Keratin Treatment vs. Relaxer

[LoverOfAll]

First of all, let me say that I'm so glad that I became a member of this forum. I just joined a couple of days ago after stalking the posts for months. I have already gotten so many great tips about maintaining hair and growing it.

My hair background is kind of depressing. I originally had 3c/3b type hair and so not to deal with it, my mother put a relaxer in my hair when I was about 5 or 6. Unfortunately I did not have the chance to decide whether or not I wanted to go natural. Since then, my hair has grown significantly slowly and I've had a lot of times when I've had to cut it really short to repair intensive damage. I've been contemplating going natural for a while, but I decided not to, since I don't want to lose any length or wear weaves.

That being said... Which would be the lesser of two evils when it comes to relaxers or Brazilian keratin treatment (BKT)? I know I can't stop using relaxers cold turkey because my curly roots will grow in, but I don't want to do a long-term transition either because that means that some day, I will have to cut off 15 inches of my already slow-growing hair.

Also, if there's an alternative to relaxers and BKTs, then will someone let me know? Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and answering. :redgrin:

[Perelka74]

My mom did Brazilian keratin treatment and it was not good , her hair got very bad it was fried she had to go get big hair cut to remove all the dry hair , she was very unhappy with the way hair was after .

[thirstylocks]

I got brazilian keratin and my hair was healthier than ever! My hair was very long and bleached when I got it. It really did wonders. My hair became pin straight.

Buts its all super expensive, so I can't get it again :(

[carolinaberry]

Short answer: it is much better for your hair than a relaxer, and will probably make your hair feel healthy and silky.

Long-winded answer

My 13 year old daughter has 3c-4a hair (depending on which area of her scalp). We have been doing the conditioner and brushing method advocated on tightlycurly.com since October 2008. After wearing her natural curls for 2 years, she wanted a layered, angled cut which required straight hair, so we got her a Keratin treatment (Sunpure) because we were sworn to by the stylist that it was 100% not a relaxer or chemicals or permanent, just a super-charged conditioner. It looked good-it looked healthy. It stayed straight and smooth with minimal maintenance between washes-which we did monthly. She wore it curly a couple of times and it looked great. However, after wearing it straight (required flat-ironing after blow-drying with each monthly wash), she decided she wanted to go back to her natural curls again, so we quit flat ironing. She has had a lot of growth, but there is a definite disturbance to her natural curl pattern, so it looks like her hair is growing out from a texturizer. So, better than a relaxer, but it will have an effect later on if you decide you want to wear your natural curl pattern.

[sfgirl]

Is it like a Brazilian Blowout? those have formaldehyde in them! Though it's your choice, I blecah my hair and god knows that's not healthy, so do what you feel is best. :)

[LoverOfAll]

Thank you so much for all of your quick responses!! :D

What I'm getting is that not everyone responds to the treatment the same.

I know I'm done with relaxers, that's for sure. I can't compromise my hair's health anymore.

[LoverOfAll]

Is it like a Brazilian Blowout? those have formaldehyde in them! Though it's your choice, I blecah my hair and god knows that's not healthy, so do what you feel is best. :)
I'm not sure. I think they might be the same thing. I've heard it called Keratin treatment.

[carolinaberry]

Is it like a Brazilian Blowout? those have formaldehyde in them! Though it's your choice, I blecah my hair and god knows that's not healthy, so do what you feel is best. :)

No, it was made as an alternative to the Brazilian Blowouts. At least the Sunpure one is...that is a main selling point they advertise.

[carolinaberry]

Thank you so much for all of your quick responses!! :D

What I'm getting is that not everyone responds to the treatment the same.

I know I'm done with relaxers, that's for sure. I can't compromise my hair's health anymore.

If you have to get something done to ease the transition, I strongly encourage the Keratin treatment over a relaxer. Just make sure that you go for a brand that does not have formaldehyde. I mean, ask specifically. And you should be able to smell if it does have formaldehyde. The Keratin treatments just smell like conditioner.

[Littlewing13]

I used to be a stylist & did a lot of BKTs, but not many chem relaxers.

With BKT formulas I find they vary a lot. Some really condition but don't relax. Others relax but leave your hair dry. I had 2 different types done to my own hair. One worked & one didn't. When I say "worked" I mean they don't magically straighten your hair so that you don't have to do anything to it - you do have to blow dry. But you are more likely to get straighter hair when you do. In my case I blow dried roughly with fingers only & got flat iron straight hair. However, when I didn't blow dry & didn't ant to do anything to it, it was a dry, frizzy mess. So you kind of have to use some heat daily (if you don't want a frizz 'fro). These are professional brands too. Dont even bother with the diy ones. Horrible.

The problem I also had with most keratin treatments is not the product itself, but the heat & repetition of the iron used to lock it in. The hairdresser needs to straighten your hair 7+ times with an iron at 230C. That usually fries the hair. Instead of straightening everyday it applies more heat at once. Personally I think you're better off straightening daily, or blow drying & just straightening the front/top.

As well as this there is the concern with formaldehyde. Here in Oz formaldehyde formulas are banned. However I dont believe (?) that is so in the U.S. Formaldehyde works better, it was the active ingredient in most formulas here, and is very effective, but is a known carcinogen. Not worth risking.

Hope this helps. Good luck & happy growing

[cheetahfast]

I wouldn't do either. Most people have bad hair after the keratin treatment wears off.
It masks the damage that the straightener does. It really depends on which one you get, and it's really the luck of the draw.

I think it would be easier to keep you hair up while it grows. I had one done and it messed up my curls a bit. They were much looser until a year after the treatment.

Are you sure your hair is that curly still? When I was 6 I had straight hair, now I don't.
Your hair might be growing in looser now.

You could always try to make heat free curls, it could help the transition, I think.
I think using the treatment might do more damage than good over already relaxed hair.