I have naturally curly hair and a short fuse - not a good combination.  I don't have the patience to do my hair every morning so my stylist recommended a Brazilian Keratin Treatment using the Brazilian Blowout brand to help my hair become more manageable.

Brazilian Keratin Treatment
Before and After

That lighting though.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

The Brazilian Keratin Treatment is a smoothing treatment that helps eliminate frizz.  It is not a relaxer.  Keratin is a type of protein containing a special amino acid (cystine) that is infused into your hair cuticles using heat resulting in strong yet movable hair.

I found this great visual explanation on keratincomplex.com:

https://www.keratincomplex.com/about/the-science/smoothing-therapy

BEFORE AND AFTER

Freshly air dried curls without and with the Brazilian Keratin Treatment (Brazilian Blowout brand)

Flat ironed hair without and with Brazilian Keratin Treatment (Brazilian Blowout brand)

PROS

• It reduces frizz immensely
• It washes out with a clarifying shampoo if you don't like it
• It makes hair shiny and manageable
• It reduces drying / straightening time significantly

I make it a point to do this treatment every summer.  I live in a very hot and humid climate and it really helps calm my curls.  You can see in the before and after pic above that my hair becomes more wavy than curly, but it's a nice sexy wave.  I like to just roll out of bed and go to work without worrying about my hair, and this allows for maximum laziness.

CONS

• Some treatments contain formaldehyde
• Will not last long if not maintained
• Will cause hair to break and fall out if done too often (protein overload)
• Smells bad when first applied
• Cannot wet or tie back hair for 72 hours

I've had both Coppola Keratin Complex and Brazilian Blowout used in my hair and I believe they both contain formaldehyde.  These products formaldehyde levels do fall within OSHA's mandated requirements which means they produce formaldehyde at an allowable level if used properly according to manufacturer instruction... However, if that doesn't vibe with you there are other Keratin treatments that are formaldehyde free and are said to be just as effective.  There are many, many articles out there that can provide detailed explanations as to why formaldehyde is bad for you so I will leave that part out.  I think I will switch to the formaldehyde free formula next time and write another article to compare the two.

Some treatments require you to go three days without wetting or tying your hair back to give it time to cure.  If you tie it back, you can develop a kink in your hair that will last months.  If you do develop a kink or wet your hair during this time, iron it out immediately.  I usually keep my BaByliss PRO Nano Titanium Mini Straightening Iron nearby during this time.

MAINTENANCE

You do have to maintain it!  In addition to not going to the pool or beach all the time; the best way to get your new do to last is to not wash your hair with ultra hot water and to switch to a sulfate free shampoo.  Keep in mind that most "sulfate free" shampoos refer specifically to Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS).  While this harsh surfactant can remove your hair treatment, there are many other harsh surfactants to worry about; some of which do not even classify as a sulfate!

I can get my Brazilian Keratin Treatment to last about six months mostly by avoiding the following ingredients: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate, Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Ether Sulfate.  In a nut shell, I just avoid anything that even remotely sounds like Sulfate, Sulfonate, Sodium, etc.

What Shampoo / Conditioner do you use?
I use Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo and Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Restorative Conditioner.  The shampoo's list of ingredients is short and sweet:

Deionized Water, Decyl Glucoside (Coconut Oil), African Butyrospermum Parkii (shea Butter)*, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Argan Oil, Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B-5), Rosemary Extract, Sea Kelp Extract, Vitamin E, Guar Gum, Lonicera Capifloium (Honeysuckle) Flower (and) Lonicera Japonica (Japanese Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Avocado Oil *Certified Organic Ingredients.

Notice that the ingredients do not have anything that from the list of things to avoid above?

JAPANESE HAIR STRAIGHTENING vs BRAZILIAN KERATIN TREATMENT

My colleague has been using Japanese Hair Straightening for over ten years.  Her natural hair is extremely curly and foofy (like Slash).  Maintaining the poof got old very quickly.  When I met her, I had no idea that her natural hair was so curly until she showed me a picture.  Her hair is dead straight now and I thought that it just grew out that way.  While her hair is much more manageable now that it's straight; it is also nearly unstyleable.  She has tried multiple products but her hair just cant hold any type of curl or wave without a ton of product.  While she has had pretty good results using Living Proof Perfect Hair Day 5-in-1 Styling Treatment; she was considering switching to the Brazilian Keratin Treatment for a little more styling freedom.  We came across the following issues during our research:

Brazilian Keratin Treatment has to be done on the whole head.  
Japanese Hair Straightening can be touched up at the roots every few months.  This is how she was able to maintain the same look for over ten years.  If she switched to the Brazilian Keratin Treatment, she would have to redo her entire head every time.  There are many problems with this.  One being that the cost of redoing the entire Brazilian Keratin Treatment is far more than the cost of a Japanese Hair Straightening touch up (her guy does very affordable touch ups).  The second major issue (also mentioned in the Cons) is that if the Brazilian Keratin Treatment is done too often, the hair will become brittle and begin to break.

Japanese Hair Straightening is permanent.
Once you get it done, there is no going back.  Your only options are to let it grow out or continue with the treatment.  If you choose to grow it out, you end up having a completely different hair type at the roots and it just looks odd.   I guess you can always just shave your head.  Meanwhile, Brazilian Keratin Treatment lasts a few months and can be washed out.

BRAZILIAN KERATIN TREATMENT PRICING

Make a list of stylists with a lot of experience doing this treatment and price them out.  I've found that the price varies greatly depending on the salon you go to, and price =/= quality.  I've had the treatment done at three different salons at different price points:  $250, $175, and $120.  The $250 salon took about two hours and had the worst results (hair looked nice but felt rough).  The $175 salon had the best results but took almost four hours (time is money).  The $120 salon had good results and took about an hour and a half, but didn't apply enough product on the back of my head so it's a bit more curly there.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think Brazilian Keratin Treatments are wonderful if done correctly.  It really was a game changer for me.  The treatment needs to be done by someone with a lot of experience though.  The first time I got it done (using the Coppola brand), my hair was a mess.  It looked nice but felt rough to the touch until I was able to wash it.  I went to another stylist to get it done (using Brazilian Blowout brand) and the results looked the same, but my hair was very soft.  The second stylist told me that the first stylist most likely had the flat iron set too hot so it burned the product into my hair.  Not good.

I highly recommend this treatment to anyone with foofy or unmanageable hair.  Find a good stylist and ask them what is best for your hair type.  With a wide variety of options to choose from, they should certainly be able to find a formula that is right for you.