Mind you, I'm not doing a full-on before-and-after, because in order to do that, I'd need to post a picture of me with washed, air-dried hair, and I'm not ready to do that. (If you're curious, you can google Keratin Treatment and look for a picture of someone with slightly frizzy hair that is mostly the result of hair dye. It won't be me, but close enough.) However, I am willing to let you see what I put myself through in order to have hair that isn't frizzy.
This is my hair last October, washed and air-dried after a Keratin treatment. I combed it out, added a blob or two of styling creme, and didn't touch it for the time it took to dry. It won't pass for a $50 blowout, but it's not nauseating. I was happy.
Five months later, my old treatment had pretty much worn off, so it's almost as if I hadn't had one. This picture shows what I go through when I don't have a keratin treatment. First I rough-dry my hair. When it's almost dry, I section it, finish drying each section around a brush, then roll each section around either a Velcro roller or a round hairbrush. I have about half a dozen hair brushes in my hair at this point. I am a human porcupine! The whole process takes about 30 minutes.
This is after I've let my hair cool, and removed the brushes, and combed it into place. It's a bit pageant queen-y, but OK.
This is after the keratin treatment. Believe it or not, it's not quite as pin-straight as it was last October. This looks more like a regular blow-dry followed by a thorough flat-ironing. Which, I guess, is exactly what it is. But to me, this ultra-straight look is almost painfully dated. My hair looks like something off the red carpet, circa 1998.
And notice how my highlights are way more obvious? And my roots look so much darker. So be warned: hair color and condition become much more apparent when your hair is this straight. Your split ends, if any, have no place to hide.
It's just one of the many ways in which a keratin treatment can mess with your head. Hee!
This is four days after the keratin treatment, washed and allowed to air dry. The picture doesn't really show how truly random I looked.
This is after 10 minutes with a flat iron.
I'm not completely thrilled with my hair at the moment, but that's mostly because I've decided that I need a haircut. And to beat up my colorist.
Other than that, I recommend a keratin treatment if, like me, you have mostly straight hair that has developed a tendency to frizz. I'm not really looking for wash-and-dry hair, but I enjoy knowing that my hair won't puff up like a blowfish and develop weird wiggles during an evening spent outside in Florida. And I enjoy being able to style my hair in 10, as opposed to 30-to-40 minutes.
I would also add that I don't wash and heat style my hair more often than twice a week. My son's experience leads me to believe that the smoothing effect of a keratin treatment lasts a much shorter time if you're constantly shampooing and styling.
Oh, and I got the treatment done because my salon was offering a 20 percent discount, so it cost me $200. Feel free to shoot me a question, if you have any.
And remember, EAT CAKE FOR BREAKFAST.
Wow this is an amazing treatment...looking great Poppy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hostess. One of these days I'll post a real "before" picture. I've never had curly hair, but the porosity from dyeing it definitely changed the texture (it's much softer, actually) and manageability (or the lack thereof--yikes!).
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