Did you do a keratin straightening treatment?
Do you want your hair to look amazing for longer?
You’ve come to the right place.
I’m going to tell you exactly how to care for your hair after a keratin treatment.
The first days after a keratin are fundamental.
Anything that you do bad can ruin the treatment. During these first days we have to be very careful with our hair.
That’s why the first thing that I’m going to tell you is how to care for your hai during the first 48-72 hours after doing the keratin treatment.
Another key so that keratin lasts longer is the shampoo that we use to wash your hair.
What is the best shampoo for hair with keratin?
What should shampoo not have?
We are going to talk about all of this today.
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5 ways to care for your hair after keratin
(So that your hair doesn’t end up like this)
Don’t wash your get your hair wet
Let’s suppose that you have done a keratin treatment.
You are in love with the results.
Your hair looks perfectly straight and without frizz like is hasn’t looked in years.
You get home and you hop in the shower to wash off the sweat.
First mistake.
Keratin treatments shouldn’t get wet for 48 to 72 hours.
There are many brands of keratin. In general, if you use a professional quality keratin it should come with instructions for use. In these instructions you should say how long you should wait to wash your hair after doing a treatment. This is something that you have to ask the hair stylist that is applying the treatment.
Don’t tie up your hair, or stretch it or bend it
In those first days you also can’t tie up your hair with bows, clips, pigtails or ponytails or anything else. If you tie up your hair, you run the risk of marking it. And you don’t want that.
Don’t do physical exercise that makes you sweat
Another thing that seems obvious, but some people look it over is the topic of doing physical exercise. In the first days after doing the treatment, avoid doing any type of physical activity that creates sweat. If you sweat, your hair will get wet. Like we said. Like we said before, we can’t run that risk.
Don’t expose your hair to the sun
During the first few days, don’t expose your hair to the son. If because of forces of God you have to be in the sun, you can cover your hair with a handkerchief. But if it’s possible avoid the sun during the first two or three days after doing the keratin treatment.
Don’t touch or stroke your hair
Many people are used to walking around touching their hair all the time. They are watching television and they are stroking their hair as if it were their pet. They are reading and at the same time playing with a chunk of hair. If you have that bad habit, I ask nicely that you don’t do it for at least the first few days.
Remember that the first hours of the treatment are the most delicate and you have to pay more attention so that you don’t ruin the treatment.
I always say the same thing.
It’s just for a few days to then later enjoy straight and shiny hair for various months. The effort during the first few days is worth it.
After getting through the first few days, we can relax a bit. But not that much. Choosing correct washing products is key so that the effects of the treatment remain intact for longer.
What shampoo to use after the keratin treatment
Most people don’t pay enough attention to the shampoo or conditioner. They simply buy the cheapest one or the one that has the most attractive bottle.
This strategy is okay for hair that hasn’t gone through a keratin treatment. But using just any shampoo on hair with keratin is the same as throwing the money you spent on the treatment into the trash.
Why?
Because if you use any shampoo or conditioner from the supermarket on your hair with keratin, surely you will end up ruining your hair in a few days.
What shampoo should you use then?
The ideal is to use a sulfate-free shampoo.
I’ve talked about sulfate-free shampoos so many times that I’ve lost count.
Shampoos are made with many chemical ingredients. One of those chemical ingredients is called sulfates.
The interesting thing about sulfates is that it is found in most shampoos.
A few years ago, I ended up running into and old friend from high school all over the place. Everywhere I went I ran into her.
I was in the supermarket doing my shopping and I ran into her. I was walking down the street with my kids and I saw her. I was on the metro and I saw her. Sulfates in your shampoo are like this classmate of mine. They are always there.
As you can imagine, sulfates and keratin treatments don’t get along well.
What sulfates do is make the keratin fade. Sulfates are going to get rid of the shine and the silkiness that the keratin treatment had given to your hair.
It’s not that if you use a shampoo with sulfates that the keratin is going to disappear from your hair like magic. But it is true that sulfates erase the effects of the treatment much more quickly.
Luckily and thank heavens that since a few years ago, you can find sulfate-free shampoos. This is really good news if you have done a keratin treatment.
If in the worst case scenario it is impossible for you to get sulfate-free shampoo, there is another alternative.
Shampoos for dyed hair.
Which sulfate-free shampoo to choose
Sulfate-free shampoos aren’t chosen by brand. You choose them based on availability. I’m trying to say that if someone would want a common shampoo with sulfates, the options are endless. It’s not the same with sulfate-free shampoo.
There aren’t as many options available. Especially if you don’t live in a big city. So you’ll have to choose according to what’s available.
Check Shea Moisture Shampoo on Amazon
Whenever people ask me about sulfate-free shampoos, I recommend Shea Moisture. The quality is impressive. You will see a difference from the first use. So if you are able to find this, you won’t regret it.
Using the flat iron and hair dryer after keratin
Anything in excess is bad.
Eating a lot is bad.
Drinking a lot is bad.
Abusing your keratin treated hair with heat is bad.
That last point is up for debate.
Some hair stylists recommend completely avoiding flat irons and hair dryers after this type of treatment.
Other hair stylists recommend the opposite. They recommend using heat because keratin is thermoactive. What does thermoactive mean?
That it is activated with heat. Every time that you apply heat to your hair it recovers its shine and smoothness.
I recommend a middle point. You can use the flat iron and the hair dyer, if and when it’s in moderation. If your idea is to use the flat iron or hair dryer every day, then you will ruin the keratin in a short amount of time.
As much as some hair stylists don’t agree with this, heat tools wear out the treatment. Especially when you use poor quality heat tools like what most people have.
Most people don’t have a professional hair dryer in their house. They also don’t have a professional flat iron. Non-professional tools don’t have a heat regulator. This makes it so that without realizing, we apply a lot more heat to our hair than what it really needs.
My advice is to use the hair dryer and the flat iron only when necessary. There are other ways of drying your hair without a hair dryer for example. It takes a bit loner but this way, the keratin will last longer and you won’t ruin the beautiful hair that God gave you.
Swimming and keratin
Many people that swim ask me if it is a good idea to do keratin.
You can do keratin if you want. But you have to know that the effects are going to last less time than in a person that doesn’t swim. It’s that simple.
The water in swimming pools has chlorine. Chlorine and keratin don’t get along well. It’s along the same lines as what we talked about in respect to sulfate shampoos.
So, if you swim, think twice before doing keratin. I’ll say it again if it isn’t clear.
It’s not that you can’t do keratin. You won’t be committing any sins if you do it. But you have to know that the effects won’t last as long as you would like.
