You guys, I have been meaning to write this post for a MONTH! My procrastination struggle is real lol. Anyway! About a month ago I got my first Keratin treatment done and I wanted to outline here how it went, what it cost, and my personal thoughts on it.
A little back story first.
My hair has always given me trouble. I never understood the people who could air dry their hair and have it look nice, or just blowdry it and have it look smooth instantly. My hair is thin, but course and very frizzy. It has some interesting cowlicks and just basically always has given me trouble. I’ve feared getting it wet, dreaded washing it, and any humidity or rain instantly turned all my hard work into a frizzy mess. The picture above on the left is my hair after washing it and blowing it dry with a paddle brush. It was still slightly damp, and very out of control. I’d then have to straighten it to get the frizz out, then curl it to get a wave back. Then the second I sweat or went outside it reverted back to that. It was just super high maintenance and I didn’t want to live like that.
Enter the keratin treatment. I noticed the salon I go to did it, and one day I asked about it and they saw that I would be a good candidate for it. I booked the appointment and eagerly awaited the day. My appointment was on a Monday, and I went after I worked out. They shampoo your hair, apply the keratin, then blow dry it and straighten it with the keratin in. My appointment took me about 2.5 hours and it cost $325 plus tip. The picture above on the right is the day I got it done. Initially your hair will be über straight and pretty flat. You can’t put it in a ponytail or get it wet (or sweat) for about 48 hours, so I skipped the gym the next day and was careful to not put it up or tuck it behind my ears. I’ve heard mixed messages on how long to not wash it after, but I waited till that Friday to wash it and just put it up in a loose ponytail that Wed-Fri and the gym, and air-dried it after. They gave me shampoo and conditioner to use, but any sulfate free stuff will do. I use the shampoo they gave me and my Alterna Caviar conditioner after.
Free People tank and skirt (part of a set!)
Above is my air-dried hair the first day I washed it. It was still pretty straight, but there was zero frizz! (Though I added hair oil on the ends after because #bleach) I’m still astonished that I can just air dry my hair and put literally zero effort in. I typically go to Crossfit Mon-Fri and wash my hair only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and air dry and maybe dry shampoo the other days. I use no products other than a little hair oil on my ends. I brush it with my Wet brush and that’s it. It is so incredibly freeing!
Peplum tee; striped linen pants; Slides
This is another picture on that same week, before I washed it. About a month in I see a bit more of my natural wave, but ZERO frizz. I am trying to not heat style it, so it looks like air-dried hair (a little messy, a little beach-y, but no frizz), but about two minutes with a paddle brush and blow dryer would get it very straight, or I could beach wave it if I wanted to. I am giving my hair a heat break, though, and loving the freedom. In my opinion, this was 100 million percent worth it and I will continue to do this every 5-6 months to keep it up. The time and worry I save to not even think about my hair (which, for those whose difficult hair has ruled their life), is HUGE for me. There’s no hour-long blowdrying in the heat, no crazy, frizzy mess, it just air dries and is so simple. It basically frees up my life so I can ENJOY it, versus resist the things that will mess up my hair<—-not how I want to live.
Tell me, have you ahd this done? What were your thoughts?
