02.11.2023

The effect of keratin on hair. The benefits and harms of keratin for hair - a review of cosmetics for treatment, restoration or straightening with prices. Is creative hair straightening harmful?

Content

There are many ways to straighten hair in modern hairdressing. One of them is keratin straightening. Despite the fact that this method has become quite popular, little is known about the procedure itself.

Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Selma Hayek and many Hollywood stars used this method, which served as a good advertisement for keratin straightening. When this service became available in hairdressing salons, women with curly locks rejoiced at the fact that they could wear their hair with smooth, even strands for several weeks.

How does the keratin straightening procedure work?

Straightening under the influence of keratin is carried out in several stages:

  1. The client's hair is thoroughly washed and dried.
  2. Keratin is applied using a special brush.
  3. Leave it on the head under cling film for half an hour so that it can penetrate deep inside.
  4. The hair is combed and dried again.
  5. The composition is fixed inside the hair with a special iron heated to 230 degrees.

How does keratin affect the structure?

Keratin is a fibrillar protein that has a special chemical bond strength. It is part of the stratum corneum of hair, along with other nutrients and proteins that have a different chemical composition. In other words, keratin is “liquid hair”, thanks to this property the substance has a beneficial effect on the structure, restoring it from various damages, and improves the structure of the stratum corneum and hair roots. 90% of our hair consists of keratin protein. Restoration with this substance makes them able to resist adverse environmental influences. However, straightening with keratin should be treated with great caution.

Benefits of keratinization

Hair after keratin straightening, in most cases, became soft and silky in appearance.
They are easy to comb, feel quite elastic, lively, elastic and shiny. Installation is greatly simplified. The effects of keratins last for more than three months.

You should be wary of inexpensive hair straightening or restoration procedures because... truly effective means for procedures of this kind cannot be cheap. Before deciding on keratin straightening, you need to discuss the composition of the product with a specialist.

Harm of keratin straightening

The controversy surrounding the keratin straightening procedure continues. It is much safer to use natural products to smooth your hair and make it smooth and silky. For example, henna or gelatin do not have significant side effects, but their effect will not last long.


Such rather serious side effects allowed experts to recognize the labeling of products with formaldehyde as incorrect.

Products for keratin straightening

The president of the Russian hairdressing club Hair Club, Alexander Kuvvatov, and his wife Natalya Grigorieva are dealing with the problem of the use of formaldehyde. Natalya has been studying formaldehydes for a long time and defended her thesis on this topic. Alexander and Natalya together studied all the advantages and disadvantages of this technology and came to some conclusions:


If a girl has very curly hair by nature, then the straightening procedure will need to be carried out quite often: once every 3 months.

Keratin straightening At first it was positioned as “salvation for curly hair,” and then marketers became insolent and generally began to claim that this was a panacea for all ills, saying that keratin penetrates the hair, attaches there and thereby literally restores it from the inside. But here are the reviews of those who did keratin straightening not yesterday or a month ago (the first effect is always great), but for more than a year now, they have been unanimously writing on the forums about how their hair is falling out. A “pleasant” prospect, right?

So, what is keratin hair straightening, is there keratin in it, and what harm does the vaunted “Japanese smoothness” do to hair?

1. The most important thing that manufacturers boast is keratin. Interested parties claim that keratin penetrates the hair and this is mega-cool, since the hair itself is partly composed of keratin. But chemists doubt that keratin molecules can penetrate hair... “Nanokeratin” has already appeared - it has not yet been tested from all sides, so manufacturers again declare that “but our keratin definitely penetrates hair!” However, this is not the point: in fact, keratin in this case is nothing more than an advertising gimmick? Why - let's look further.

2. Keratin actually does not have such a wonderful property of straightening hair. This is simply the protein that makes up hair (as well as nails, calluses, etc.), and in order to destroy the chemical bonds that give the hair waviness, a chemical reaction is needed, which protein-protein cannot have by definition. In this case, the manufacturers came up with an interesting story....

3. And that story is about how keratin curls up when heated and hardens. Allegedly, it mechanically straightens the hair and keeps it that way for several months. It seems logical. But at least two questions arise. The first is that nails and hair somehow don’t heat up to sky-high temperatures in the body, which, however, does not prevent them from being strong and hard - something the manufacturers don’t say... The second question is much more pressing. Do you know to what temperature the hair is heated so that the keratin “frozen” in it? From 150 to 230 degrees! If even a banal hair dryer and home straighteners negatively affect the condition of the hair, then how can you call a health procedure in which wet hair (in a wet state, hair is much more vulnerable than in a dry state) is heated to 200 degrees and repeated up to 10 times?! By the way, not a single manufacturer talks about what happens to the hair’s own keratin, which, to put it mildly, is not designed for such extremes and, having changed, is no longer able to return to its previous state (after all, it is also a protein, like " keratin" from straightening compositions)... In general, the hair is simply killed at the root, so in any case, for the hair keratin straightening - harm. Although it may be beneficial for the psyche if you are really tired of fighting with your hair))))

4. So why does hair look healthy and flawlessly smooth after the procedure? And here - TADAM!!! - hello to formaldehyde and silicones! For example, CocoChoco (one of the popular brands for keratin straightening) contains hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carbaldehyde - don’t be too lazy to google what’s what, and it turns out that when exposed to high temperatures, this chemical component turns into formaldehyde... Chemists are unanimous: humanity has not yet invented a safe substance that would destroy the bonds inside the hair and establish a new one in their place. Formaldehyde and only formaldehyde, which can be so veiled in the composition that without having a background in chemistry, you will never guess... By the way, hairdressers, for the most part, do not have a higher chemical education, so they sincerely sell you “safe and therapeutic straightening.” hair"

Some manufacturers, however, have already realized that there are those who carefully read the composition and have a chemical education))) so now about " keratin straightening" from PR people you can hear "contains minimal doses of formaldehyde" and "caring components - oils, SILICONE..." yeah, silicone cares))) In general, without going into chemical subtleties, in a nutshell: from ancient times to this day Only formaldehyde and its derivatives can straighten hair for a long time, and silicone can give hair density and shine in one procedure. Total: during “keratin straightening” hair is impregnated with formaldehyde so that it straightens, and then with silicones so that it shines. Formaldehyde is especially harmful when inhaled, that is, it is dangerous, more likely for masters than for clients, although it, of course, has a detrimental effect on hair: it simply destroys it, there can be no talk of any treatment here at all. Silicone is also good: first it clogs the hair, and then is gradually washed out of it along with keratin (real, which the hair naturally has, and not from dubious procedures). And silicone that gets on the scalp clogs the pores and does not allow it to breathe (consequently, the hair follicles do not breathe, weaken and fall out) - in general, the master should avoid getting the composition on the scalp, but - anything can happen.

5. Those manufacturers and hairdressers who promise that the effect will last six months are lying. Two months, and for very thin, weak and damaged hair - 3-4 months is the maximum limit. After this, the hair turns into a washcloth (the silicone has been washed out of it). By the way, many girls have damaged ends of their hair immediately after straightening (you’d better hit them with a 230 degree iron!)

6. I already wrote about making hair heavier in a previous post (although, of course, I also read this from smart people, and didn’t come up with it myself =)). Here is the same song: hair pumped up with silicone becomes noticeably heavier, and the hair follicle, which is accustomed to a certain weight, which _gradually_ increases as the hair lengthens, simply cannot withstand such a surprise: read the reviews, for many women, literally a couple of weeks after straightening, they begin to fall out hair...

7. For those who still believe that keratin hair straightening is a miracle with a natural composition: in America, where it actually appeared, lawsuits have already appeared in the courts from hairdressers working with these compositions - there is no formaldehyde in the composition , but in fact it is very harmful to health (and hairdressers have to inhale it every day when working with supposedly “formaldehyde-free” hair straightening compounds).

By the way, if we talk about the positive properties of keratin straightening, then yes - the hair will be perfect for a couple of months: straight, smooth, heavy, shiny, no problems with straightening, no worries about the weather, etc. True, there will be no volume at the roots at all - the hair has been smoothed out and even the fact that it recedes from the roots will not save: under its own weight the hair will stubbornly pull down, and the hairstyle will be from the category of “a cow licked its tongue” =)

Marina Ignatieva


Reading time: 10 minutes

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If a girl has curly hair, then someday she will definitely want to straighten it (every second woman, according to statistics). And here a special procedure comes to the rescue, which can straighten your curls even after perm.

So, what do you need to remember about keratin hair straightening?


Advantages of keratin hair straightening - before and after photos after the procedure

This procedure allows you to straighten your hair without the use of chemical compounds.

Pros of keratin straightening:

Disadvantages of the procedure - disadvantages of keratin hair straightening

Like any cosmetic procedure, keratin hair straightening has its disadvantages:

  • If it’s raining outside and you just left the salon, we recommend using an umbrella, otherwise the effect of the procedure will be ruined.
  • Allergic reactions are possible due to intolerance to individual components of the straightening product.
  • For three days, you cannot perform mechanical “violence” on your hair. This means that you will have to give up braids, buns, ponytails and everything else.
  • The procedure is quite unpleasant, as tearing of the eyes may occur due to the fact that the drug contains formaldehyde, the vapors of which irritate the mucous membranes.
  • If the procedure is done in an unventilated area, there is a risk of formaldehyde poisoning. This phenomenon can even lead to cancer.
  • After some time, the ends of the hair break off, which forces you to go and cut the ends of your hair.
  • Hair may appear greasy and dirty.
  • Hair volume will decrease.
  • If you have a large head of thick hair, the effect will not last long.
  • The procedure is not quick. If you have long waist-length hair, then you should be prepared to sit in the master’s chair for 3 to 5 hours.

Expert opinion of Vladimir Kalimanov, chief technologist of Paul Oscar:

Keratin straightening is only 1 type of straightening out of three: there is also permanent straightening and acid straightening. Each of them has its own pros and cons, as well as active components and mechanisms of operation.

The keratin straightening procedure, while having many advantages, does not avoid its disadvantages.

The biggest of them is discomfort during the procedure for both the master and the client. Depending on the concentration of the active ingredient (formaldehyde releaser) in the product, the eyes may begin to water and the nasopharynx may tingle (the same feeling of discomfort when cutting onions).

Is it possible to get poisoned by formaldehyde vapors generated during the keratin straightening procedure?

When working with modern professional preparations, this is impossible, since less than 0.2 mg/m3 of air is released during operation.

In accordance with the order of the Chief Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated May 25, 2014 on the MPC r.z. (maximum permissible concentrations of the working area), without harm to health, a person can stay in a room with a formaldehyde vapor concentration of no more than 0.5 mg/m3 of air during an 8-hour working day. As we can see, the concentration evaporated during keratin procedures is 2 times less than the permissible one.

But do not forget the point about individual intolerance to specific ingredients and allergenicity. Not only keratin straightening treatments, but also shampoos, masks and hair dyes are not immune to this. Therefore, before starting the procedure, you should always carry out allergy test on the body’s possible reaction to the composition.

If after the procedure the first few weeks the hair looks dirty, this is most likely a minus not of keratin compositions, but of the professional performing the procedure. This effect can occur if the specialist incorrectly selected the composition for keratin straightening, or violated the execution technology.

I want to dispel the myth that you cannot wet, pin or wash your hair within 72 hours after the procedure. These frameworks can be attributed to old compositions that were relevant several years ago. Today, compositions for keratin straightening allow you not to apply any restrictions in hair care in the first 3 days after the procedure.

Indications and contraindications for keratin hair straightening - recommendations from cosmetologists.

Many believe that such a procedure is almost harmless, but there is a list of indications and contraindications for this procedure (not to mention the disadvantages described above).

What should you consider before going to the salon?

Indications:

  • Hair that needs straightening and shine.
  • Curly hair that is difficult to style and comb.

Contraindications:

  • Damage to the scalp. If you have even the smallest wounds on your head, then you should refuse the keratin hair straightening procedure.
  • For some scalp diseases, you should consult your doctor.
  • If you are experiencing hair loss, you should avoid the procedure - after it, the hair becomes heavier, which means that the hair follicles will not hold hair well, which can lead to even more severe hair loss.
  • If you are breastfeeding or carrying a child, then you DEFINITELY need to abandon the straightening procedure.
  • People with precancerous conditions should also not have this procedure.

The keratin hair straightening procedure has gained extraordinary popularity, promising to make curls shiny, smooth, manageable, radiant and well-groomed. The procedure should facilitate easy combing. It promises to prevent hair tangling caused by wind, sun, moisture and sea water. But is this really so?

Irritation and hair loss are the main disadvantages of the procedure

Experts say: keratin hair straightening has a lot of contraindications. What harm does the procedure cause? Chemicals included in the composition for application to curls can cause severe irritation if there is already damage to the scalp.

Fibrillar protein also causes harm. Under its influence, the strands become heavy. The load on the root system becomes large. This leads to hair loss. If such a problem existed before keratin straightening, then it only gets worse.

There are also aesthetic disadvantages of the procedure. After it is carried out, a significant decrease in the volume of hair is often noted. Other negative aspects include:

  • destruction of the chemical integrity of the hair structure;
  • their dullness;
  • quick washout of shade on colored strands;
  • fragility;
  • dryness;
  • tip section.

As a result of keratin straightening, curls quickly become dirty and greasy. You have to wash them almost every day, which negatively affects the health of your curls. Sulfate-free shampoos, which are recommended to be used after such a procedure, cannot cope with the problem.

What are the dangers of straightening products?

These aesthetic problems are a trifle if we talk about the harm that fumes from the composition cause. The preparation, which is applied to the hair according to technology, contains formaldehyde. This compound is dangerous because it forms harmful vapors when exposed to high temperatures. They enter the respiratory tract, the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth. The result is poisoning and serious allergic reactions.

Often employees of beauty studios claim that keratin straightening has no contraindications or side effects. This is absolutely not true! Only unscrupulous hairdressers can say this. Professionalism and high-quality ventilation of the room do not in any way minimize the harm of the procedure. In any conditions, toxic fumes can negatively affect the client’s condition if they get on the cornea of ​​the eyes. This is dangerous because it causes:

  • severe tearing;
  • burning;
  • redness;

These manifestations are unpleasant, but there are also more serious consequences of the procedure. These are leukemia, asthma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, poisoning, accompanied by dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and nosebleeds. It is dangerous to carry out keratin straightening on your own. There is no special equipment at home that can release harmful fumes outside. Plus, during the procedure you should tilt your head strongly. This leads to inhalation of hazardous fumes in large quantities.

It’s not just cosmetic formulations containing formaldehyde that are dangerous. No less harmful are drugs based on the use of derivatives of aldehyde-containing acids and aldehydes. Under the influence of heat treatment, they lead to the formation of the same formaldehyde.

Advertising tricks to the detriment of health and beauty

There is another unsightly side of the procedure. Manufacturers of cosmetics with keratin for hair straightening claim: a useful drug, which in a certain amount is included in the composition of the curls themselves, is able to penetrate into the structure of the strands. It is a myth! Chemists debunk it. After a number of studies, it was proven that keratin molecules are not able to penetrate the hair structure. This is a simple advertisement that allows you to attract a large number of customers.

The very essence of the procedure, which is called hair health, raises no less questions. To straighten the strands, make them manageable, smooth and shiny, it is suggested to heat the curls. Allegedly, under the influence of high temperatures, the protein coagulates, forming a protective film. But just think about it: is it possible to improve the health of wet hair by heating it to 230 degrees? What if you process them this way 10 times? In this state, the strands become brittle and brittle. As a result, of course, you can straighten your curls. But what happens to the “native” keratin and other proteins that make up the strands? History is silent about this. After all, telling the truth is unprofitable!

Keratin straightening is a technique that gives only a temporary visual effect. As practice shows, it simply destroys curls. So you should think about the results in advance.

Flowing, smooth hair, shiny and silky, looks chic. Many women dream of these. But maintaining the beauty of curls in the modern world is very difficult. Environmental factors negatively affect them; they are exposed to harmful dyes, high temperatures during drying, styling, and are damaged during combing. Dryness and brittleness of curls, their delamination is a common problem that fashionistas face these days. Closely following the new products that the beauty industry offers to restore healthy shine, strength and elasticity to hair, they inevitably pay attention to products with keratin, which are usually not cheap. Before you decide to purchase them, and even more so to carry out such a procedure as keratin hair straightening, you should thoroughly study the issue of the influence of keratin on the structure of the hair columns and on the human body in general.

What is this substance

Keratins are a type of protein that is a building element of the horny tissues of animals and humans. Almost 90 percent of animal horns and human nails are made of hard keratin. A milder version of this protein is the basis of animal fur and human hair.

Keratin is a fairly strong compound, slightly inferior to chitin. It is no coincidence that the strength of human hair is legendary.

The growth rate of hair and nails depends, in particular, on how well keratin is synthesized. Dead, already keratinized cells appear on the surface. Hair consists almost entirely of keratin scales, the condition of which determines the strength of the curls and their appearance. If these particles fit tightly to each other, forming a solid structure, then the strands are elastic, resilient, and have a pleasant shine due to the fact that they reflect light well. When the integrity of the hair shafts is damaged due to lack of moisture, careless handling, as well as exposure to ammonia, the keratin scales rise. As a result, the hair becomes fluffy, looks disheveled, unkempt, and faded.

Care and therapeutic cosmetics with keratin were created to “fix” hair. In its composition it is special - split down to the molecular level. It is obtained from animal wool, shellfish shells, and horns. The consistency of products containing it is thin, which makes it easier for the beneficial element to penetrate deep into the hair shaft. In this regard, they are often called “liquid hair”.

Impact on curls

Keratin-containing hair care products are divided into shampoos, balms, and serums. The principle of their operation is the same: after they are applied to the hair, keratin gradually penetrates deep into the hair columns, fills the voids in it, and glues the scales together. Shampoo acts on hair for 5-10 minutes, conditioner and serum last longer. This determines how deeply the protein penetrates inside.

After the time specified in the instructions for the product, the keratin-containing mass is washed off from the curls. It is strictly forbidden to use shampoo in this case, since it will make the substance wash out better, which will reduce the entire effect to zero.

Obviously, keratin itself cannot harm curls; the question is how much it helps. Judging by the reviews, there is an effect from using cosmetics with it, especially with frequent use. It is clear that gradually part of the beneficial protein that entered the hair along with the product is washed out of it, but some remains and successfully performs its tasks. Hair becomes smoother, more elastic, and its shine returns.

But there are also negative aspects. So, with frequent use of the above-mentioned products, the hair shafts become very dense and heavy, as a result, the roots cannot withstand such weight, the strands begin to fall out and break under their own weight. Some ladies encounter another negative point when trying to color their curls: it turns out that immediately after the procedure this process is difficult to carry out, the color is not saturated enough. This trouble can be easily avoided if you postpone the dyeing procedure for a couple of weeks; you can find out more about this.

The conclusion can be drawn as follows: keratin has a positive effect on curls if you use it in moderation and follow the recommendations for using products with it and for further care of the strands.

How beneficial is keratin straightening?

Since keratin is good for curls, then so is keratin straightening, many believe, so even some call the above procedure “treatment.” It should be noted that this is a serious misconception.

Keratin itself will not straighten the hair much, but will only smooth it out a little. Smoothing and straightening are not the same thing: curls can also be smooth and shiny. Slight straightening is achieved only by making the curls heavier, which develop under their own weight.

How do hair strands become straight during a salon procedure? This effect is achieved by other substances in straightening products, and all of them are harmful to one degree or another, as they contain the carcinogen formaldehyde. Inhaling its vapors can cause poisoning, and when a large dose of this substance accumulates in the body, the risk of cancer increases. Although it does not actually harm the hair.

It is worth saying that during the procedure, the strands are treated with an iron, since the protein coagulates only at high temperatures. As a result, the hair is subjected to additional testing, although a protective keratin layer is created on it. So, in the end, they become outwardly attractive, but until the main problem that caused the dryness and brittleness of the curls is eliminated, they cannot be cured. As a result, after a few months (usually the effect lasts for about 90 days), the visual effect disappears, and the hair looks no better, if not worse, than before the procedure.

Keratin has a positive effect on hair, helping to partially restore the structure of the hair shafts, but to fully restore them, additional health procedures are needed. Abuse of keratin-containing products can have the opposite effect. You need to be especially careful when deciding on keratin hair straightening, as the procedure has negative side effects.



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