Keratin newbie with questions
pepperminty
Registered Users Posts: 6
Hi all,
So my big day is next Tuesday and I am very excited, if a little nervous. My hair has been highly problematic my whole life--thick strands but not many of them, devoid of any kind of shine, and only curls when a boatload of gels/mouses/cremes are used. Otherwise it's like a big mop of frizzy ugliness. Salon professionals have been able to straigthen it fine, but I've never been successfull at it myself. No matter what I do, it still looks flat and lifeless. I'd like to think that even if BKT isn't perfect, it'll be at least some sort of improvement over what I have now.
So here are a few questions that I cannot seem to find the answers to. If anyone has any info, I would really appreciate it. I will share before/after pics and my review next week.
1)I understand the sodium and other chemicals in most shampoos are incompatible with this treatment. However, as someone on a budget, I am having a really difficult time with the idea of $25 shampoo and conditioner. Is there something out there with the right chemical composition but also a more wallet friendly price?
2)Point taken on no products until the first wash, but can products such as gels, de-frizzers, leave in conditioners, mousse, styling creme, ec. be used afterwards?
3)I really, really can't stand the process of ironing my hair. I cannot reach the back, cannot get the right amount of hair in the iron and it just doesn't work for me. Can I blow dry with a round brush? I am also not opposed to going wavy, as long as it's wavy, not a spongey frizzy blob.
4)I wear glasses. Is it really true that I can't wear them the first 72 hours after treatment?
I think that is all for now. Any info would be so helpful. Thanks! :glasses8:
So my big day is next Tuesday and I am very excited, if a little nervous. My hair has been highly problematic my whole life--thick strands but not many of them, devoid of any kind of shine, and only curls when a boatload of gels/mouses/cremes are used. Otherwise it's like a big mop of frizzy ugliness. Salon professionals have been able to straigthen it fine, but I've never been successfull at it myself. No matter what I do, it still looks flat and lifeless. I'd like to think that even if BKT isn't perfect, it'll be at least some sort of improvement over what I have now.
So here are a few questions that I cannot seem to find the answers to. If anyone has any info, I would really appreciate it. I will share before/after pics and my review next week.
1)I understand the sodium and other chemicals in most shampoos are incompatible with this treatment. However, as someone on a budget, I am having a really difficult time with the idea of $25 shampoo and conditioner. Is there something out there with the right chemical composition but also a more wallet friendly price?
2)Point taken on no products until the first wash, but can products such as gels, de-frizzers, leave in conditioners, mousse, styling creme, ec. be used afterwards?
3)I really, really can't stand the process of ironing my hair. I cannot reach the back, cannot get the right amount of hair in the iron and it just doesn't work for me. Can I blow dry with a round brush? I am also not opposed to going wavy, as long as it's wavy, not a spongey frizzy blob.
4)I wear glasses. Is it really true that I can't wear them the first 72 hours after treatment?
I think that is all for now. Any info would be so helpful. Thanks! :glasses8:
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Comments
I had the Coppola treatment twice so far - last summer and now just 2 weeks ago.
My hair is naturally kind of fine and thin, so I don't have a whole lot of it. I usually flat iron it all the time lately. I'm about a 2b before the treatment and a 2a afterwards. Afterwards, my hair is silky smooth and has NO FRIZZ!!
As for the shampoos, I was given the Coppola Keratin Complex Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner as part of my price with the treatment. I paid $300 for the whole thing. I've heard that Living Proof shampoo and Jessicurl Cleansing Cream or shampoo are good, too, but they can be pricey. As long as you find a shampoo that is sodium chloride free, you should be okay.
You can use all those styling products you mentioned after the 72 hour period. However, you may not have to. My hair is pretty straight right now, with just some slight wave. I pretty much just blow it dry with my hands, no brush!! Or I air-dry it. What type hair do you have? Is it coarse, fine, thin, thick, really curly????
Yes, you can blow it dry with a round brush after the treatment.
Also, you can wear glasses during that 3 day period. It will not affect your hair at all. Just don't put it up or clip it.
I can't think of anything else right now. Good luck, and you will love it!!
2b-c/F/ii
:dog:
Great news about glasses--I am not sure I could handle contacts at work all day long.
I guess I'll be spending a lot of quality time at CVS this weekend reading up on shampoo labels. Hopefully I find something that's sodium chloride free. My treatment is going to cost $300 but that's without any products. I just kind of tend to be cheap about certain things, and shampoo is one of them. All of my shampoos to date have been purchased on sale and with a coupon at drugstores. So paying $20 for a bottle kind of makes me sick--almost more so the actual price of treatment:-)
As for my hair, I actually find that it doesn't fit any of the descriptions given on this site. It's past my shoulders in length, on the thinner side (meaning that there's not a lot of it) but the strands themselves are coarse. If I had to use one word to describe my hair, it would be FRIZZY. I use a boatload of products (2 kinds of leave in conditioner, frizz serum, styling creme, and thickening spray) and on good days this concotion gives my hair a semblence of curls. On bad days, it just hangs there, in all its frizzy shine-less glory. So I am really hoping for a miracle here:-)
I just looked at some shampoo bottles I have, and I found that JASON Natural Biotin Shampoo has no sodium chloride. I bought this at Kings, a supermarket by me, but it costs about $9.00 for a 16 oz bottle. Actually, Johnson's Baby Shampoo also has no sodium chloride, but I don't know if you want to use that.
I think that you will definitely notice a big difference with the Keratin treatment. Are you getting the Coppola one? That's what I have. I try doing it all curly, but I always seem to prefer my hair straight - I just like it better on me. I have some pics of my hair from last August when I got the treatment (3 pics) - http://public.fotki.com/anniemae22/my-hair/fotki1.html. It is actually even straighter this time - I think because it's really not summer yet here - no humidity yet.
Well, I can't wait to see some pics after you get it done. Good luck to you. :flower:
2b-c/F/ii
:dog:
Redken’s Extreme Shampoo, Extreme Conditioner and Extreme Rescue Force Treatment is very affordable. Just don’t use Pantene, Dove or any drug store hair care products. Yes, Redken shampoos contain sodium chloride, but I wouldn’t worry using it on BKT treated hair.
To be perfectly honest I have no idea where the sodium chloride thing came from. My guess is that when Pureology and other companies started the "no sulfates" story with sodium lauryl sulfate, poor old sodium chloride just got lumped in. It's used in small concentrations in some shampoos as a viscosity thickener, and considering we eat it as table salt, I don't think it can be that bad. Maybe a very high concentration of salt water might effect a curl pattern in the hair but not from a shampoo unless I'm missing something.
The shininess depends on how compact the cuticle scales are and whether your hair has a medulla. The medullary canal is a hollow or partially hollow shaft which appears in some hair strands. It seems to have no effect with regard to the strength of the hair, but its presence or absence can alter the way in which the hair interacts with light. The exact function or purpose of the medulla has not yet been determined by scientists. In addition, the hair may seem to look dull due to film built-up deposit/residue.
2) Point taken on no products until the first wash, but can products such as gels, de-frizzers, leave in conditioners, mousse, styling creme, ec. be used afterwards?
Yes, it is okay to use any of the above after you first shampoo your hair or after the waiting period.
3) I really, really can't stand the process of ironing my hair. I cannot reach the back, cannot get the right amount of hair in the iron and it just doesn't work for me. Can I blow dry with a round brush? I am also not opposed to going wavy, as long as it's wavy, not a spongey frizzy blob.
Hair is very fragile when it is wet, so you are not going to want to use a brush. Using a blow dryer with the concentrator nozzle, point the airflow down the hair shaft, using your fingers, gently ruffle the hair slightly to remove the water. Holding the airflow down will help to close the cuticle of the hair. When the hair is 90% dry you can use a paddle brush or round brush to smooth out the ends and then finish with a blast of cold air to set the hair and give it shine.
4) I wear glasses. Is it really true that I can't wear them the first 72 hours after treatment?
Safety FIRST! Anyway, it is not a big deal really. Lift the hair above your ear-line upward and then slide your eye glass. If you notice a crease within the 72 hours waiting period that’s caused from sleeping/sweating or from wearing eye glasses, blow-dry the hair 100% dry and Slide the iron gently to remove the crease. If within the first four days after the BKT service the prevailing weather condition is rainy and humid; finger blow-dry by giving your hair one minute short blasts of hot air and then one minute of cool air. Do this 2-3 times a day. This will help remove the excess moisture from the hair.
For in depth and most comprehensive information on the Brazilian BKT, please visit my website http://www.VerticalsInHair.com
Steve Tcherkezian
The Best TR & BKT stylist in the Beauty World
email: [email protected]
Greater Toronto Area 416-669-9118