Brazilian Keratin Treatment - I took the plunge

[DeeVAS]

Hello All.

This is my first post on the forum. I have been lurking before and after becoming a paid-up member and learning from all your experiences. Your experiences have re-inforced my decision to keep both daughters "natural" and I have come to appreciate more, the versatility of our hair.

I'm posting today, because I underwent the BKT 48 hours ago. I did it myself. I live in a country, town 40 miles from London. There's only one "ethnic" hairdresser here and they wouldn't know what BKT is. Actually neither would any of the European hair salons in my town. LOL!

Nothing can prepare you for the smell of the BKT. I used a non-formaldehyde formula called Zene Progressiva. My grey hairs have gone "yellow" and my hair has become more brown. My OH thinks that I've had a bad dye-job erplexed. I am actually happy with the results as my hair is poker straight.

I haven't posted pictures, or started a fotoki etc, etc but will do so in due course. My hair is troubled, but is growing. It's currently all at different lengths. I have huge problems growing the middle part of my hair. From the crown down to my nape. The sides grow with no issues. I am not going to cut it. I guess you could say I'm transitioning (again).

The smell of my hair post-BKT is an "acquired" smell. As the 48 hour period is up, I would like to wash my hair and see how well it has worked, however, the sodium-chloride free shampoo and conditioners I ordered, have not yet arrived. I normally use Tresemme Salon Silk, shampoo and conditioner. I have checked and it doesn't have sodium chloride. However I was wondering if there were other forms of salt I should look out for, and does anyone know if there are other ingredients in this shampoo that could strip the BKT from my hair?

I'd love to hear from the BKT experts. I'm going to wash my hair in a while in any case because seriously, I don't want be banished from the bedroom!

Thank you all in advance.

 

[Sweetheart]

I just want to say welcome to the board I am not a bkt expert but I plan on doing the bkt treatment on my hair in july once I get rid of this sew in. Plz keep us updated on your results.

 

[Liege4421]

what flatiron did you use?

 

[DeeVAS]

Ooh I've had replies - thank you!

I used a Corioliss C2 Nano BARE straightener. It's top temperature is 210 degrees celsius (410 farenheit). It's a very good hair straightener.

I washed my hair with Tresemme clarifying shampoo and slightly towel dried my hair before applying the BKT. I combed the excess out and then blow dried my hair. This was hard as it took ages to dry and at times my hair felt so strange, I thought that I'd done something wrong. The flat ironing process was also arduous. I passed the iron about 3 or 4 times over each section not 10! I still got the result I wanted, so I don't think that this was a bad thing.

What no-one also tells you about is the hair shedding which is a little scary, and I also had a brown residue drop off whilst I was flat-ironing (anyone else experience this)?

I take my hat off to the women with hair far longer than mine, who have done this I'm not sure I would continue doing this once my hair gets to shoulder length unless I can find someone to do it for me.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

Thanks for posting, I did read about it turning grays yellow that is why I am going to do a wine Cellophane tonight to cover my grays and the treatment next week.

I am going to baby my hair before the solution goes on right after the clarifying wash. I'm not blow drying my natural 4 a/b without product. I am going roller set spritzing with water to dry before I put the solution on. I would snatch my hair out of my head otherwise.

Everyone says your hair feels weird while drying with the solution on. That's the coating of the hair. When you bake it in with the flat iron, it starts to feel sleek and soft. That's how you know it's baked in good. I think you can tell how many passes of the iron you need based on how the hair feels.

 

[RENIBELL]

welcome to the board deevas!! i am also in england and thought about the bkt thing, but i was waiting for someone else to do it so i can find ot where they got it from and for how much? i cant wait to hear about your results after you wash, i am not as concerned about having swanging hair after flat ironing on 450, as i get this anyway, but i am interested in the condition of the hair after the first wash. please keep us posted, an dont forget to reply with where you got yors from

 

[Jetblackhair]

Welcome to the forum. During what process was your hair shedding?

 

[DeeVAS]

I noticed the hair shedding at the blow drying and flat ironing stages.

I ordered my BKT from a seller on eBay. It was £69.99 with free postage, however, the seller neglected to mention that it was coming from Brazil. The item APPEARED to be in the UK, which is why I purchased it from him. It took 2 weeks to arrive, and another 2 weeks for me to try it.

I'm ok with my grey streaks and don't intend to dye my 32 year old hair for a long time, but yellow is a big no no, so I may need to re-evaluate that. However, I don't mind how it looks at the moment. I'm going to wash, deep condition and flat iron and post pictures in a while.

 

[Saffirejuiliet]

:welcome3: Welcome DeeVAS to the board and thanks for sharing your BKT experience.

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Welcome Chica, thanks for sharing~ hurry up with those pics!

 

[Wanderland]

Welcome, and congrats.

 

[tenderheaded]

Welcome to Hair Central I thought you had to wait 4 days before washing???? I'm still trying to gather data before I take the plunge.

 

[msa]

Welcome!!!

 

[onelove08]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[DeeVAS]

Welcome to Hair Central I thought you had to wait 4 days before washing???? I'm still trying to gather data before I take the plunge.

The Zene instructions were definitely to wait 48 hours. I did on Thursday, so I could have washed it last night (Saturday). However, I have waited until today to wash.

My OH has taken picture of my hair before wash and post wash. I'm writing this reply whilst sitting under the dryer, deep conditioning. I plan to dry my hair in a wrap and will take more pictures. Then I'll flat iron and take more pics and I guess I'll be done (phew)!!

 

[AngelDoll]

Welcome!!! Can't wait to see pics.

 

[DeeVAS]

I'm getting impatient myself , so I'm uploading my pics so far

These are my hair post-BKT, before first wash

 

[DeeVAS]

I'm currently under the dryer, in a wrap set!

Here are the pictures of my hair after my first shampoo. I did shampooed twice as OH said he could still smell the BKT! He's a saint as I currently have blocked sinuses and have caught a whiff of it, when I've have a temporary restoration of my sense of smell

 

[cutenss]

Welcome to the board. I think it was BKT week here. I just did mine on Thursday, and will wash out on Monday, per my instructions. I hope you like it, I LOVE IT, so far. Again WELCOME

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I'm getting impatient myself , so I'm uploading my pics so far

These are my hair post-BKT, before first wash

View attachment 34143

View attachment 34145

View attachment 34147

I can't wait!!

Look at the on that hair !! Very pretty!!!

ETA: Did you mention if you were natural or do you have a relaxer. If you have a relaxer, how many weeks post are you?

I just clarified my hair to put my Cellophane color in (to cover my grays) and my hair going Its funny I keep my hair so oiled and moist, there is a big difference with out that slip!

 

[mariofmagdal]

Welcome. Thanks for sharing your experience, I look forward to seeing the pics.

 

[DeeVAS]

Hi Atlanta JJ, I had my last relaxer on Dec 5, 2008, so I am 21 weeks & 3 days, post-relaxer. My hair feels awesome since I had the BKT done and is incredibly soft, however, I think I may have experienced some breakage as opposed to shedding

I'm going to see what my hair looks like tomorrow after I remove my scarf. This is because I never like the way my hair looks, just after flat ironing but I like the way it looks after it's been wrapped all night.

More pics to follow in the morning.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I plan to be so careful with my hair after the wash and while the solution is on before the flat ironing, if not careful that's where you can run into trouble with natural hair. Relaxed hair is straight so it doesn't get as as traumatized by the manipulation with no product.

 

[Angelicus]

I just wanted to say welcome! We have people here from so many places! Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[addaboutmyhair]

I've had BKT down and I'm a little worried. I had very little shedding and it made my brown highlights slightly browner, but I don't think it should be making anything yellow. also, my waiting period was 4 full days, not 2. but maybe that's because my formula had formaldehyde?

Be gentle to your hair! Thisis sounding iffy.

 

[DeeVAS]

I've had BKT down and I'm a little worried. I had very little shedding and it made my brown highlights slightly browner, but I don't think it should be making anything yellow. also, my waiting period was 4 full days, not 2. but maybe that's because my formula had formaldehyde?

Be gentle to your hair! Thisis sounding iffy.

It could be a whole number of things, my hair condition at the time, the BKT formula I used (formaldehyde-free), etc, etc.

My present hair condition is thick at the roots and fine at the ends . I must say that it felt thick all over after the treatment, and it's shiny and swishy, although thin (but that's normal for me). It has definitely made my natural roots more mangeable.I don't regret doing it and probably will again, in 4-6 months. I've decided to transition again and hopefully with all the knowledge I have now, I'll be able to make a better go of it.

Now that I've washed my hair, the yellow doesn't look so bad, it looks like blond hair. LOL!

 

[AtlantaJJ]

It could be a whole number of things, my hair condition at the time, the BKT formula I used (formaldehyde-free), etc, etc.

My present hair condition is thick at the roots and fine at the ends . I must say that it felt thick all over after the treatment, and it's shiny and swishy, although thin (but that's normal for me). It has definitely made my natural roots more mangeable.I don't regret doing it and probably will again, in 4-6 months. I've decided to transition again and hopefully with all the knowledge I have now, I'll be able to make a better go of it.

Now that I've washed my hair, the yellow doesn't look so bad, it looks like blond hair. LOL!

There is a web site, I have to find it, that says BKT will turn gray hairs yellow and will lighten hair that has been previously colored with permanent color by 2 - 4 shades. It oddly enough does not mess with bleached hair much but there are some changes in color.

I did a cellophane color on my grays to help combat the yellowing.

One of the reasons your ends seem thinner than your roots may be that your ends have relaxer on them. I hear the BKT gets relaxed hair poker straight. It gives natural hair more body and manageability and less straightness.

The link that explains all of this is in the BKT Support thread somewhere, that thing is pretty big now!

 

[caribgirl]

Welcome aboard, DeeVas!

I am recovering from the same problems with breakage straight down the middle of my hair. The wealth of info from this board is incredible and I hope that your BKT results are what you anticipated!

 

[DeeVAS]

Welcome aboard, DeeVas!

I am recovering from the same problems with breakage straight down the middle of my hair. The wealth of info from this board is incredible and I hope that your BKT results are what you anticipated!

OMG - I've just had a look at your Fotki. Your hair at the beginning is just like mine is now. My hair breaks down the middle too, from crown to nape. I'm so inspired right now! I'm going to stick with what I'm doing . Daily moisturising, deep conditioning once a week and I will (try to) co-wash in the week. I was following Cathy Howse's regime of washing every three days, it got too much for me but looking back, my hair had started to improve, so I might just do that.

Between 2004 and 2007 I stopped relaxing my hair and grew it out using weaves and braids but I really negelected my natural hair. Now I have the MIGHT of LHCF behind me, this is something I'm determined to not repeat.

 

[Titansgirl]

Welcome to the board, DeeVAS! I'm so glad that you're apart of the LHCF family. I'm also glad that you're happy with your BKT experience.