My advice is don't wash your extensions when you have somewhere to be. Try to shoot for two days before so that you can be thoroughly dry and prepared.

Weave with Keratin

As most of us know, there are different ways to make sure that weave is clean and free of buildup. Also, there are ways to rejuvenate your extensions without purchasing more. Keratin treatments on weave are a perfect way to bring extensions back to life. The process is a little bit different. When it comes to weave, you’ll have to be gentler when adding keratin. Also, when working on weave extensions, you can avoid shampoo altogether. The shampoo isn’t as beneficial to weaves as the conditioner is. The keratin and ingredients in conditioner will help detangle old extensions. However, if you do need to clean out some residue, good dry shampoo will be able to help you. For keratin treatment that is being applied to weave extensions, the application process will be different. You can use any keratin treatment that can also be used as a conditioner. Separate your hair into sections, and apply the treatment from root to end. Lightly comb through each section to ensure that you don’t have any clumps of product. Let the keratin sit for about 10-20 minutes, then blow dry it into your extensions. Then, you’ll need to flat iron the product into your hair. Then you’ll need to rinse it out again and repeat the blow-drying and flat iron process. Now, because these are extensions and not your real hair, you will need to make sure you take special care of them. Don’t use any product in your hair for about three days after applying the treatment to your extensions. Your weave should look brand new after applying the treatment.

Wigs with Keratin

Wigs are probably the easiest to apply a keratin treatment too because they aren’t attached directly to your hair. The application process for wigs will be the same as weaves except you can detach it from your head, and do it without having to get in the shower. A wig that is made out of excellent quality human hair will benefit from a keratin treatment because the treatment will rejuvenate the hair. Wash your wig in the sink with a light sulfate free shampoo. Then apply the keratin treatment section by section. Let it sit for about 20 minutes, and then follow the blow-dry, flat iron and rinse process. Make sure you dry your wig thoroughly before putting it back on. You don’t want to walk around with a damp wig.

Healthy Keratin Treatments

As mentioned before, keratin treatments can have ingredients like formaldehyde, which is extremely harmful. If you’re someone that desires to live a healthy lifestyle, then look for keratin treatments that don’t have those harmful ingredients. Consult with a professional before adding any treatment to your hair routine. Make sure that it is someone that you can trust, and won’t lie to you just so that you’ll agree. If you don’t have anyone that you can fully believe, do your research before doing a keratin treatment. Personal research is always the way to go when it comes to changing up your routine.

Lifestyle Needs

A keratin treatment requires that we adhere to time and rules. This is especially true if you want the treatment to come out right. If you are athletic, consistently busy, or have a lifestyle that does not allow that space or energy, then don’t consider getting a keratin treatment. A keratin treatment done by a professional or at home should be reserved when you have space in your schedule to do the treatment and let it settle into your roots or extensions. It is essential to be mindful of that when choosing the best treatments for your hair.

What To Remember

A keratin treatment is a lengthy treatment that is meant to remove the frizz from your hair, and smooth our your tresses. The treatment isn’t always the healthiest and can contain some harmful ingredients. You can apply keratin to your extensions as long as they are made from human hair except for braids. Do your research before doing the treatment and make the best decision for you!