You have everything ready to do your keratin treatment, but then you realize you’re not sure: “Should I do this on wet hair? Or on dry hair?”
Before you make a big mistake that can ruin the treatment, let me tell you:
- You should do keratin treatments on wet hair.
- Because that way, your hair will completely absorb all of the nutrients from the keratin.
- And you should never wash your hair until at least 48 hours after you do the treatment.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one with this question.
Almost every day, women come into my salon that were disappointed by their keratin treatments, because it didn’t straighten their hair or for some other reason. But, what most of them don’t know is that they made a mistake at some point in the process of doing the treatment.
That was Pam’s case, who came to my salon very, very angry.
And the subject of her anger was her keratin treatment. It’s incredible how quickly people can go from loving a treatment to cursing it to the darkest depths of hell in just a few minutes.
The thing is: Was it the keratin treatment’s fault or the fault of the hand that applied it? It wouldn’t take long to find out.
Pam did a keratin treatment at home about five months ago, and I don’t know if she was rushing or if she thought that she didn’t need the information, but she didn’t read the instructions.
And she used the keratin on her dry hair. When she said that, I didn’t need to hear any more. That was her problem!
The components in keratin don’t get absorbed as well by wet hair.
And, so, if the components don’t get absorbed the same way, the results won’t ever be the same.
Which is a shame because she had wasted a good product, her time and money.
If you don’t want the same thing to happen to you as what happened to Pam, keep reading because I’ll tell you what to do instead and I’ll also tell you:
- Why it’s better to use keratin on wet hair
- The best keratin treatments that a hairstylist can recommend
- How to use a keratin treatment to get the best results
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Why you should always use keratin on wet hair
If you’ve ever gotten a keratin treatment in a salon, then they might have done it on your hair while it was dry.
And that’s also right, but the products they use are for professionals, and the way you apply an at-home treatment is very different from how you use salon-grade keratin treatments.
- That’s why I recommend that you do the keratin treatment on wet hair if you’re going to do it on your own at home.
The thing is, there are so many different kinds of keratin treatments out there that I could literally spend days and days explaining to you about each one, but we aren’t here to do that.
So, to keep it simple, if you want to do it at home, you should do it on wet hair.Can you guess why?
- The reason is simple. Your hair, just like your skin, has pores, which is why it’s permeable and gets wet; it’s porous.
If that weren’t the case, your hair would be as waterproof as an umbrella and it wouldn’t be able to get wet.
Dirt and dust can deposit in those pores, which is why your hair can start to look opaque. When you use shampoo and conditioner on your hair, you clear your pores out and they’re left open.
- So, when your hair is wet and you apply keratin to it, your pores can quickly absorb those nutrients, strengthening your hair.
I’m sure that you use a moisturizing cream on your face, legs, and hands almost every day. What happens to the cream? It gets absorbed, right?
- It’s the same with keratin; your hair’s pores absorb it, making it stronger bringing back brightness and elasticity to your hair and getting rid of frizz.
But don’t forget that keratin is a protein that you can naturally find in hair.
That’s why, to make the most of your treatment, you should use the keratin on wet hair. You’ll get better results and it’s much simpler to do for people who aren’t professionals.
Now you know that you should always use keratin on wet hair. Let’s look at which are the best products out there.
The best keratin treatments, straight from a hairstylist
When it comes time to choose hair products, I always say the same thing to my clients: it’s always better to choose products that come from well-known brands than generic ones that you’re not familiar with.
It’s better to invest a little bit more money in the keratin so that way you don’t need to invest a fortune later trying to rehabilitate your hair from the effects of a product that wasn’t what it said it was. Right?
The best brands have special lines for hair repair.
What to know which one takes first place?
Elvive by L´Oreal
If you want the best results, I recommend ELVIVE by L’Oreal for at-home treatments, which of course, you’re going to apply to your wet hair.
Also, they have a line of keratin masks for bleached hair, artificially straight hair, naturally straight hair, and dyed hair.
They give good results and will leave your hair strong and totally recuperated with no split ends.
If you’re not able to get a product from this line, which is almost impossible, then I have another recommendation for you.
Keratin Hair Mask by Revicare
Why do I like it? Because it’s ideal for all kinds of people with damaged hair.
They add coconut oil, retinol and aloe vera to their keratin mask, which makes the masks a hydration and nutrition bomb for your hair.
After you’ve used it two or three times, you’ll see that your hair is much more manageable, docile, bright, and of course, less frizzy.
Did you know that there are keratin treatments in oil form?
Yes, you read that right. What would be the name behind that product?
One of the world-wide leaders in hair products. The one that’s on the tip of your tongue! Did you guess it? That’s right!
Pantene’s Pro -V Expert Collection, ADVANCED KERATIN REPAIR OIL
Like I said before, this option is an oil and not a mask, and you apply it to your wet hair, but you don’t wash it out.
If your hair is so damaged that it seems like your only option is to cut it, set the scissors aside and try with this product first.
It won’t disappoint because you’ll soon see how your hair regains its strength within two to three uses.
Now that you know which are the best keratin treatments, it’s important that you use them correctly.
How to use keratin treatments like a true professional
First of all, don’t be like Pam and skip reading the instructions on whatever product you end up buying. Each and every brand comes with instructions and it’s important that you read them.
You need to read them because every brand has its own procedure, time that its products need to spend in your hair and way of rinsing.
For example, L’Oreal recommends leaving the product in your hair no more than 20 minutes, then to rinse your hair. On the other hand, you shouldn’t rinse out Pantene’s oil.
So, you need to pay close attention to the instructions on the product you’ve chosen.
That said, I’m also going to leave you a list of general steps for you to use for reference:
- Wash your hair with your normal shampoo and skip the conditioner, since you’re going to do a treatment.
- Wrap your hair in a towel to get rid of the excess water and then detangle it to make sure that no knots remain.
- Use your chosen treatment on the middle section of your hair and ends, leaving approximately 2-3 inches at your roots without the product. If you don’t leave that space, then your hair will get greasy and look dirty.
- Let the treatment sit the prescribed amount of time, which is usually 20-30 minutes.
- If you chose a cream, rinse with room-temperature, almost cold water without using shampoo or conditioner. If you used an oil, don’t rinse and brush as you normally would.
- Dry your hair.
That’s it, you’re already done with your keratin treatment! You’ll see within a few days that your hair is stronger.
My last piece of advice?
After you use the treatment, wait at least 48 hours to wash your hair again, because remember that it takes time for your hair to absorb the nutrients.
Now that you don’t have any excuses not to make the most of keratin, which product will you choose?
