Q. Hi Jordan,
You’ve written in the past about the perks of Keratin treatments. However, I’ve checked at the salons here in Portland, OR, and since my hair is halfway down my back, it’s going to cost me a small fortune to get that done. I’m in my third year of grad school, broke, and have come to accept that’s not an option.
I was wondering if you knew of any options for at-home treatments? I’ve been looking but have no idea what’s what, and which stuff is legit and not a rip-off.
Sincerely,
Andrea
A. Unfortunately, I haven’t tried any of the at-home treatments myself, so I can’t speak from experience…but here’s a review that a reader did for RG (summary: she didn’t seem to be too crazy about it).
I don’t know about them, honestly…I feel like either they’d be too mild to do much more than a great deep conditioner, or too strong to mess with yourself (and you’d really need help getting to the back of your head, which adds to the annoyance factor). And my mom just got a Keratin Express treatment (which hovers around $100), but ended up going back to the salon for the real deal because she felt like it didn’t “take,” so I don’t know that I’d recommend that either.
In short: when it comes to Keratin, I’m more comfortable putting myself in the hands of professionals.
BUT…that doesn’t mean that you’re out of luck! I haven’t been able to get a treatment for the past few months, of course, but I’ve found some products to use in the meantime that do an excellent job of battling my frizzy summer hair. My favorite new discovery is Leonor Greyl Huile de Palme, which is an oil that you put on for fifteen minutes pre-washing your hair, and then shampoo out. I’ve never used anything like it, and I love what it does to my hair: it makes it super-soft and manageable, and even Kendrick (totally out of nowhere) said that my hair looked especially healthy after my first use.
I’ve also been spritzing Alterna’s Dry Oil Mist on my hair after blow-drying, and have found that the one-two punch of Huile de Palme and Dry Oil Mist makes a huge difference. In terms of a frizz-battling style, my favorite thing to do is leave my hair sliiiightly damp, braid back the front section (off to one side), and then wind the rest into a neat low bun (bonus: when you take your hair out later on, it’ll fall into lovely waves).
Also, keep an eye out for Keratin deals on discount sites – my friend Katie just got a treatment for $99 on Groupon (amazing). And FYI, John Sahag Workshop offers a 10% discount on treatments to RG readers.
For more Summer Beauty Finds, click here.
