The keratin hair treatment promises smooth, straight hair that stays smooth and frizz-free for months. The procedure, available at many hairdressing salons, can take up to an hour and is often expensive. There are risks to consider when using many treatment options, and clients need to be fully aware of the process and the potential consequences before choosing to carry it out.
Keratin hair treatment is not suitable for all women. This is because some chemicals such as formaldehyde are used during the procedure. When hair treated with this substance is heated with an iron during the procedure, harmful vapors are emitted, which can be harmful to health. Side effects from formaldehyde vapors are manifested in the form of:
- Migraine.
- Tears.
- Irritation of mucous membranes.
- Deterioration of vision.
- A negative effect on the human nervous system as a whole.
Doctors recommend abandoning keratin hair treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding a baby, or replacing it with a less dangerous procedure.
Who is not recommended to do keratin for hair treatment?
For a while, skip straightening your hair with keratin if there are even small wounds on your scalp. Better to cure them first. The chemicals in the straightener will go into wounds and begin to eat away at them. In addition, such negligence can lead to serious health problems.
Allergy sufferers need to be especially careful with keratin hair treatment procedures. The product contains not only keratin, but also other chemicals. Particular attention should be paid to formaldehyde, which can cause severe allergic reactions. Be sure to get an allergen test if you decide to straighten your hair.
This gas has an extremely bad reputation. Keratin research hair treatment at the US National Cancer Institute believe that while the short-term health effects of formaldehyde are well known (burning throat and irritation of the mucous membranes and burns to a minimum), we still know little about its potential long-term health effects, but what we know sounds frightening.
The only thing that can reduce the potential harm to the master and the client is to reduce the concentration of aldehydes to the maximum allowed. In the end, companies — manufacturers of hair straightening compositions had to really do this, but the lower the concentration of active substances, the less disulfide bonds are destroyed and the weaker the effect. When working with keratin straighteners, there are the following rules:
- During the procedure, the presence of powerful ventilation, preferably located above the place of work;
- In order to preserve the structure of the hair and not provoke hair loss, curls, with a straightening agent applied to them, cannot be dried with hot air;
- Avoid getting the straightening compound on the scalp as this will cause irritation.
To avoid negative complications and health problems, it is better to do keratin straightening in a good proven beauty salon that does not use formaldehyde-based products or its derivatives. The price of such keratinization will be higher; the effect of the procedure will not be long-lasting. But health will not be at risk.
