Many of the common hair treatments like colouring, bleaching perming and straightening can lead to brittle and damaged hair. Even simple, daily tasks like blow drying and applying mouse or gel can contribute to damaging hair.

There are many ways of treating damaged, brittle hair either by visiting the salon for expensive treatments or using readily available home kits. Reviews of the more common treatments based around oil capsules and creams are frequently disappointing.

Keratin hair treatment kits (also known as Brazilian hair treatments) frequently get great reviews. It’s possible to get keratin hair treatment at salons and can cost $200 or more. Home treatment kits can start at as little as $10 and are an affordable and easy way to see how well it works. The high end home kits can be as expensive as $350.

A single treatment can repair brittle and broken hair and help return a natural softness and shine. As with all treatments it’s extremely important to follow the product descriptions carefully.

How do Keratin (aka Brazilian) Hair Treatments Work?

As the keratin in hair is broken down through treatments such as bleaching and coloring the treatment focuses on replacing the kertain in the hair follicle and coating the hair itself. Replacing the keratin helps restore the shine and softness. With frizzy or curly hair it can make it easier to straighten and manage. Keratin can be used on hair that doesn’t have any obvious problems but due to how keratin works it will bond better with hair that’s already brittle and/or colored.

The treatment time can take between 2 to 3 hours. Depending on the type of treatment the benefits can last up to 3 months. It’s generally recommended that keratin shampoo is used to help maintain and prolong the effects.

What is Keratin?

Hair, skin and nails are made of keratin, it’s a naturally occurring substance and isn’t something to be afraid of (if hair bleach doesn’t bother you then keratin shouldn’t either). The keratin that is used in the keratin treatment kits is extracted from other natural sources like animal wool. There are various ways of extracting the keratin from wool, the “liquid hair” keratin product is generally created using a method of extraction developed in New Zealand. This approach is said to retain the natural qualities of keratin so when it’s applied to hair it works as well as the keratin the human body produces.