Is It Possible to Do Hair Treatment with Keratin at Home?

Who does not want to save 40 to 60% of the total time spent styling hair each day? And above all, having soft, shiny, and healthy hair every day? The stress that one faces styling, smoothing, and straightening the hair every time to make it look gorgeous usually makes people frustrated. If you are one of those, the good news, this will not be the case anymore. The solution is Keratin and Protein Treatment, aka Brazilian Keratin. Keep on reading to get correct and complete information about Keratin and Protein Treatment and the know-how to do it properly and safely at home. So, let's start.

What Is Keratin Hair Straightening Treatment?

One can understand the keratin treatment better if one knows what keratin is.

Keratin is a structural protein naturally present in hair as well as in nails and the outer layer of skin. The purpose of keratin to the hair is to keep it protected and healthy and strengthen it. But when the hair is exposed to sun, pollution, and chemicals, the natural keratin depletes. Due to this, hair becomes frizzy and damaged to be manageable gracefully. At that point, hair needs keratin treatment.

Keratin treatment, also know as Brazilian Smoothing, is the way of artificially adding the keratin to the hair to rebuild it, fill in the porous spots in hair structure, and smooth out the cells that overlap to form hair strands to make hair frizz-free, fully straight, smooth, and shiny. 

Why Do People Prefer Keratin Treatment? Brazilian Keratin Benefits 

Reduces Styling Time:

In everyday routine, between styling and relaxing, we choose styling because we live in a world where looking manageable is crucial. And as you read above, a Brazilian keratin treatment can reduce styling time by 40 to 60%, so you can have more time to relax and enjoy doing what you love.  

Humid Weather Does Not Affect the Keratin Treated Hair:

Commonly, whatever you do to your hair to keep it frizz-free, it becomes frizzy again when the weather is too wet or too dry, or you travel to an area with these weather conditions. But Brazilian keratin treatment keeps hair smooth and straight even in humid weather. 

Prevents Sun and Environmental Damage:

Environmental damage causes moisture loss in hair, making hair weak and dry, which leads hair prone to frizz, tangles, and hair breakage. Brazilian protein protects hair from that.

Sun rays (UVA and UVB) severely damage the outermost layer of hair, called the cuticle. Damaged cuticles cause hair discoloration, brittleness, dryness, split ends, hair thinning, and frizziness. Brazilian protein giving protection from all these problems makes people favor Brazilian keratin treatment. 

Rebonds The Hair:

Hair damage from the environment and sun makes hair (structure) porous, which is the base of all hair problems. But when the Brazilian keratin treatment is applied, its protein is absorbed in porous hair structure and hair roots. It revitalizes hair, rebuilds it, and helps it grow strong.   

Hair Will Require Less Upkeep:

After keratin treatment, you only need to know the post-care tips (which we will discuss below), which are not time-consuming, and easy to follow, which makes you feel like Brazilian keratin is one of the best decisions you have ever made.

Brazilian Keratin Is Less Damaging:

People say that keratin treatment damages the hair, but we say if you compare daily heat styling manipulation to keratin treatment which lasts 3 to 6 months, a keratin treatment is way less damaging. In addition, it is always important to prioritize Brazilian keratin treatments free of formaldehyde or any harmful chemicals - always opt for Brazilian proteins that are based on organic acids, natural oils, and actives from the Brazilian Amazon flora.

Keratin Hair Straightening Treatments at Home Versus at Salon

First, it's always good to remember that Brazilian Keratin Protein Treatments are always considered "professional" - even when performing the procedure at home, it's always good to have someone to help you, follow a professional step-by-step guide (preferably recommended by the manufacturer of the products used) and make sure you know what you are doing.

Thus, it is important to mention that, even though they are professional treatments, the products are totally safe - considering that you have opted for a formaldehyde-free brand. Therefore, it is possible to carry out the Brazilian keratin treatment at your home, either with the help of a professional, a person you trust or individually.

There are some differences between performing Brazilian Keratin Treatment at a Salon vs at Home. When performed in a trained salon, certified by the brand, you guarantee a professional with the ability and technical knowledge to analyze your hair condition, and adapt the techniques to your situation. If it's your first time, perhaps the best option is to opt for a certified salon. For clients who already perform hair treatments frequently, and have some knowledge about their hair structure, the procedure performed at home is totally possible, when using the right products, and following a clear step by step.

Hair Health Safety:

When you are getting Brazilian hair straightening keratin treatment at a salon, they can apply any product they want, obviously. But when doing it at home, you must choose formaldehyde-free products. 

What are formaldehyde products? Why prevent choosing them and what's better instead. 

Formaldehyde products are acid-made that are severely damaging to humans. 

According to FDA.gov, formaldehyde gas is released when most hair straightening and smoothing products are used. And the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified it as a human carcinogen (a substance, radiation, or agent that can cause cancer).

When formaldehyde gas gets present in the air, it quickly shows some effects that can be adverse later, like watery eyes; skin irritation; coughing; nausea; and burning sensation in the eyes, nose, and throat. 

So, in that case, what's incredible and healthy is zero formaldehyde keratin/hair protein which contains organic oils from Brazil. Compared to formaldehyde products that only coat the hair structure tensely to stay straight for months, organic keratin (Zero formaldehyde hair protein) smooths and straightens hair while contributing to hair health. 

You can read more about the Health Risks of Formaldehyde for Salons, Hairdressers and Clients (and How to Avoid It) here.

Cost-effective:

Obviously, when you are doing keratin treatment at home, you only pay for products you want to apply and not the service charges and taxes included on the bill. 

No Need to Book an Appointment:

Another great thing is you do not need to disturb your whole schedule just because you are not getting an appointment on the desired day, and sometimes you need to stay home to ensure everything is going fine, like children. So, doing Zero formaldehyde hair protein Brazilian straightening treatment at home in your free time feels so satisfying.

How To Do Keratin Treatment at Home? Professional Step by Step Guide

Choose Keratin Treatment:

We, Vitta Gold, are proud to present the zero formaldehyde all-natural hair protein keratin treatments to provide more safety, comfort, and agility when performing keratin hair straightening at home. All hair treatments provide perfect hair smoothing and hair color protection.

1. Nanoplex Arginina™ 200ml - Hair Smoothing Protein Set made with L-Arginine, a protein-rich natural amino acid, and original Brazilian keratin protein. Developed with a color protection technology, and organic assets which provides hair a notable hair growth boost and hair fall prevention.
2. Nanoplex Solar™ 200ml - Hair Smoothing Set for a true organic smoothing treatment revolution - with the newest technology in the professional cosmetics market, we combine organic technology, in a multivitamin blend, for a perfect, safe, healthy straightening.
3. Coconut Liss™ 200ml - Brazilian Hair Smoothing Protein Set for extremely smooth hair, breakage reduction, and sun damage protection. With an original Brazilian Coconut oil compound, it actively contributes to balance the hair's moisture, in addition to promoting longer duration of smooth, soft and hair shine.

Pre-care Brazilian Keratin Treatment:

Things needed:

• Vitta Gold Shampoo*

*PS: In the straightening treatments market, some products require the use of a clarifying shampoo before the keratin protein. This is not the case with Vitta Gold products - as they are organic and formaldehyde free, there is no such need. Just wash your hair, if it is dirty or with product residues, with Vitta Gold Shampoos.

Hair should be clean, washed. 

Don't apply any conditioner after hair wash for keratin treatment. The presence of oil will slip the protein application and does not let it absorb in hair to work properly. So, shampooing hair before treatment is better to remove any natural oils on hair.

Completely Blow-dry the Hair

Things needed: blow dryer.

Completely (100% blow-drying the hair) means that if you run your fingers in the hair on any side, closer or far from the roots, there should be no dampness or wet area.

Section the Hair

Things needed: 

• Fine Comb
• Hair Clips

Section out the hair to ease the procedure of keratin treatment at home. You can make 4 (2 at top, 2 at back) or 6 (2 at top, 4 at back) hair sections at the scalp, depending on the thickness of the hair.

Treatment Application:

Things needed: 

• Application Brush 
• Comb 
• Gloves 
• Container for the protein treatment
• Formaldehyde-free Brazilian Smoothing Protein

Start applying protein treatment 1 centimeter away (or halfway from mid-shaft) from roots in a generous manner till the mid-length of hair. Divide the working section into two parts to make sure there is no missing spot, then use a fine-tooth comb to spread the Brazilian protein treatment evenly on the hair section. 

Wait for 40 to 60 minutes* and then rinse out 60% of the protein* treatment from hair with water only.*

*PS: It is important to mention that depending on the brand chosen, the type of hair, and the expected result, it is important to slightly adapt some of the steps, such as the amount of product in the hair, pause time, among others. Always read the product instructions and, if necessary, ask for more information from the company's support.

Blow-dry Again:

Repeat step 3.

Flat Iron the Hair

Things needed: 

• Hair straightener comb 
• Flat iron 
• Gloves to protect the hands

Heat the flat iron at a temperature at 230°C*. Work on a thin layer section of hair with the flat iron and straighten it 8 to 15 times* while using a hair straightening comb. You can lower the heat setting a little (till 200°C) if you fear damaging the hair, or if your hair already contains some chemicals, such as bleaching. It is important to separate into thin locks, in transparency and linear at a 90º angle, to ensure that the board can get very close to the root, for a natural smooth without marks. 

Post Treatment Hair Nutrition

Now the hair is ready, you will perform a nutrition treatment. Wet the hair with just water, then apply the Hair Nutrition Mask, let it act for 10 minutes, rinse 100% of the product and apply the Conditioner, wait for 5 minutes before rinse. For better result, apply a Leave-In Serum and blow dry.

Post Care Brazilian Keratin Treatment:

An important benefit and quality indicator of high-performance products is that after the hair straightening treatment with keratin Brazilian protein zero formaldehyde at home, you can wash or wet your hair whenever you want.

Usually, when it comes to products with dubious chemicals, it is necessary to wait 3 to 5 days to wash your hair.

Apply Vitta Gold conditioner on dry hair during the shower to reduce hair swelling, balances the hair pH and prolong the Brazilian keratin treatment.

For a smooth sealing of the cuticles while building the hair fiber, the Vittaplex SOS Regenerating Mask is perfect. It is a power of reconstruction and protection is remarkable, either after an organic treatment with Brazilian keratin, or for type of chemical treatment, such as bleaching.

Maintaining the perfect moisture vs. protein balance with Vitta Gold Serum in hair is super easy and healthy, which is difficult to attain after zero formaldehyde Brazilian protein keratin hair straightening treatment at home.

Also, here's a special tip - combine the use of Liquid Serum with thermal protection whenever you use a dryer or a flat iron to protect your hair with an Oil Serum to nourish and hydrate deeply, in addition to treating split ends.

We recommend the Serum Nanoplex Arginina which, in addition to thermal protection, has a smoothing active, which extends and optimizes even more the results of soft, smooth, shine and healthy and the Serum 7 Oils, which combines a blend of Multi Brazilian Oils to exceptional results at home.

With the correct and safe product, it is possible to make your Brazilian Keratin Protein Hair Smoothing Treatment at Home!

If you have any questions about the at-home procedure, please contact us - we will be happy to answer all your questions and give you all the technical guidance to get you beautiful, perfect, soft, and healthy hair, within the comfort of your own home, or in a Vitta Gold Certified Salon.