BKT done at Home - Review

Shrub Monkey · 08-21-2010, 05:03 PM

Hi everyone.

Well its been 3 days now since I BTK'd my hair at home so here's my expeience of the process.
I did alot of research on this treatment before taking the plunge.
My main reasons for doing were to abolish my frizzies. Even wearing my hair natural is time consuming and its so dry it ravishes any oil I put on it. (I'd need to be a millionaire to feed my hair the amount of argan oil it would like).

The pooing of my hair was unpleasent, having not used shampoo for a year now it felt so dry and brittle.
I skipped blowing it dry and let it air dry (you wouldn't have this option at a salon).
I got my mom to help me apply the solution (containing 2% formaldehyde) and she made sure all the hair was well coated but not touching the scalp.
I've read that 1% form is needed to straighten hair, but I couldn't find any solutions online containing 1%.
I wasn't able to wear a mask or goggles because I blow dried it myself and then flat ironed it at 230 degrees.
The entire process took over 4 hours (but might take less if you have less hair).
I wouldn't trust a hair stylist to do this for me because I just don't trust them, and even if I had the cash I wouldn't pay the extortionate rate for a BKT, its a robbery.
I have 1 hairdresser I always use to wet cut my hair for me which I had done a week prior to doing the bkt.
The results were really great. I've NEVER been able to run my fingers through my hair...not even after straightening it because of the frizzy areas and dry ends and that feels amazing.
But never have I passed a straightner through my hair at that kind of damaging heat either.
The ends look a bit split but not dry which feels really strange as they are normally coarse.
Now the only bad bit, I was really sick the past few days with a killer headache and feeling nauseous and dizzy.
I have no idea whether this is related to the BKT or not.
I hope this helps some of you with your Keratin research and I will post at some point a pic of day 4 after the BKT and also what it will looks like when it dries naturally.
I don't have any before pics as I didn't expect to write up about this.
My only worries now are hair falling out as I've read some horror stories on the Oprah forums

DimePiece17 · 08-22-2010, 07:00 AM

Which brand did you use? I'm Also interested to see if your hair really takes to this treatment at such a low heat. I know some people do fewer passes at 400 degrees, but I don't know that the treatment bonds to hair at 230 degrees. The true test will be to see what your hair looks like 2 weeks post treatment after 2 washes. Be careful and make sure you stay sea salt, sodium chloride, and sulfate free( if you choose)

Shrub Monkey · 08-22-2010, 09:18 AM

Hi there Hair Guru,

Sorry I must have got that wrong, the heat was in celcius (I'm in the uk , I just did a conversion on google to farenheit and its 446 degrees, which is the hottest thing I've done to my hair)
I just took some pics earlier so will post them up tonight.
I used a brand called Nano Keratin by Dande.
It cost me £23 which is approx $ 36 online.
Thanks for the advice. Do you think it will be ok to just wash it with a gentle conditioner?

Shrub Monkey · 08-22-2010, 09:42 AM

oh and I forgot to mention that I think i may have some type of reaction to it as today I have swolen glands and a cold saw that popped up on my mouth.
when i did the tretment I had the window open but I couldn't direct the fan at my face as it was messing up the hair. Maybe my body is just rejecting having straight hairs!

DimePiece17 · 08-22-2010, 10:39 AM

I will have to look up that brand. Did you research that brand at all before use to see of any befores and afters. What products do you plan to use for aftercare?

I get the treatment so I can wear my hair curly w/out frizz so I co wash every other day and shampoo ( sulfate free) once every 8 days or so.

I currently use the BB products, but when I finish those, I'll purchase a similar ( but significantly cheaper) hair system online. Good luck and do post your results!

DimePiece17 · 08-22-2010, 10:49 AM

is this what you did?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLmZGCcIDrA

Shrub Monkey · 08-23-2010, 04:42 AM

No that's not, theres an actual brand called Nano Keratin, the one I used was Called Nano Keratin and the brand was Dande. Here's the only link I could see of it on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsC2Zx4QJ5U
I couldn't find anything online from anyone who had used it, I just hope it's not because they are all dead now!
It came in a 120 ml bottle and had a purple colour.
Anyways heres the pics of my hair still straight on day 4 before the wash.
Just trying to upload pics from yesterday.
Have just tried uploading pics but they are still too large and I have resized them and they are really tiny. Can anyone help with this?

Shrub Monkey · 08-23-2010, 05:10 AM

Anyways I will repost them larger if anyone knows how.
Hair Guru, I just washed it out yesterday with conditioner and the curl is back but sort of relaxed and diffrent. I only plan on washing once a week which is what I've done for a while anyways, it never looks greasy as its dry but if it starts to look greasy with the bkt I will wash more.

Shrub Monkey · 08-23-2010, 06:10 AM

And here's a pic of it washed the 1st time and air dryed without any product. It's sort of gone flatter at the root (I guess because of the weight of the hair) and theres a little bit on frizz on the underneath areas but it feels softer. Overall it's loosened the curl. I pulled the top bit of the hair up so you can see what the underneath is up to.
I'm not really sure about the results. It has almost done to my hair what all those slik de-frizzing products out there promise to do but usually dont.
It's lost the bulky poofyness to it aswell. I might try styling it at some point and see if that's much easier to do.

DimePiece17 · 08-23-2010, 10:01 AM

Your pics look great, but then again, I didn't see your hair pre BKT, so you would be the better judge! Do keep us posted. I'd like to know how long your results last

.

Shrub Monkey · 09-02-2010, 11:46 AM

Hi again,

At first I was a bit dissapointed but I'm happy about it now. Not having all frizz in the dry areas is a great feeling.
On the minus side its left the ends very split and instead of wearing it curly I've gone back to products etc and am trying to wear it straight more which wasn't why I'd gone into this for.
The top of the head of hair is quite flat which isn't too flattering when wearing it curly.
So if you don't have plenty of hair to spare I wouldn't recommend this but if you have a bulbous volume than this is great.
Even my curls don't have the volume they used to which is easier for styling.
Hairguru, ooooh how I loved the feeling of it during the 4 days of having it straight, it felt like someone else's hair.
<hair typing from its new silk pillow

Oh and my hair hasn't fallen out which is a definate +.

DimePiece17 · 09-02-2010, 01:02 PM

Few questions:

1. Which brand did you use?
2. What is your hair type?

Also, you'll probably see more volume by your 2nd wash. Keep us posted!

morningstar · 09-04-2010, 08:26 AM

I also find the flat hair on top a bit challenging too. However, I would rather try and fix that problem than spend the hours trying to get the rest of my hair to cooperate. I end up taking a curling iron and throwing some curls in for volume on the top. You can also try and clip your hair at the roots to get some volume while drying.
I also have been swimming the past week and have noticed my hair is slowly getting curlier with more volume. I actually love it right now as its the perfect loose curl right now! Not sure how long this will last though. I bought some Rusk deep conditioner with keratin and have been using that on my hair before swimming, but I don't know if its keeping the hair anymore protected than any other condish. I like the condish though, so I'll keep using it.