Give More Protein! ...or Maybe Not

Everywhere you look lately, there is more and more hype about keratin treatments. The concept is simple enough, keratin treatments make your hair healthy. So it stands to reason that more keratin would increase the health of the hair. Like so many things in life, too much is just as bad as not enough. Most people err on the side of treatment when their hair is dry, but truth be told, an overabundance of protein can actually be the cause of brittle hair. With the glut of keratin treatments, its hard to know which is best.

Paul Mitchell's Awapuhi Ginger keratin treatment has a BIG claim, "30 years in the making", but does it live up to the hype? This is generally a salon treatment, but having a license I took it for a test drive at home a couple of times. You wash the hair, then towel blot and add the treatment from the ampule. The solution sits on the hair a few minutes then add a keratin conditioning treatment, followed by a 10 minute trip under the dryer. Rinse the hair then blow dry. I noticed smoother, sleeker hair and dried quicker, but the effects wore off after a couple weeks. I know its pricey in the salon, but if you have the dough and your hair is a lil haggard, I would splurge on it.

All I have to say is...woah. This is a SERIOUS amount of time. This is not a "well, I have some time this morning, let me try this" treatment. You wash and condition the hair as normal then use the smoothing creme. There is a TON of creme and it tells you to use it all. I have super short hair and that was just not plausible. You have to let it sit for at least 20 minutes but up to 45 minutes. I let mine sit for about a half an hour because I have curly hair...but not super curly. The worst part of the first step is how awful it smells. Having worked with perm solution, I can tell you...its pretty spot on. Rinse your hair, then towel blot your hair. Next is the Cuticle Seal Cream. You saturate the hair then use the included comb to have your hair lay flat. This is the part of the process that encourages your hair to lay flat, so be vigilant with this. Rinse your hair and towel blot your hair AGAIN! Last is the leave in conditioner. From there all you have to do "style your hair in a smooth straight style" using a brush. I dried my hair as usual, then finished with the flat iron. My hair was smooth and very well conditioned. As a side note, you don't want to use if your hair is permed or hilighted (rules it out for me from here on). 

Both treatments are great, but I preferred the result from Suave. Normally I am SUPER skeptical about OTC (over the counter) products. Still, provided you don't have a highly damaged hair or scalp, it should be great for you. This IS a CHEMICAL straightener. Suave doesn't call it such, but all ingredients point to that. There isn't anything natural about this, but it is the same as a chemical relaxing treatment. The instructions even tell you not to wash for 48 hours. The commercial can be super deceptive.

But what do you do if protein isn't what your hair needs? MOISTURE! More on THAT later this week!

Have a good day, my lovelies, and Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to all of those men and women who have fought for us.