Keratin straightening treatment lasts for 2-6 months. If someone doesn’t follow the aftercare instructions, the treatment can wear off within two months. On the other hand, if you do take care of your hair with the correct lifestyle changes and products for Brazilian keratin straightening, you can enjoy straight hair for almost six months. This shows the importance of caring for your hair after the treatment. So, don’t forget these instructions.

Don’t Wash Your Hair For Three Days

This is usually the first instruction you get from your stylist after the treatment and it’s an important one. The straightening treatment requires a few days to permanently seal in your hair and keep the hair texture straight. If you wash your hair within a day or two after the treatment, it will wash off a good chunk of the treatment from your hair which you got by sitting on a chair for hours.

Therefore, wait for at least three days before washing your hair. Better yet, ask your stylist how long you should wait before washing hair because there are various kinds of keratin treatments and it can affect the “dry period” required for your hair.

Apart from washing, you should also restrict other ways that can result in wet scalp and hair such as exercising and going out when the sun is blazing. Firstly, you should limit this, but if you do perform anything that can lead to sweat on your scalp, blow dry your hair immediately.

Don’t Twist Hair Or Try Fancy Hairstyles

The no-hair-washing within 72 hours code is accompanied by another instruction: you should not twist or twirl your hair for the same time period – three days. Think of keratin straightening as nail polish. Once you apply it, you can’t touch it for, let’s say, 20 minutes. If you use your hands or touch the polish, it will be ruined. The same is true for keratin treatment but the waiting time is three days instead.

Getting braids or other hairstyles where hair is twisted a lot will give the hair a non-uniform appearance where some parts will be straight while others won’t appear straight. The not-so-straight parts were twisted during styling. So, no braids, up-dos, ponytails, scrunchies, or hair clips. Let the inner stylist in you rest for a few days.

Use A Sulfate-Free Shampoo And Conditioner

Sulfate and salt used in shampoos and conditioners slowly remove keratin from hair. So, use shampoos and conditioners that are salt-free and sulfate-free.

Moreover, never use a clarifying shampoo after the keratin treatment because it can remove keratin from hair more quickly than sulfate and salt. Your hair will appear unevenly straight and messy.

If you don’t want to take risks, ask your stylist which products you should use after the treatment since the products you have in mind may work well for one type of keratin treatment but for another type of keratin straightening, they may not. So, just ask the stylist.

Avoid Washing Your Hair Too Often

Even after the no-hair-washing period of three days, you should not make your hair and water friends because keratin will not like it. If you wash your hair daily, frequent washing will speed up the wearing off of the straightening treatment.

If other factors are constant, washing your hair after every 3 days will last the keratin longer than washing hair daily.

We know! Some people have hair that becomes oily or messy if they go without washing their hair daily, so they should wash their hair once in two days. And if your hair doesn’t become too messy, wash hair after every 3-5 days.

Between your hair washing days, if you want to take a shower, use a shower cap for your hair so your hair remains dry while you clean your body and maintain your peace of mind – especially in summer.

Use A Silk Pillowcase

We have shared this tip before in our blogs as well, but it’s a small, useful suggestion, so here it is again. Use a silk pillowcase because it will reduce the friction between your hair and the pillowcase. You want the least amount of friction for the keratin treatment to keep your hair smooth for a long and avoid damage to your hair.

Blow-Dry Hair With Medium Heat Only

If you can air dry your hair, it’s better. However, those of you who can’t do without a blow-dryer should blow-dry your hair with medium heat. Go with a downward motion and don’t keep the blow dryer too close to the hair.

When blow-drying your hair, heat can damage your hair. To avoid this, use a leave-in heat protectant before blow-drying.

Avoid Other Chemical Hair Treatment For The Next Three Weeks

Chemical treatments usually open the cuticles of the hair to change the color or texture of the hair. If you already have one chemical treatment like keratin straightening done, getting another chemical treatment will remove the effects of the previous treatment. Moreover, it can damage your hair as your hair will be exposed to chemicals too often.

Moisturize Your Hair

Your hair should have a balance of protein and moisture. Keratin treatment includes protein in abundance so you should take care of moisturization before and after the treatment.

If you aren’t, begin using a conditioner a week before the treatment. As you can’t wash your hair often, you should consider a leave-in conditioner for keeping your hair moisturized after the treatment. Also, look for hair moisturizing masks that don’t damage your keratin-treated hair.

Avoid Swimming And Other Treatment Where Hair Are Exposed To Moisture

Any activity that involves prolonged exposure of your hair to moisture should be avoided after a keratin treatment. This includes swimming, going into a sauna, running, exercising, and other activities.

We mentioned earlier that salt-free shampoos should be used as sodium chloride can strip your hair of keratin. Water in swimming pools is treated with chlorine or salt, so swimming should be completely off your list of activities you should do. For other exercises like running, apply a leave-in conditioner before the activity.

Don’t Apply Oil On Your Hair

Oils like castor, argan, jojoba, and others are good for your hair. They can moisturize your hair and make them strong. However, these oils penetrate deep into the hair for moisturizing it. Oily hair attracts more dust and they become messy. So, you will need to wash your hair more frequently.

Washing hair should be limited as much as you can to make sure your keratin treatment lasts long. If you’re applying something on hair that is forcing you to wash hair more often, then avoid that product. In this case, avoid oiling your hair.

That being said, you can use heavy oils after two weeks of getting Brazilian keratin straightening.

Avoid Using Hot Water For Washing Your Hair

Heat is not ideal for keratin-treated hair so you should also avoid hot water for washing your hair. Use mild water. It would be even better if you can use cold water on your hair because it will shut the hair cuticles and keep keratin sealed inside them.

Conclusion

To make sure you reap the benefits of your smooth and straight keratin-treated hair, don’t forget the above-mentioned instructions. Plus, visit a keratin treatment salon Rockville when you finally need another session of keratin straightening.