DIYers-Not all flar irons created equal

DimePiece17

Hi Diyers,

As some of you may know, I've had quite a time doing my root touch ups. In fact, I've been doing them since July with results only lasting about 2 weeks at the most. Needless to say, I've spent A LOT of time and money on changing my my KT brands and techniques, only to JUST discover that my problems probably weren't due to the brands being used, but the type of flat iron. I figured that any flat iron that goes up to 450 would do the trick, but I was wrong. I NEVER acheived teh super shiny locks using my sedu revolution.

Here's what I discovered on an online souce:

When performing the Brazilian Keratin Straightening treatment (BKT), the Keratin Complex by Coppola Treatment, the Global Keratin Treatment, or any other Keratin based treatment the straightness of your hair is only as good as the flat iron you are using. We have reviewed a number of flat irons and straightening irons and have found the best flat irons to get your locks silky straight. These flat irons will help to activate the Keratin treatments and create longer lasting results.
What to look for?
Titanium Plates
When straightening your hair with any Keratin treatment your flat iron plates must be made with titanium. Titanium has an unbelievable ability to retain high heat. Most ceramic surfaces will loose heat as soon as you start to iron. The titanium plates will retain the heat once you start straightening. This will result in that beautiful shine on your hair.

Anyway, I'm purchasing the Babyliss 1in flat iron soon, and will do another root touch up around christmas time ( if I can wait that long). I'm pretty sure my results will be WAAAAAAAAAAY better.

Knotty

I hope it works for you. I have the babyliss flat iron and I love it. It's the best flat iron I have ever used. It gets my hair so straight, shiny, and silky. Be sure to update us on your root situation.

DimePiece17

I work from home, so I'm not super stressed about my hair, so I probably won't do the treatment until Christmas time. The Sedu Revolution does a great job at straigjtening. No complaints, but it uses Tourmeline plates, not the Titanium recommended for BKTs. Once I test out the Babyliss, I'll probably sell my sedu on ebay. Can't wait to give you ladies an update!

Knotty

Did you ever try coloring your hair or using developer to make the BKT take better? I'm thinking about coloring my hair because before I did the BKT I used a highlighting kit on the ends of my hair to get a sort of ombre colored hair that was naturally really dark brown and lightened to a light brown/blondish color at the ends. After BKT, the lighter ends are a looser curl pattern. They are 3bish while the rest of my hair is a looser version of my natural 4a/3c texture. It looks a little strange and I have to do twistouts to get a more uniform texture. I'm considering dying my hair a chocolate brown

~Ghost Poster~

HG, you might be interested to know that I, too, am now having BKT longevity problems at my roots! I can't quite figure out if it's simply because I'm using Gold now, or if it's what I've been nagging at you about all along...that I'm not redoing the roots frequently enough anymore. It's been about 5 weeks since I last did my hair, which was a modified full-head app, but I hadn't done my roots prior to that for about 8-10 weeks. I'm seeing my root curls return much quicker and with much more ferocity than when I was reapplying to the roots every 3-4 weeks. I'm having an overall bad hair week this week anyway, and I'm not really sure of the cause. :sad1: It just seems really, really fine, thin, flyaway. My usual cocktail of gels isn't working. I go through this every now and then. Must be a hormone level fluctuation of some sort. :dontknow:

So, today, I'm redoing my roots, and I'm using Max on one side, Gold on the other--side-by-side comparison is the best way to see what's going on.

I'm skeptical about the flat iron issue...but, hey, that's just who I am--a born skeptic! :flower: But, I try to keep an open mind and am already researching titanium-plated flat irons just in case!!

DimePiece17

Knotty wrote: »

Did you ever try coloring your hair or using developer to make the BKT take better? I'm thinking about coloring my hair because before I did the BKT I used a highlighting kit on the ends of my hair to get a sort of ombre colored hair that was naturally really dark brown and lightened to a light brown/blondish color at the ends. After BKT, the lighter ends are a looser curl pattern. They are 3bish while the rest of my hair is a looser version of my natural 4a/3c texture. It looks a little strange and I have to do twistouts to get a more uniform texture. I'm considering dying my hair a chocolate brown

I'm really weird about chemicals, and BKT is the only one I've used in 10 years on my hair. I don't color, and i don't plan on starting until i have to. I'm in my 20s and my mom keeps telling me , "once you start coloring, you'll never stop." Besides, I don't want to add a chemical that will force me to have to pay more attention to my hair due to the potential damage coloring can cause. But thanks for the suggestion! i was about to go buy a developer, until I learned it was simply hair bleach! Thanks for catching that one Ghost poster when I posted about developers last month. I could have really done some damage! lol

DimePiece17

I haven't tried my new Babyliss ( paid 66 bucks for it on amazon), but I'm pretty sure it will work. Honestly, my home bkts just dont take using my current flat iron. The results i do see last about a week ONLY because that's how long it lasts until the junk just seems to wash out. 7 days post wash out, and i'm back where i started. Not bonding to my hair with my sedu revolution. Also, the babyliss flat irons are what I saw being used in the salons where i got my first BKTS, soooooo i'm going to go with it. I will let you girls know when i bkt my hair for teh New Year. I work from home now, so I'm not so much in a rush to redo my hair, since I only pay attention to my hair twice a week.

~Ghost Poster~

If you don't mind me asking...what do you do from home (work)? I've become sort of "displaced" and have been unemployed for over 18 months, with no end in sight. My degree is highly specialized, and, as such, I can't find anything in my own profession or anything else either, because everything else that IS available requires experience or training/education that I don't have. I've done medical transcription from home, but it wasn't lucrative because I found it so mind-numbingly boring, hard to stay on-task, and I'm really not as skilled a typist as one in that field probably should be. Though I'm a fairly fast typist, I make a lot of mistakes.

Like I said...I'm keeping an open mind about the flat iron. My iron is not titanium or even tourmaline--just ceramic--and it's not a known brand name. Hell, maybe that's why I had to do my hair 3 or 4 times in a row to get it to respond properly and that's why I'm having retention issues at my roots right now. Just because there's a little analog thermostat wheel that says "450˚" doesn't mean that it's actually 450˚. My roots started tripping out about 2 weeks post wash-out, and it looked so bad, 'cuz 4a roots do NOT match with 2a/2b curls! Not cute at all!

My roots are virgin hair, too, save for the BKT, and I also wonder if that's contributing to the retention problem. So many variables!

ETA: I just tried to test my flat iron with a cooking thermometer, but it topped out at 400˚ then just read "HI". All that says is that it's at least 400˚...crap!

~Ghost Poster~

How 'bout that update, HG?

DimePiece17

I did my latest QOD max treatment on Dec 31st, using a my new babyliss titanium flat iron. Whenever I do these treatments I leave my hair straight for 7 days, just because I hate for all that work to go to waste! I will probably wash my hair on Friday of this week, and my curls will proabably be loose and shiny, BUT the true test will be one week post wash out, so I'll update you all in another week or two. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

DimePiece17

Hi All,

the is probably more of a general update of my hair since beginning my BKTing journey in May of 2010.

Overall I'm not loving my hair right now. Despite doing root touch ups, I definately have a major difference in texture from roots all the way down, and too many straight pieces to be happy with the state of my hair.

On top of that. I find that my hair, since a treatment I did in september using a cheap a$$ qod knock off, has been shedding waaaaaaay too much. I just don't like it. When I get out o fthe shower, I feel like I have no hair. When it dries, it doesn't seem so thin, so I don't know.

I also have had no real length retention since May. While my roots show enough new growth, my hair is obviously breaking off at the ends which frustates me to no end.I condition and treat my hair pretty darn well. I also take MSM, Biotin, and a multi vitamin every day, so I should have hair to my a_ by now.

As for Titanium for flat ironing, I will say my hair DID take better using a titanium flat iron than using a straight up ceramic one. It's been 3 weeks, and I'm still pretty frizz free.

I just know I'm feeling kind of bummed about my hair lately. In may I began with thick 4a curls ( that were a nightmare to deal with), but now I have thinning 3b/3cs with 4a roots and some straight pieces. I can actually comb out my curls with my fingers now too, so that freaks me out!

My solution:
Not bkting again until March or April, and making SURE to only flat iron my roots. While I have been putting most of the solution on my roots, even when I do my "root touch ups" I still always put some on the rest of my hair and flat iron my whole head which is probably why I have the results I have now.

What do you think ghostposter?

~Ghost Poster~

Hairguru17 wrote: »

Hi All,

the is probably more of a general update of my hair since beginning my BKTing journey in May of 2010.

Overall I'm not loving my hair right now. Despite doing root touch ups, I definately have a major difference in texture from roots all the way down, and too many straight pieces to be happy with the state of my hair.

On top of that. I find that my hair, since a treatment I did in september using a cheap a$$ qod knock off, has been shedding waaaaaaay too much. I just don't like it. When I get out o fthe shower, I feel like I have no hair. When it dries, it doesn't seem so thin, so I don't know.

I also have had no real length retention since May. While my roots show enough new growth, my hair is obviously breaking off at the ends which frustates me to no end.I condition and treat my hair pretty darn well. I also take MSM, Biotin, and a multi vitamin every day, so I should have hair to my a_ by now.

As for Titanium for flat ironing, I will say my hair DID take better using a titanium flat iron than using a straight up ceramic one. It's been 3 weeks, and I'm still pretty frizz free.

I just know I'm feeling kind of bummed about my hair lately. In may I began with thick 4a curls ( that were a nightmare to deal with), but now I have thinning 3b/3cs with 4a roots and some straight pieces. I can actually comb out my curls with my fingers now too, so that freaks me out!

My solution:
Not bkting again until March or April, and making SURE to only flat iron my roots. While I have been putting most of the solution on my roots, even when I do my "root touch ups" I still always put some on the rest of my hair and flat iron my whole head which is probably why I have the results I have now.

What do you think ghostposter?

What I think is that you just answered your own question right there. A root touch-up is just that--roots only. You're still basically doing a full head application every time. I never apply keratin to or flat iron the rest of my hair during root touch-ups. If you apply the keratin too frequently, it will permanently destroy the curl formation and the hair will be so soft it wont hold curl--natural or otherwise. That's why I believe that more than just temporary bonding of the keratin to the hair shaft takes place.

Nitemoon

Thanks for the info on the flat irons. My flat iron, that I spent a fortune on, only goes up to 410, so I have to buy a second. I have an Amazon gift card, so I think I am going to order a Babyliss.

DimePiece17

~Ghost Poster~ wrote: »

Hairguru17 wrote: »

Hi All,

the is probably more of a general update of my hair since beginning my BKTing journey in May of 2010.

Overall I'm not loving my hair right now. Despite doing root touch ups, I definately have a major difference in texture from roots all the way down, and too many straight pieces to be happy with the state of my hair.

On top of that. I find that my hair, since a treatment I did in september using a cheap a$$ qod knock off, has been shedding waaaaaaay too much. I just don't like it. When I get out o fthe shower, I feel like I have no hair. When it dries, it doesn't seem so thin, so I don't know.

I also have had no real length retention since May. While my roots show enough new growth, my hair is obviously breaking off at the ends which frustates me to no end.I condition and treat my hair pretty darn well. I also take MSM, Biotin, and a multi vitamin every day, so I should have hair to my a_ by now.

As for Titanium for flat ironing, I will say my hair DID take better using a titanium flat iron than using a straight up ceramic one. It's been 3 weeks, and I'm still pretty frizz free.

I just know I'm feeling kind of bummed about my hair lately. In may I began with thick 4a curls ( that were a nightmare to deal with), but now I have thinning 3b/3cs with 4a roots and some straight pieces. I can actually comb out my curls with my fingers now too, so that freaks me out!

My solution:
Not bkting again until March or April, and making SURE to only flat iron my roots. While I have been putting most of the solution on my roots, even when I do my "root touch ups" I still always put some on the rest of my hair and flat iron my whole head which is probably why I have the results I have now.

What do you think ghostposter?

What I think is that you just answered your own question right there. A root touch-up is just that--roots only. You're still basically doing a full head application every time. I never apply keratin to or flat iron the rest of my hair during root touch-ups. If you apply the keratin too frequently, it will permanently destroy the curl formation and the hair will be so soft it wont hold curl--natural or otherwise. That's why I believe that more than just temporary bonding of the keratin to the hair shaft takes place.

Okay so we are now 5 weeks post treatment and my roots are pretty much back to being nappy ( sorry for those of you who are offended, but it is what it is)...HOWEVER I purhcased like $70 worth of MY honeychild products and for whatever reason my curls are back and soft and shiny and bouncy. LOVE this stuff. It's my new crack. last week my hair would not dry curly...the curls would be stringy and gross.. with really tighty curled 4a/b roots, but now...I'm in a happy place with my hair. While my roots are annoying and I'm fighting the urge not to BKT them again until April, I'm loving that my hair is taking so well to these products....so for those of you who freak out post BKT and think "Oh God..MY CURLS ARE GONE FOREVER"...i say wait it out 4-6 weeks. They may not be what they were...mine are def in more of a 3b state ( but I also braid my hair and unbraid, I rarely wash and go so that also stretches them)...they do come back..unlike what happens with a relaxer!

~Ghost Poster~

Hairguru17 wrote: »

~Ghost Poster~ wrote: »

Hairguru17 wrote: »

Hi All,

the is probably more of a general update of my hair since beginning my BKTing journey in May of 2010.

Overall I'm not loving my hair right now. Despite doing root touch ups, I definately have a major difference in texture from roots all the way down, and too many straight pieces to be happy with the state of my hair.

On top of that. I find that my hair, since a treatment I did in september using a cheap a$$ qod knock off, has been shedding waaaaaaay too much. I just don't like it. When I get out o fthe shower, I feel like I have no hair. When it dries, it doesn't seem so thin, so I don't know.

I also have had no real length retention since May. While my roots show enough new growth, my hair is obviously breaking off at the ends which frustates me to no end.I condition and treat my hair pretty darn well. I also take MSM, Biotin, and a multi vitamin every day, so I should have hair to my a_ by now.

As for Titanium for flat ironing, I will say my hair DID take better using a titanium flat iron than using a straight up ceramic one. It's been 3 weeks, and I'm still pretty frizz free.

I just know I'm feeling kind of bummed about my hair lately. In may I began with thick 4a curls ( that were a nightmare to deal with), but now I have thinning 3b/3cs with 4a roots and some straight pieces. I can actually comb out my curls with my fingers now too, so that freaks me out!

My solution:
Not bkting again until March or April, and making SURE to only flat iron my roots. While I have been putting most of the solution on my roots, even when I do my "root touch ups" I still always put some on the rest of my hair and flat iron my whole head which is probably why I have the results I have now.

What do you think ghostposter?

What I think is that you just answered your own question right there. A root touch-up is just that--roots only. You're still basically doing a full head application every time. I never apply keratin to or flat iron the rest of my hair during root touch-ups. If you apply the keratin too frequently, it will permanently destroy the curl formation and the hair will be so soft it wont hold curl--natural or otherwise. That's why I believe that more than just temporary bonding of the keratin to the hair shaft takes place.

Okay so we are now 5 weeks post treatment and my roots are pretty much back to being nappy ( sorry for those of you who are offended, but it is what it is)...HOWEVER I purhcased like $70 worth of MY honeychild products and for whatever reason my curls are back and soft and shiny and bouncy. LOVE this stuff. It's my new crack. last week my hair would not dry curly...the curls would be stringy and gross.. with really tighty curled 4a/b roots, but now...I'm in a happy place with my hair. While my roots are annoying and I'm fighting the urge not to BKT them again until April, I'm loving that my hair is taking so well to these products....so for those of you who freak out post BKT and think "Oh God..MY CURLS ARE GONE FOREVER"...i say wait it out 4-6 weeks. They may not be what they were...mine are def in more of a 3b state ( but I also braid my hair and unbraid, I rarely wash and go so that also stretches them)...they do come back..unlike what happens with a relaxer!

But, see, doing ONLY your roots will give you the results you're so desperately looking for. Once you get your overall curl pattern where you want it, next application should be a root application only and should be about 4 weeks after the last full-head application. Put keratin on your roots, but make sure to only apply the flat-iron heat to the new growth roots--no other parts of your hair, esp where there may be keratin and certainly not all the way down to the ends. That is very, very important. Repeat this as often as necessary to keep up with new root growth only--usually once every 3-4 weeks. Then, only do a full-head application when the rest of your hair begins to get too curly again--I usually only have to do a full-head application once every 10 months.

This is what I've been saying from the start, and I fear I'm just not making sense outside my own head, though it makes perfect sense to me. :toothy3: :alien: So, I'll try to do a sample schedule below for anyone else who may be interested:

Starting with natural 4a curl pattern.

January 1: First full-head application, root-to-tips. Dissatisfied with a result of 3c curls.

January 4: Second full-head application, root-to-tips. If satisfied with resulting 3a curls, skip next step and go to 1st root application.

January 7: Third full-head application, root-to-tips. Satisfied with resulting 2a curls, proceed to next step. If dissatisfied, perform another full-head application.

February 7: First root touch-up. Apply keratin only to curly roots and flat iron only the roots--nothing else. Wait the recommended time for your particular brand of keratin, then wash.

March 7: Second root touch-up. Repeat steps above for first root touch up, again making sure to only apply heat and keratin to new growth. Overlap of keratin and heat at the roots is not a big deal, but you really don't want to get the heat + keratin combination too far down onto the hair that was relaxed during the multiple full-head applications.

Repeat root touch-ups at the time interval that works best for you--it may be every 3 weeks; it may be every 6 weeks.

October 1: Full-head application, roots-to-tips. Of note: your curls may still be relaxed somewhat, but may just be getting frizzy and not necessarily reverting to the original curl pattern tightness...to avoid removing too much curl, use fewer passes of the flat iron over each section. I will do 10 passes at the roots, but fewer on the remaining length of the hair, depending upon how much curl I want to retain. At my last full-head, I passed the flat iron over the roots about 10 times and then only about 2-3 times over the remainder of the length of each section. Came out perfectly. My roots were probably a 2a, and the rest of my hair was still about a 2c/3a, and there it's remained in the 3-4 months since.

I hope this all makes sense to anyone who's reading and interested.

DimePiece17

It makes perfect sense ghost poster, but for me it wasn't an option because what would I have done with the rest of my unflat ironed hair? I never really did a full treatment. I'd apply most of the treatment to my roots and do the customary 10 passes, and then just straighten the rest of my hair with one pass. Anyway, now I really can just do a root only application because I work from home. I'm giving myself until March or April to do my next root only application. I'll keep you and whoever else cares abreast of my on going BKT saga!

~Ghost Poster~

Hairguru17 wrote: »

It makes perfect sense ghost poster, but for me it wasn't an option because what would I have done with the rest of my unflat ironed hair? I never really did a full treatment. I'd apply most of the treatment to my roots and do the customary 10 passes, and then just straighten the rest of my hair with one pass. Anyway, now I really can just do a root only application because I work from home. I'm giving myself until March or April to do my next root only application. I'll keep you and whoever else cares abreast of my on going BKT saga!

The rest of my hair is also straight for the most part, because it is straightened during the blow drying step(s). I hate my hair straight, so I pretty much just count on not going anywhere for the next 48 hours OR I scrunch curls into the rest of my hair OR I wear a hat or ponytail OR I go ahead and flat iron/curl the rest of my hair, but I make sure not to get any keratin on anything else but my roots if I think I might do this.

I'm always interested in your saga!

morningstar

Count me in as being interested in the BK saga too! You girls have given me so much insight and info

I think I will try the root touch up next time, but I am going away next month to Mexico and will be swimming - so I just might go for the full head knowing it will fade quick from the salt. My ends are getting too straight for the rest of my hair, so it is a little annoying. On the flip side, it still is so much easier and I find it funny now that I need to encourage the curls!

I'm thinking of trying the new Organiq Qod formula next. Qod Max white is too strong for me. What do you girls think?

DimePiece17

But keratin4u needs to sell a 4 ounce size so we can try it out.

~Ghost Poster~

morningstar wrote: »

Count me in as being interested in the BK saga too! You girls have given me so much insight and info

I think I will try the root touch up next time, but I am going away next month to Mexico and will be swimming - so I just might go for the full head knowing it will fade quick from the salt. My ends are getting too straight for the rest of my hair, so it is a little annoying. On the flip side, it still is so much easier and I find it funny now that I need to encourage the curls!

I'm thinking of trying the new Organiq Qod formula next. Qod Max white is too strong for me. What do you girls think?

Yes, try doing just the roots because they'll never catch up to the rest of your hair if you keep doing full-head applications. I still find it funny and ironic myself that *I* have to now enhance and encourage my curls now, too.

If you've BKT'd frequently enough, your ends may be relaxed permanently. I'll be interested in knowing what effect the salt water has on your BKT. I've gotten conflicting stories. Will you update us?

If you can get a trial size of the Organiq, sure...why not? But, I'd be wary of buying it from anyone other than keratin4u...and she can't sell samples, but she may have something in place. You should contact her and find out. I'd like to try the White, but suddenly, I can't remember...is it supposed to be stronger than the Gold or Max?

DimePiece17

I did contact Keratin4u and she says they'll be selling smaller bottles soon, so we'll see.

White can be washed out immediatly; I think that was what people have liked about it.

morningstar

Thanks for contact her hairguru. Hopefully they will have samples soon. If you see them on ebay, let me know.

I'm not sure if the Qod white is stronger than Gold or Max. I never tried them so I can't compare it. I do know it is stronger than the inoar and la brasiliana that I have used in the past. I'm curious about my ends too and wonder if they are permanently relaxed. They virtually have no curl and I end up cutting 1/2 inch off about every 2 months now. I will keep you posted on the salt water - it is one experiment I am looking forward too after this cold snowy winter!

DimePiece17

Thankfully I at least have 3b curls on my ends...which is WAAAY different than my 4a roots! l also have some straight pieces that I tuck away....this process is not without it's "kinks" that's for sure! I have no interest in having my 3b curls match my roots, so I can't speak to how effective the salt will be. For my own hair, I think I could use a lot of salt on the ends, and nothing would make the go back to what they were because of the INSANE amount of heat used on a BKT i got at a Dominican Salon last June. I think the more heat and the stronger the formeldahyde in the product, the more permanantly straight your hair can become. My hair always seems really straight post treatment, but then my ends go back to 3b and my roots 4a after about 3-4 weeks...my hair is naturally all 4a with 3c in the back so it's strange....

Nitemoon

I ordered an 8oz sample of QOD Max from chocolatecompimenta on Ebay. I think they also have 4oz samples. I have the product and it seems legit. I just couldn't bring myself to order the 32 oz bottle. Just got my babyliss flat iron, so I am hoping to try everything out in the next couple of days (or as soon as I find an assistant!!)

terrapins

Hello all,

I have been reading your posts about irons. I will be doing my roots soon. Do you think the 1/2" mini Babybliss will do the job? I have never DIY but have had Coppola in the salon 5 x's.

Thanks,

Terrapins

DimePiece17

you'll probably have to do teen tiny sections, but as long ad it goes up to 450 degrees you should be good to go!' keep us posted :-)

mrspoppers

terrapins wrote: »

Hello all,

I have been reading your posts about irons. I will be doing my roots soon. Do you think the 1/2" mini Babybliss will do the job? I have never DIY but have had Coppola in the salon 5 x's.

Thanks,

Terrapins

I don't believe any of the mini Babyliss irons go up to 450 degrees. The first time I had the Coppola treatment, we used a flat iron that only went up to 430 and the results weren't stellar. Using a flat iron that went up to 450 gave much better results.

morningstar

terrapins - with the savings that you will have from DIY - splurge on a new flat iron. Check out some of the titanium ones that reach 450. Its a lot of work to do without the proper tools and results may not meet your expectations. So better to get a new one that reaches the max temp. Good Luck!

terrapins

Thanks ladies, I agree with you all. I will look for a 450 Babybliss iron with titanium plates. I don't think my hairdresser has the titanium plates and used on 430 cause I am blonde. She said hair disiningrates at 460 but I have had it done at 450 before and roots turned out better. Will keep you all posted. My roots are calling......

FYI the Coppola Blow Out is what I have used the past two times. Very expensive in salon and lasts only 4-6 weeks max. Don't bother unless you DIY and it's still expensive!

crystalbtrfly07

Hi everyone. I've been a lurker for a while and finally realized I should register, duh. lol. So here's my story - I got what was supposed to be the Coppola Keratin Treatment in mid December, but I'm not sure she used the right process (hopefully she used the right product, but who knows). I had already been considering doing a DIY BKT with one of the QOD formulas, but found a good deal and went with that. Should have known better because the stylist left the product on my hair for a while and rinsed it before blow drying and flat ironing it. From my understanding, this is not the recommended method. I talked to her about it and she said there are different ways to do it, not one right way. Grrr. Anyways, I do think it worked some, just not quite the results I wanted or expected. My 2c (I think) wave/curl was loosed very slightly and there was a small reduction in frizz. I had just dyed my hair and it was not in top condition, but the keratin did make my hair feel stronger. My biggest complaint was that it didn't reduce the frizz more.

So, now I'm back to taking matters into my own hands, and I've done more research (OSHA tested a sample of QOD Gold and found 2% formaldehyde. Results are on p. 24 of this report for anyone who wants to see: http://library.state.or.us/repository/2010/201011011059011/index.pdf ).

When I was first looking, it seemed like Keratin 4 U / keratintoday was the most trusted seller of QOD samples. Now I don't see them on ebay, and in another thread they said "In regards to the sample size, the manufacturer no longer wants to allow me in selling the generic bottles, so I had to remove all of them." On this thread it sounds like they may be selling samples again, and I'm confused. Does anyone have any info on this?

Keratin4u also recommended the seller chocolatecompimenta. Nitemoon, did you try the sample you got from them? How did it go?

I would feel better buying a full sized, sealed bottle, but at the same time I'd like to see if it works/ if I like the results before I splurge on that. If only QOD would sell smaller sizes...

Thanks,

Caitlin

~Ghost Poster~

I have yet to hear of a brand of keratin that is rinsed out. That doesn't even make any sense, and is more evidence to back up what I keep reiterating: having it done in a salon does not guarantee success. Most hair stylists are not "experts" and often know less about hair anatomy and chemistry than the average patron.

Thanks for posting that OSHA report. I knew that QOD Gold had 2% formaldehyde. As often as I have used it and Max, I haven't suffered any obvious ill effects. I even know how to blow dry without burning my eyes. I think you would love what it would do to your 2c curls. I hope you can find a way to buy a sample size.

And, welcome!