Spinoff: Has anyone ever experienced post-BKT regrets? Let's discuss!

[vivEz daNs lamouR]

The post-BC depression thread and winterinatl's thread about her hair after BKTing got me thinking.

We see a lot of positive responses to the BKT, but did anyone ever experience an adverse or negative affect in terms of their hair? I'd like to know so that I can see both sides of the fence in terms of doing a BKT treatment. (I'm not doing one right now, but the concept interests me that I'd like to know more about it.)

Also, hopefully if we get some reasoning going on, perhaps others can chime in with tips/support.

So, have you experienced post-BKT regrets? Why? What happened?

 

[Ganjababy]

Great thread- I wanna know too!

 

[diva24]

I do believe I have read a thread just like this one. A few people mentioned "peeling" hair. From what I read it was described as hair that split all the way up the shaft and not just on a few strands but the majority. Some also complained of hair that did not revert after the "wears off" period.

 

[Stiletto_Diva]

I'm one of the people who didn't have a good experience with BKT. After I got the treatment done at a salon my hair felt really dry. Even after repeated DCing. My hair felt like I had dyed it and all of the moisture was taken out. Finally after a few months (I got the treatment in July) My hair felt back to normal.

When I got it done the stylist did a "temporary" BKT, which was suppose to wash out in a month. My hair went fron 4a/b to 3c/4a. I loved the managability at first, but it has now been 3 months and my hair still has not fully reverted back.

Even though I can not see damage from the treatment I am waiting to see if my new growth will be a drastic difference from the BKT hair. If it is I will be highly upset.

 

[princessnad]

When I wear my hair straight with BKT, I tend to straighten more and with less care so I think I was on my way to heat damage. I stopped wearing it straight so often so I think I avoided that.

Other than that, so far so good.

 

[Desarae]

I did not have a favorable BKT experience.

I have relaxed hair, not bone straight relaxed, but relaxed none the less. I was going for stronger, silky, shiny, wash and dry hair that looked as if it had been flatirioned, without having to flatiron it. These are the results that relaxed heads should get from this treatment.

I did the treatment myself back in July. I used Softliss, which is supposed to be a formaldehyde free treatment that you can rinse out an hour after using.

I used as directed, Clarified, blowdried, applied the treatment, blowdried again, then flatrioned on 450 degrees in small sections. (Mistake #1: My hair wouldn't be able to handle that without the treatment, so I shouldn't have took the risk with the treatment)

Most people have silky, shiny swanging hair at this point, but I did not, and I started to worry, but I just thought after I washed it out, that's when I would see the results. My hair felt dry, stiff and coated. Basically I had locked a seal over bone dry hair. (Not good)

Once I rinsed out the treatment, applied the mask, I wet wrapped my hair, tied it down and went to sleep. I woke up the next morning, thinking I was going to see silky shiny hair that looked as if it were flat ironed.....WRONG.

My ends were FRIED. When I say they were fried, they were burnt crispy and going every which way about 3 inches up. I tried to take pics but for some reason my cam was not functioning properly.

My hair would not accept any DC's, it was so tangly and hard when wet, and it was breaking and shedding all over the place. Small pieces, long pieces, my hair was dropping out left and right, much more than before. It was a nightmare to detangle when wet, even with conditoner. I had a friend of mine do my hair because I was so frustrated, she was like OMG your hair feels gross, It was a MESS. I thought I would have to end my journey and start over.

I immediately started using shampoos and conditoners that contained Sodium Chloride to try to strip the treatment off my hair. I was adding salt to my DC's, using clarifying shampoo, anything. Nothing was working anymore. The only thing that made it feel a little better was the Joico K Pak 4 step treatment. I almost lost hope and I really didn't care anymore I was convinced that I would have to cut off all my hair, so I had my friend cut off about 3-4 inches of the fried ends taking me from the top of SL back to the top of NL.

Pics of my hair right after the BKT before I washed it out back in July. My hair is now the length of my AVI/SIGGY. I dyed it black to camoflauge some of the damage. My hair was doing well even with the highlights.

Then about a month after, I decided to do a touch up, I was only 6 weeks post but I had nothing to lose, I had a lot of NG for the most part so I went for it. Thankfully my hair returned back to normal and started accepting moisture and protien again and it is doing well now, but I learned my lesson.

There's no miracle in a bottle, and results may vary. If your hair can't take heat without the treatment, it may not be able to take it with the treatment. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and stick to the plan of growing my hair the "hard" way. I really feel like I doged a bullet. I still have short pieces in my crown from the breakage, but overall i'm happy with my hair now.

 

[Stepiphanie]

When I got my first bkt done at the salon I had horrible breakage after the first wash and consecutive washes. I babied my hair, and cowashed and dc'd religiously for 2 mths before I tried it again. The second time I did it at home and used a diff brand, even with all the breakage from the 1st one I had progress, still had a little breakage but not nearly as much. My theory on why I had breakage is the my ends were damaged from relaxing, and even though they looked healthy to the naked eye, the bkt was just too much. I must say it left my hair softer and more manageable. I'm in a sewn in now and I bkt my roots and they are doing lovely. I haven't completely made up my mind on whether bkt is friend or foe. I've only tried the formaldehyde free formulas. I will wait until my hair is fully natural and try it again to decide if I will continue to do it.

 

[beana]

I don;t know if i can outright blame the BKT for my excessive hair breakage/shedding during my wash routine, but ever since i did it on 8/25/2009 i've noticed 200% more hairs during my combout and in my sink.

I've attempted to "strip" the treatment twice. Hopefully with my next relaxer, I'll have no traces of it left.

 

[vivEz daNs lamouR]

Bumping for more responses.

 

[Dak]

I've noticed that often when people post about a "bad" BKT, often they've tweaked the instructions on some level or had expectations that it will fix an existing problem. If you have heat damage already, it's going to make that area straight.

Nothing is going to replace getting your ends trimmed and continued TLC of your hair. It takes some research, as for me, the products I use to use all had sulfates in them.

I'm very happy with the results on my hair; it's healthy, thick ends and much easier to take care of.

 

[Amerie123]

noooo, this thread is depressing. I want to get a BKT, but I wanna hear all was good.. (only in a perfect world right?)

 

[Love Always]

I've noticed that often when people post about a "bad" BKT, often they've tweaked the instructions on some level or had expectations that it will fix an existing problem. If you have heat damage already, it's going to make that area straight.

Nothing is going to replace getting your ends trimmed and continued TLC of your hair. It takes some research, as for me, the products I use to use all had sulfates in them.

I'm very happy with the results on my hair; it's healthy, thick ends and much easier to take care of.

Dak, I love your hair! I'm sure it's been asked but can your regimen and the products that you use with your BKT hair? Do you flat iron your hair often with this treatment?

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

I've only done one treatment, but I really loved my results. After reading some of the negative results that some people were having, I decided to do an overnight DC to help infuse moisture into my strands prior to the treatment and I only dried my hair to 80% on medium heat. I ended up with soft, silky moisturized hair. I used the Dreamhair (2% Formaldehyde), and my hair had been texlaxed the week before my BKT. I also found that I did not need the 5-10 passes recomended to seal the treatment. I only did 2-3 passses on 450 degrees. I normally flatiron on 450 with heat protectant anyway, so the temp did bother me (I've only flatironed 4-5 times in the past year). I've had minimal shedding/breakage, actually less than I normally have. I hope to continue to have good results with this, as I will be using it to transition (I will not be texlaxing/relaxing anymore, EVER).

ETA, I will be mostly bunning my hair.

 

[cutenss]

I am sorry to had about the bad experiences, when mine has been positive. I have 100% natural hair. I have done BKT once a month for five months. Hair is a delicate thing. And you must know yours. Not EVERYTHING works for EVERYONE. Relaxers don't work for some, nor does pressing, blowdrying or even some shampoos and conditioners. We all want the "miracle" product. I do too, but BKT isn't it to all. No more the the relaxer is. I always suggest to people to do your research. GOOGLE is a wonderful thing. And this forum a an excellent source of information as well. You can't have a setback with any product you put on your hair. You can also have fabilous results. I am glad BKT works for me, because though I have relaxed in the past, I have no desire to do it again. Because it doesn't work for me in the sense I need it too.

Sorry for th loooong post, JMHO

 

[Dak]

Dak, I love your hair! I'm sure it's been asked but can your regimen and the products that you use with your BKT hair? Do you flat iron your hair often with this treatment?

Thank you Nisha!
Right now I'm using iden botanical energy shampoo with the Rusk Pro Elements Keratin Smoothing Treatment. I roller set with Aveda's Smooth Infusion & a little Moisture Block. I flat iron about once a week, or week and a half. I do flat iron my bangs more often, though I don't worry about heat damage there since I'm always trimming them.

 

[Love Always]

^^^Thanks Dak, I know you're natural...so I'm curious to know how does your natural hair look and feel after you wash it? I'm natural as well and I want to try this treatment to get rid of the frizz and bulk that I have.

 

[Desarae]

What I don't understand is why people get so defensive when people post bad experiences. That's what this thread is for right?

i didn't tweak the instructions, (maybe I should have) Nor did I didn't consider my hair ''damaged" before the BKT. Heat sensitive, yes, but not heat damaged. Even if it was, isn't that one of the selling points for this product?

My hair doesen't like heat that much. I figured since it supposedly had a "built in heat protectant'' I'd be okay, that's wasn't the case for me.

No hard feelings against people who had good results, I wish it would have worked for me, I would still have my length and more by now. I'm not knocking anyone, i'm just sharing MY experience.

ETA: Seems like naturals are having better results than relaxed heads. Mighty funny since they were telling naturals they need to get a relaxer beforehand in order for it to "work". I guess tweaking the directions might work afterall.

 

[Serenity_Peace]

I do want to hear all sides of this issue, especially since I have fine hair and thinking of transitioning. I want to wait well into my post-relaxer stretch before doing the BKT, but I definitely want to research all aspects of the treatment. I've been reading a lot and coming here to read the reviews, but I also want to make sure that I'm doing the right thing.

I especially want to hear from women who have active lives and workout for at least 3 of 4 days a week.

 

[Dak]

What I don't understand is why people get so defensive when people post bad experiences. That's what this thread is for right?

The OP posted a poll, where a yes or no question was posed. That normally invites a variety of opinions to post. I don't think my opinion is defensive, I have seen many people not follow the directions here. Since you say you did follow the directions, my comments were not directed at you. I was sorry to hear about your ends getting fried.

 

[beana]

What I don't understand is why people get so defensive when people post bad experiences. That's what this thread is for right?

i didn't tweak the instructions, (maybe I should have) Nor did I didn't consider my hair ''damaged" before the BKT. Heat sensitive, yes, but not heat damaged. Even if it was, isn't that one of the selling points for this product?

My hair doesen't like heat that much. I figured since it supposedly had a "built in heat protectant'' I'd be okay, that's wasn't the case for me.

No hard feelings against people who had good results, I wish it would have worked for me, I would still have my length and more by now. I'm not knocking anyone, i'm just sharing MY experience.

ETA: Seems like naturals are having better results than relaxed heads. Mighty funny since they were telling naturals they need to get a relaxer beforehand in order for it to "work". I guess tweaking the directions might work afterall.

I dont understand that either DEsiRae . It's not that everyone with bad experiences with BKT has damaged hair... not all products work for everyone, BKT is no different.

 

[Desarae]

The OP posted a poll, where a yes or no question was posed. That normally invites a variety of opinions to post. I don't think my opinion is defensive, I have seen many people not follow the directions here. Since you say you did follow the directions, my comments were not directed at you. I was sorry to hear about your ends getting fried.

I didn't mean to jump down your throat, sorry if it came off that way, I'm just really getting annoyed by the fact that some people can't grasp, just because something works for some, it doesen't mean it will work for all. That goes for any product.

It just seems like everytime someone posts a bad experience, some people who have had good experiences try to think of 50/11 things they may have done wrong, when really, it just didn't agree with thier hair.

Everybody who had good experiences may not have followed the directions to a T and vice versa.

This is something you should do at your own risk, and I'm not blaming anyone or asking for a pity party. I was WELL infomed when I decided to do it, it just didn't work the way I thought it would for my hair. I just want other people to know what I went through. I know people IRL who have done it with good results. It just didn't work for me.

 

[hothair]

I just wanted to say personally I think BKT is good for easier management and styling.

IMO it does NOT treat damaged hair and is NOT a 100% heat or colour protectant, so even when "baking" the treatment in use less heat than recommended and not as many passes.
It DOES relax your texture but speaking for myself and my sister it does wear off, depending on your previous treatment it could take more than 6 months.

Also BKT is not easily stripped by sodium chloride products you may just have to wait it out.

Lastly this treatment is complimentary you must maintain a solid regimen and up your DC/protein treatments BEFORE application.

Good luck.

 

[akgirl]

I know this opinion isn't going to be popular but I'm giving it. I don't believe that calling it a "keratin" treatment is entirely accurate and just a marketing ploy. I say that because they HAVE to have some type of "hyde" or ether to get it to straighten your hair. Basically it seems to be mildly embalming your hair and we are doing it so casually that I'm a little concerned personally. I jumped on that bandwagon and had it done once and it was a little traumatizing and the fumes were really scary (and it was a "formaldehyde-free" version) and even with a mask and fans at the salon I was so dizzy. If you have to wear an industrial type mask, I don't know, it's just not worth it to me. That whole experience was a huge wakeup call for me to evaluate whether I was willing to risk my health and potentially hurting my family members over my hair. If it was truly just keratin, then the aphogee keratin and green tea spray would have the same effect wouldn't it? When I think about it, formaldehyde is used in pants to make them wrinkle-free (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/233417)/should_you_wash_new_clothes_they_could.html?cat=5). Sounds like what is going on with the BKT right? It may be for some, but I definitely won't be doing it again for the aforementioned reasons. Maybe if you don't have the fumes and you don't breathe them in at all you're good. But the stuff sitting in my hair afterwards still concerns me a bit. If they were completely honest and weren't claiming "formaldehyde-free" and were more open about it, maybe I wouldn't be as worried. But they seem a little sketchy in wanting to fully divulge. No thanks. I'm already picky enough about what is in my normal hair products.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

I'm still on the fence about BKT. I get good results straitening with the Aphoghee Green Tea heat protector. I think that is as close as I'll get.LOL!

 

[Serenity_Peace]

When I went to Ulta to pick up a few things, two stylists were applying the BKT to their client's hair. They weren't wearing masks and neither were the clients. It must have been a different type of BKT without the harsh formaldehyde included. I'll have to ask the next time I'm there.

 

[ChristmasCarol]

Only thing I regret (thus far) is not hearing about BKT years ago.

 

[Stiletto_Diva]

I've noticed that often when people post about a "bad" BKT, often they've tweaked the instructions on some level or had expectations that it will fix an existing problem. If you have heat damage already, it's going to make that area straight.

Nothing is going to replace getting your ends trimmed and continued TLC of your hair. It takes some research, as for me, the products I use to use all had sulfates in them.

I'm very happy with the results on my hair; it's healthy, thick ends and much easier to take care of.

This is not the case with me. As a matter of fact one of the main reasons I'm upset that I did the BKT is becasue my hair was the healthiest it has been in a very long time and I felt that it was at its optimum health level. I went to a professional to get mine's done and he did not tweak the instructions at all. It took months for me to get my hair back to the healthy feel that my hair had before the BKT.

I notice that alot of people who rave about the BKT have not allowed enough time to pass to see if their hair will revert back to its previous state (pertaining to the naturals). This is one of my biggest complaints. I still have not figured out if my hair is hanging more because it is growing out and is heavier, or if it is because of the BKT. I will know by the end of the year which one it is because I will have a clear view of my "new growth".

I don't mean to slam the people who love BKT, but the OP asked for people who had a bad expierence and I am one of them.

 

[Dove56]

Only thing I regret (thus far) is not hearing about BKT years ago.

I know right...lol.

I've had excellent results from the BKT. I can walk in the rain, be in 98% humidity and STILL no fuzz or frizz, LOVE IT! I am BSL and texlaxed and about 19 weeks post now, still no frizz. My hair is naturally very strong and it still grows and thrives with heat. I'm growing back to MBL or the top of my waist and I don't have any intentions on relaxing anymore. So far, BKT (on my new growth 3b/c) is allowing me to have the best of both worlds.

 

[Dove56]

This is not the case with me. As a matter of fact one of the main reasons I'm upset that I did the BKT is becasue my hair was the healthiest it has been in a very long time and I felt that it was at its optimum health level. I went to a professional to get mine's done and he did not tweak the instructions at all. It took months for me to get my hair back to the healthy feel that my hair had before the BKT.

I notice that alot of people who rave about the BKT have not allowed enough time to pass to see if their hair will revert back to its previous state (pertaining to the naturals). This is one of my biggest complaints. I still have not figured out if my hair is hanging more because it is growing out and is heavier, or if it is because of the BKT. I will know by the end of the year which one it is because I will have a clear view of my "new growth".

I don't mean to slam the people who love BKT, but the OP asked for people who had a bad expierence and I am one of them.

Have you tried ORS Creamy Aloe Shampoo? It's chelating and is used to remove calcium deposits from hair relaxed with no-lye perms. If I ever get sick of BKT (I won't..lol) this strips it right out of my hair and the waves and curls emerge.

 

[MyAngelEyez~C~U]

I think this thread is necessary, just as the BTK Support thread is. People need to hear and see the negatives and the positives, so that they can make an informed decision. That's one of the wonderful things about this forum. It is a wealth of information about all things hair, both good and bad, positive and negative. I am glad I got both the good and the bad before I decided to try BTK. I can honestly say I made a very informed decision. Anyone who tries this or anything else here (henna, Kiya-fizzle, OCT, MTG, etc.) will have more than enough info on it. If you search and read, you will have what you need to make your well-informed decision.

So, I hope that everyone who has had a negative experience posts here. The info is needed. And, personally, I welcome it.

Thank you, ladies.