Brazilian keratin hair straightening?

[Ajax]

Has anybody had this done? I bought it from Groupon because it was half price but now I'm really having second thoughts. It says it's fine to use on colored hair but my hair is really thin and straw-like from years of blonde highlights. Plus I'm scared of all the chemicals that could potentially be in there - especially the formaldehyde. They say on the Groupon that there is no formaldehyde in the keratin straightening treatment but how can you trust that? Also not sure if it's worth the money for something that could either make my hair fall out or last only 3-4 months. Anyway, if anybody has any experiences with this I'd appreciate your perspective.

[flyingsit]

I've not had it done yet but I have an appointment next Friday. I'm having it done at my regular salon though, by the hairdresser who's been taking care of my hair for years. My hair is colored as well, but is very thick and coarse, and very healthy.

[Veronika]

I would be careful...

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/b...ry?id=11771569
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...air-treatment/

[Karina1974]

I wouldn't do it. I stopped doing chemical processing on my hair a year ago (switching from using chemical colors dye my hair red using to pure henna much to the chagrin of my ignorant former stylist), and my hair is in better condition as a result.

Lay off the chemical styling completely, and I think you'll find your hair will be in much better condition.

I also think it is sad that the FDA is all over this hair treatment, yet they continue to allow virtually all chemical hair colors (red shades down to black) to contain para-phenylenediamine, which is a known carcinogen that is banned in several countries (Germany and France) for use on the skin; it is a dangerous substance, yet the FDA allows it to be used in hair color. When you hear about someone having an allergic reaction to hair color, usually PPD is the cause, and no, doing a skin test will not always make it apparent that the person has an allergy to it.

[BigB08822]

I know plenty of people who have done this and loved the results. Did you already purchase the deal, if so it may be too late so you might as well give it a try. Just discuss it with the person who performs the service. They are supposed to be certified to do this and they should know everything about it. If they don't seem like they can answer your questions then demand to have someone who got certified in this technique or demand your money back.

[Ajax]

I've not had it done yet but I have an appointment next Friday. I'm having it done at my regular salon though, by the hairdresser who's been taking care of my hair for years. My hair is colored as well, but is very thick and coarse, and very healthy.

flyingsit, I would love it if you could report back here after getting the treatment done

[IceAlisa]

I wouldn't use this particular brand but keratin treatment made by other companies is fine per my stylist. Stylists usually do warn against the Brazilian Blowout.

[AxelAnnie]

Don't do it! We are handling the Class Action Law Suit! Not a pretty thing.

[Allen]

I know two people that loved the results and of someone who didn't have a good experience. I think it really depends on your hair and the person giving the treatment.

[Prancer]

They say on the Groupon that there is no formaldehyde in the keratin straightening treatment but how can you trust that?

The straightener is either formaldehyde or a formaldehyde derivative that is essentially formaldehyde under another name--or else it's not a Brazilian hair staightening treatment. Your stylist is actually in more danger from the chemical than you; I can't believe there are stylists willing to work with the stuff.

Keratin itself is good for most hair--but not all. If your hair is coarse, I wouldn't have a keratin treatment; most coarse hair is coarse because it overproduces protein to begin with and adding more protein is a bad idea. OTOH, most curly-haired people think their hair is coarse when it actually isn't. You need a really good stylist who knows a lot about curly hair to know the difference.

[leesaleesa]

I have two hairdresser friends who do this. They talked me into it and it went thusly: Special shampoo which was left on for several minutes, then rinsed and the actual product put on. It then set for a few more minutes, and neither application was unpleasant.

Here's the bad part: Once the hair is blowdried, a smoke is released which not only made my eyes tear, it made my throat scratchy. The last step was the flat ironing, which releases even more smoke at which point I got very nauseated and my throat started to burn.

Obviously, you need good ventilation which they did not use. The salon owner is too cheap to get adequate ventilation installed for the procedures, and just tells them to do it after hours so as not to make regular clients sick.

It made my hair flat, greasy and lifeless.

If you must have it done, make sure it's a very reputable salon and that it has adequate ventilation.

[beepbeep]

Here in Brazil, we had the same discussions, some years ago.
When the first formaldehyde based blow-outs came up, the concentration was much higher, and there were a lot of people mixing up some extra formaldehyde into the product , or going for cheaper, less quality stuff.
A lot of problems, concerns, complaints, etc came out, with some extreme situations (a girl died while gettnig it done ) being reported, and it ended up that a maximum amount of formaldehyde allowed for a product was defined.

Nowadays, there are tons of blow outs that straigthen and claim to treat the hair: progressive (which I believe is the one you call "brazilian"), chocolate, morrocan, intelligent (!!?), sealing (not sure how to translate that one)... and the list goes on. Some use formaldehyde, some don't, but all of them have something added to treat the hair, like keratin and moisturizers.
But all of these blow outs have some heavy chemicals in them, and they can cause allergies. But so does hair dye...

My own experience: i had the sealing done (it's acid based) on my extremely fine and prone to falling hair. I was really scared it would make me bald, but after my mom got it done (her hair is normally worse than mine) and it looked awsome, I decided to give it a go. I had it done on the same day I had my hair dyed. It was awsome! My hair was smooth and and was actually falling less. 3 months in, my hair isn't completely straight anymore, but the frizz is still gone.

Sorry for the long post

[Mayra]

I just had my keratin treatment renewed last month and I LOVE It. The process is pretty much as leesaleesa described with the addition that you are advised to not wash your hair for 3 days post treatment.

I have very thick wavy hair that is color treated and the treatment does wonders for me. I still have a natural wave to my hair, but my hair looks and feels very silky. It also cuts down on my morning hair routine by half.

I think you should definitely talk to your hairdresser and if you don't have one seek one out.

[Mayra]

ack...double post

[Anita18]

The straightener is either formaldehyde or a formaldehyde derivative that is essentially formaldehyde under another name--or else it's not a Brazilian hair staightening treatment. Your stylist is actually in more danger from the chemical than you; I can't believe there are stylists willing to work with the stuff.

When the stylist has to wear gloves to put something onto your hair (ie, close to your scalp/eyes/nose), that's when I go . But what do I know, I've never had my hair chemically treated whatsoever. (I am the non-tiff when it comes to my hair...)

And anything that chemically straightens hair is nasty stuff. You're breaking some pretty strong bonds there.

If you're already bought the Groupon, you might as well check it out and ask a bunch of questions to make sure it's something you're comfortable with. As Prancer said, surely the stylists are more in danger from the chemicals than you are, and hair always grows back. Although I know it's not much comfort to most people whose hair doesn't grow back ridiculously fast like mine.

[antmanb]

My partner's a hair dresser who spent the whole day this past Monday at a hair dressing expo. He came home on Monday feeling sick from the formaldehyde fumes coming off the literally hundreds of stands showing off the Brazilian hair straightening treatment.

He said he didn't think it was any more or less effective than all the other hair straightening treatments out there. He said it relaxes the hair about as much as other treatments but he was concerned about the use of formaldehyde. He said he was pretty sure he could get the same result using the products he already does to do chemical straightening treatments, and after feeling as sick as he did on Monday night I don't think he'd have it in his salon.

[AnnM]

I first got a brazilian blowout last June, before all the hubbub about whether or not it's dangerous. The results were AMAZING! It was much better than any other chemical straightening I had ever done in my life. It usually takes me 30-45 minutes of blowdrying & flatironing to get straight hair. After the brazilian blowout it took me 10 minutes tops from out of the shower to out the door. It even withstood gnarly east coast humidity while I was on vacation. The quality of my hair actually improved, as I didn't have to use as much hair product or heat tools to get the look I wanted.

I want to redo it for the summer, but with all the latest news about it I had a chat with my hairstylist about it. She said that her salon did stop doing them temporarily, until they met with a representative of the company. After hearing what the company had to say, plus looking at the actual studies, the salon decided to start offering them again. It also makes a big difference that the salon I go to is a large, high-ceilinged space with excellent ventilation.

I did not have any adverse effects after getting the brazilian blowout & will get it again in a few months.

[flyingsit]

I had it done last Friday afternoon. The version I had done was the Keratin Coppola Express; it is a shorter process and lasts for 6-8 weeks instead of 3-4 months. I decided to go with the Express as a trial before committing to the 3-hour (and more $$$) version.

It. Is. Awesome. I can dry my hair so quickly, I don't need to obsess over every little bit and section it out, my hair is shinier than before... and I'm pretty sure that in another week or so, after I get used to it, I'll be able to get away without an iron at all if I choose to.

A thing to remember is that the keratin treatment does NOT straighten your hair. It doesn't get rid of any cowlicks or anything like that. If I let my hair dry naturally, it's still curly, but it doesn't frizz up. And I can't wait to see how my hair will hold up when I'm in Florida two weeks from now.

[Ajax]

Thanks for the info flyingsit. Do you find that your hair gets greasy really quickly?

[znachki]

My partner's a hair dresser who spent the whole day this past Monday at a hair dressing expo. He came home on Monday feeling sick from the formaldehyde fumes coming off the literally hundreds of stands showing off the Brazilian hair straightening treatment.

He said he didn't think it was any more or less effective than all the other hair straightening treatments out there. He said it relaxes the hair about as much as other treatments but he was concerned about the use of formaldehyde. He said he was pretty sure he could get the same result using the products he already does to do chemical straightening treatments, and after feeling as sick as he did on Monday night I don't think he'd have it in his salon.

The formaldehyde is apparently released as fumes when the product is heated. Carcinogenics are never a good idea...