remember how i was complaining about my crusty curls here. still looking for better ways to hydrate my hair over the holidays i stumbled into the wonderful world of keratin treatments. two of my friends had it done and said it's a deep conditioner, which is what my hair desperately needed. i had briefly came across the term keratin treatment before but wrote it off however this time around i did further research and discovered both the positive and negative truths about keratin treatments. when i heard they can loosen curls i was intrigued. i love my hair. but i also crave change! my hair has been the same for the last 10 years and i so needed to mix it up. i refuse to dye or relax my hair which means retouching the roots. the idea that this treatment conditions and temporarily loosens curls was enough for me to "try it out". I found George Alan here in Harlem, NYC who HOOKED-IT-UP!
i will say i was paranoid and kept flipping back and fourth whether i should do it or not especially after reading all the horror stories on naturallycurly.com here's what went through my mind:
CONS
- contains or emits formaldehyde which is linked to causing cancer
- even if it says "formaldehyde free" the product once heated emits formaldehyde vapors and is banned in Canada and Italy
- cost a whopping $200-$500
- must use sulfate free shampoos which can be costly
- is temporary and washes out over a 3-5month period
- loosens curls
- constant sexual harassment from significant other
PROS
- is a super hydrating and moisturizing treatment ideal for dry damaged hair
- quicker drying and styling times, from 2hrs to 30mins from 1hr to 15mins
- is temporary 3-5months and leaves no demarkation between new-growth (or so is claimed)
- loosens curls but doesn't straighten hair
- constant sexual harassment from significant other
what really confirmed me getting this done was curiosity and when the founder of naturallycurly.com Michelle got her brazilian blowout (bb) done to enhance her curls and posted her video of the process. first and foremost for me was hydration followed closely by a deep desire to change up my look with temporary effects...i had to at least give it a shot. i got the treatment done on dec 31st just in time for new year's eve and did my first wash jan 7th
top left is how i usually rock my hair. i have corkscrew curls and require lots of product to keep it from frizzing. top right is my hair all picked out with my fingers. i normally can't keep my hands out of my hair! i have a bad habit of feeling the dents and dryness in each hair strand like me touching it will make it go away. bottom left is how my hair looks after my first wash with the bb air dried with no product. i've gone from corkscrew curls to tight waves. me likely! and bottom right is the bb blown out straight! no flat iron or setting required. oh and i stopped playing with my hair :)
i didn't buy the bb products since they start jacking your budget up. $40 for the shampoo, $40 for the conditioner $40 for the mask that's $120 for all 3! heck no! i just dropped $200 plus tip! so i headed to the great outdoors of my apartment...the beauty stores on 125th and copped creamy curls cleanser for $10. although many products say sulfate free shampoo when i read the ingredients there it is the dreaded word sulfate. what the heck?! then i went online to read the ingredients in the bb shampoo and again the word sulfate appears. what's up with that? apparently it depends on the entire ingredient composition and how one effects the other which is another google search i no longer care to learn more about. i already used the creamy curls before and know first hand that the product does not lather and in fact is more like a conditioner. i actually didn't like this product on my corkscrew curls as i felt it didn't clean my thick hair. but now that my hair is like half the thickness it used to be i feel this does the trick. but i would simply suggest to avoid shampoo all together and just use conditioner. when i'm ready to straighten my hair i'll pickup organix brazilian keratin therapy for $8 i've read a lot of great things about this product. but for now i prefer the curls :)
in summary all i can say is dayum! the world of curls is something else...hours of research and random facts learned.
it might be too soon to tell but do i like the bb treatment? HECK YES!
does it live up to the hype? oh yeah! would i do it again? perhaps :) but since i'm a sucker for do it yourself and i hard core observed my stylist do it AND now that my hair is tons more manageable i may just save my $200 and order the product online IF i decide to maintain this look.
hope you find this helpful all you curly heads you :)
