From my years of experience, I find that a significant question among beauty enthusiasts is, “Is keratin treatment good for thin hair?”
This concern is pretty valid, especially when considering the processes involved in keratin treatment balanced against the general nature of thin hair.
I’ve carefully analyzed the effects of keratin treatment on thin hair and provided recommendations on keratin products you’ll find super helpful.
So first, what are the processes involved in Keratin for thin hair?
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Table of Contents
What Processes Are Involved in Keratin for Thin Hair?
Keratin hair treatments for all hair types involve applying products, blow-drying, and sealing strands with a keratin complex flat iron.
Keratin treatments, or Brazilian blowouts or keratin treatments, are ideal for thin hair.
After the hair treatment, you can make your hair look healthier and more robust. Let’s look at the Keratin treatment process in detail.
Applying keratin products
During keratin treatments, hair care products are applied, i.e., keratin solutions containing the structural protein, Keratin, and other active ingredients needed for making the human hair smooth and more robust (1).
This is a super important aspect of keratin treatment for hair, especially if you have low-density thin hair.
The hair care products must be carefully selected to prevent chemical damage resulting in further hair loss.
Blow-drying
The application of the chemical treatments will leave your hair wet.
Blow-drying your wet hair with the hair dryer will help ensure the applied chemical solution penetrates the hair fiber beyond the hair surface.
Blow-drying also helps make the hair apply fuller, which is vital for those with scanty hair density. Hair density lack can be made up for through the process of blow-drying.
Sealing hair strands with a flat iron
Keratin is a natural protein with disulfide bonds that can help reseal the bonds in the hair cuticle layers (2).
After applying the keratin chemical treatment and blow-drying the wet hair, the bonds in the human hair shaft structure are sealed to give you straight hair.
How Good is a Keratin Treatment for Thin Hair?
Keratin treatment benefits thin hair by promoting health, imparting smoothness and shine, and reducing chances of breakage or loss.
Keratin treatments do not necessarily contain thickening fibers that can make your hair thicker.
However, keratin filaments can do many things to improve your hair strength and hair growth.
Keratin strengthens hair, reducing breakage, a key cause of scanty hair density, and promotes stronger, denser hair.
Keratin filaments are the main protein in epithelial cells in the hair follicles, and keratin chemical treatment helps to boost their concentration.
This boost in the level of Keratin in hair is a plus for those with thin hair.
Is Keratin treatment good for thin hair? You can watch this video for more details:
Under What Circumstances Are Keratin Good for Thin Hair?
Keratin is suitable for your thin hair if your hair is also curly, color-treated, and coarse.
You’ll be able to profit much from keratin chemical treatment if you have wavy hair, curly hair, or frizzy hair.
But if your thin hair is straight, smooth, and delicate, you might not need a Keratin treatment.
There are several other hair treatments that you can consider if increased hair volume is what you need.
For those curious about post-treatment care, don’t miss our article “What Happens If I Wash My Hair 48 Hours After a Keratin Treatment?” to ensure optimal results.
What are the possible risks to keratin treatment for thin hair?
Harsh chemicals in keratin solutions can risk keratin chemical treatment for those with thin hair.
You should remember that keratin solutions not only contain the essential hair protein keratin. They also have other active ingredients, such as formaldehyde.
When formaldehyde concentrations get too high in the keratin products, it becomes toxic to the hair.
An experienced stylist usually knows how to choose the appropriate product for thin hair with minimal formaldehyde concentration levels.
However, it has recently been found that most cosmetics products contain formaldehyde concentrations considered unsafe for hair, and hair stylists may not be aware.
This is because when formaldehyde becomes mixed with water, it becomes named methylene glycol (3).
This might be tricky as hair stylists might not be aware of the formaldehyde derivative in the hair care products they have chosen because they are not familiar with methylene glycol.
Formaldehyde solution harms hair and exposes other body parts to health hazards.
According to research, hair stylists are at significant risk for asthma due to their daily exposure to formaldehyde in hair straightening products (4).
Other chemical products that can pose risks to hair when their concentration in keratin products gets too high include calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and lithium hydroxide.
Calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and lithium hydroxide dissolve Keratin filaments in solutions.
Thin hair is quite vulnerable to heat damage, and using several hot irons during heat setting can be risky.
During application, the pungent smell from the Keratin products is another downside to Keratin chemical treatment.
Here is an awesome transformational video of thin keratin-treated hair:
@keratinone Keratin on fine/thin hair â™¥ï¸ #hair #keratin #keratintreatment #specialist #foryou #manchester #hairsalon ♬ original sound – keratinone
How Long Does Keratin for Thin Hair Last?
As with every other professional keratin treatment, Keratin treatments for thin hair can last up to six months. Yes, it can be as long as that.
Although this depends on how you treat your hair after the Keratin treatment process, hair experts advise that you keep your hair from intense moisture in the first three days after the treatment.
This is necessary to help seal the keratin solution into the hair follicles and cuticle scales.
It takes some time for the solution to penetrate beyond the outer layer of the hair fiber and get into the deep layers of the hair cuticle.
There are other recommendations you should follow after having a Keratin treatment, for instance, on how to sleep within the first three days after the treatment process.
After a Keratin treatment, you should also reduce how much you wash your hair.
Washing your hair regularly can strip your hair of the applied Keratin, which might reduce the longevity of the effects of the treatment.
I recommended that hair washing after a Keratin Treatment should be limited to twice or thrice at the most per week to sustain the effects of the treatment.
Top Products to Help You Make the Best of Keratin for Thin Hair
In this section, I’ll list five products you can use for an at-home keratin treatment that are very beneficial for thin hair. Here’s my list.
Vitamins Keratin Hair Serum
No products found.This product is suitable for all hair types, including thin hair, as it combines collagen and biotin well with hydrolyzed Keratin. This combination helps to boost hair strength.
It also contains castor and coconut oil, which help moisturize your thin hair, preventing it from looking dull.
Schwarzkopf Keratin Color Intensive
No products found.Coloring your hair, similar to heat styling, depletes the keratin levels in hair. This can be pretty risky if you have thin hair.
This product is a brilliant idea if you are thin and would love to improve your hair color without losing keratin.
Color Wow Dream Coat
This anti-frizz treatment helps to create a coating over the hair surface.
This shield-like covering will protect your hair from elements that can cause frizz and induce breakage in your thin hair.
Rene Furterer Absolue Keratine
No products found.In addition to strengthening thin hair strands, this serum is a repair formulation for those with damaged hair. It helps to improve fragile hair parts.
It’s a 10 Miracle
This is an ideal choice for thin hair with natural curls. It contains a blend of hydrolyzed Keratin and panthenol, a lightweight conditioning agent.
FAQs
Which is better for thin hair: Keratin or shampoo?
However, the sulfate-free shampoo you want to use for your thin hair must have the necessary additives that can help improve thin hair health.
Does Keratin work for thin hair recovery?
Conclusion
So, “Is keratin treatment good for thin hair?”
With all the details above, I’m sure you now have answers to the question!
Your thin hair can be enhanced better if you know how well to treat it.
I have recommended Keratin products compatible with thin hair; you should trust your hair to do fine with them.
Also, remember to talk to your hair stylist for recommendations on sulfate-free shampoo.
Resources
- 1. Presland RB, Dale BA. Epithelial structural proteins of the skin and oral cavity: function in health and disease. Critical Reviews in Oral Biology and Medicine: An Official Publication of the American Association of Oral Biologists. 2000;11(4):383-408. doi:10.1177/10454411000110040101
- 2. Sciencedirect.com. Published 2022. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021925819623537/pdfft?md5=48ce1abeb0d15b1038ebf998339a9fb5&pid=1-s2.0-S0021925819623537-main.pdf
- 3. Golden R, Valentini M. Formaldehyde and methylene glycol equivalence: Critical assessment of chemical and toxicological aspects. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. 2014;69(2):178-186. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2014.03.007
- 4. Dahlgren J. Asthma from hair straightening treatment containing formaldehyde: Two cases and a review of the literature. Accessed March 2018. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James-Dahlgren/publication/323875661_Asthma_from_hair_straightening_treatment_containing_formaldehyde_Two_cases_and_a_review_of_the_literature/links/5dfc0b30299bf10bc368d7d5/Asthma-from-hair-straightening-treatment-containing-formaldehyde-Two-cases-and-a-review-of-the-literature.pdf
