A keratin treatment can provide you with silky smooth hair that doesn’t take you hours to style anymore.
If you are planning on having a keratin treatment done on your hair, there are a few things that you can do to help ensure you get your money’s worth out of the service.
With a keratin treatment, your hair can be silky smooth and frizz-free for up to 8 weeks, but there are a few ways that you can prepare ahead of time in order to make sure your treatment last as long as possible.
You can use these tips for both professional treatments as well as any at home keratin treatments as well.
What To Do Before Getting A Keratin Hair Treatment
Follow these tips to prepare for your keratin treatment so you can have successfully silky smooth hair.
Confer With Your Hair Stylist To Find Out Exactly What Type Of Keratin Treatment Is Best For You
There are several different types of keratin hair treatments. It’s important that you ask your hair stylists questions beforehand so that you get the best treatment for your hair type and color. Also, make sure you are upfront with your stylist with any type of products or chemicals you have used on your hair in the past few weeks as they can affect the whole straightening process.
Also, check with the stylist to see what type of ingredients are in the treatment. A lot of salons have moved away from using keratin treatments that have formaldehyde in them, but it’s a good idea to ask if any of the ingredients may have side affects with your health.
There are also some newer keratin treatments that are slightly different than the traditional ones and don’t come with all the aftercare rules.
It’s a good idea to discuss this with your stylist so you know what to expect afterwards as well as how long you can estimate your appointment may take. Most traditional treatments take approximately 2 hours while some newer ones that don’t require the 3 day rule take up to 4 hours.
Consider Coloring Your Hair Before Your Keratin Treatment Appointment
If you have plans on coloring your hair or you need a root touch up it is recommended that you color your hair before the keratin treatment.
The reason why you should color it before and not during the same appointment or right afterwards is because once the keratin has been applied to your hair, it sort of closes off the hair shaft. This means that the color won’t be able to penetrate the hair shaft properly you may end up with an even color or even hair that doesn’t take the color at all.
If you aren’t able to color your hair before the treatment process it is recommended that you wait at least 2-3 weeks after the process to color your hair.
Be Prepared With The Proper After Care Hair Products
After having a keratin hair treatment you most likely will have to change out some of your hair care products. Some products, like smoothing serums, you may not need anymore, while other products like shampoos and conditioners may need to be swapped for different ones.
If you want your hair smooth and silky for longer than a week or so I recommend that you get a quality shampoo for keratin treated hair. These shampoos don’t have any sulfate or sodium chloride, which can strip away the keratin from your hair. If you use your normal shampoo and it has sulfate in it, you’ll find your hair frizzy and not so straight anymore after only 1-2 weeks.
I also recommend picking up a good quality dry shampoo, especially for those 72 hours after your treatment when you can’t get your hair wet.
Also, the less you have to wash your hair the longer your treatment will last. It’s not a bad idea to use dry shampoo for every other shampooing after your hair is treated.
Be Sure To Follow The After Care Tips To Make Your Treatment Last Longer
There are certain aftercare tips that you should follow in order to make your keratin last longer. This is especially true with your traditional style treatment in which you need to wait 72 hours before you can get your hair wet or style your hair.
There are some other things that you should know about taking care of your hair afterwards as well if you want it to last as long as possible.
Be sure to ask your stylist for any tips or advice that she has or check out my guide on how to take care of keratin treated hair if you plan on doing the keratin at home.
Just like anything you do with your hair, getting a keratin treatment does take some research and reading so that you can get the best results. Keratin treatments aren’t cheap so you want to make sure that you plan ahead properly so you can have silky, frizz-free hair for as long as possible before heading back to the salon.