Is your bathroom strewn with anti-frizz shampoos, smoothing oils and ‘restorative’ hair masks, but you haven’t yet found the perfect elixir to get yourself perfectly smooth and shiny hair. Does everything you use only work until the rain hits, or never last past your next shampoo? If you’re constantly wishing you could just wake up with perfectly smooth hair, there’s a product for that. Or rather, there’s a brand with a whole line of must-know products: Keratin Complex.
The #1 choice for salon professionals, the Keratin Complex brand has a range of at-home hair care products with unparalleled effectiveness for taming frizz and adding silky shine. And the results last a lot longer than cheap anti-frizz hairsprays that sit on your bathroom shelf without earning their keep.
About Keratin Complex
Keratin Complex was created in 2007. Their debut product was their Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment, which went on to be voted Favorite Smoothing Treatment by Behind the Chair Stylist Choice Award for nine whole years in a row. Talk about making a grand entrance!
Since then, they’ve expanded their range to include an even stronger Keratin Complex smoothing treatment. as well as a gentler version for blonde hair. They also launched a Keratin Complex Color line for color-treated hair, and numerous other products such as shampoos, conditioners and hairsprays that’ll give you soft and luminous hair while protecting your hair treatments. And, all of it is based on the hair-perfecting power of keratin. So, what is this magical ingredient, and why is it so good for your hair?
What Is Keratin?
Keratin is a protein that’s naturally found in hair, skin and nails. In fact, keratin isn’t just in hair, it makes up as much as 95% of it! It’s found in both the outer layer of the hair strand (called the cuticle) where it creates a protective barrier, and in its inner core where it’s responsible for the overall structure of the hair strand. Lots of keratin equals strong, smooth, elastic hair strands which have beautiful shine.
However, natural keratin levels can be depleted over time due to factors such as exposure to sunlight, chemical damage (e.g. from bleaching or dying your hair), and excessive heat styling.
What Happens To Hair When Keratin Is Lost?
You can think of the outer layer of the hair strand as being made up of overlapping ‘scales’, which seal it up to prevent moisture from getting in. Initially, keratin is lost from these outer layers, which makes the ‘scales’ lift up instead of lying flat. Now, humidity can seep into the core of the strand causing it to swell up, and your once-smooth hair starts to look frizzy.
Having the core of the hair strand exposed also makes it susceptible to additional damage, including complete breakage.
How Does A Keratin Complex Treatment Work?
Unlike many of the hair smoothing products you’ll find at your local drugstore, which simply coat the hair strand in oils to temporarily flatten and seal the cuticle until your next wash day, Keratin Complex offers a semi-permanent solution by actually replenishing lost keratin. The exclusive formula binds new keratin to the hair strand, filling in gaps and restoring the hair’s original strength and structure, inside as well as out.
Instantly after a Keratin Complex treatment, you can expect your hair to feel softer and silkier, and to look smoother and shinier thanks to reduced frizz. But you’re also getting the longer-term benefit of hair that’s stronger and more resilient to future damage.
Creating Your Perfect Keratin Complex Treatment
Exactly which Keratin Complex treatment steps you’ll need depends on factors such as your hair color, and whether it’s natural or color-treated. There are numerous Keratin Complex products to choose from, but here are the three categories to include in your keratin hair care regime:
Keratin Complex Shampoo And Conditioner
All great hair care routines start with the basics: Excellent shampoo and conditioner.
For most hair types, the Keratin Complex Keratin Care Shampoo and Keratin Complex Keratin Care Conditioner are the perfect combination. For color-treated hair however, you’ve got a choice between the Keratin Complex Color Care Shampoo and Keratin Complex Color Care Conditioner or the Keratin Complex Timeless Color Fade-Defy Shampoo and Keratin Complex Timeless Color Fade-Defy Conditioner (the latter contains UV absorbers to prevent the sun from dulling your color).
There’s also a purple shampoo and conditioner for either natural or bottle blondes who want to eliminate brassiness and maintain vibrancy, and a volumizing shampoo and conditioner for those after hair that’s not just smoother but also fuller-looking.
The Extras
From deep conditioning masks to styling aids, there are many other keratin-infused products that you can add to your daily or weekly hair routine. Here are a few of our favorites:
Keratin Complex Infusion: This lightweight, moisture-replenishing styling cream cuts down on the time required to blow dry your hair, while also locking out humidity for hair that stays frizz-free all day long.
Keratin Obsessed Treatment Spray: Spritz a little of this award-winning spray onto your hair and not only will you be adding instant keratin, but you’ll also enjoy multiple other benefits such as enhanced color vibrancy and increased manageability.
Vanilla Bean Deep Conditioner: When your hair is feeling especially parched, swap out your regular Keratin Complex conditioner for this deeply-restorative treatment which injects moisture and shine, along with the deliciously sweet scent of vanilla.
Firm Hold Hairspray: There are multiple Keratin Complex hairsprays, gels, and molding pastes available, but we particularly like this one for the way it keeps each strand perfectly positioned right through until nighttime, even after you brush your hair.
The Professional Treatment Options
Want to get your smoothest hair ever? While all Keratin Complex products deliver visible smoothing and shine, you’ll get the best – and longest-lasting – results with one of their professional-grade smoothing treatments. These do come with a higher price tag, but they deliver incredibly intense smoothing which can last as long as 5 months from a single treatment!
Here at Editors’ Pick, we offer a choice of three pro treatment options available to buy online:
Keratin Complex Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment: The original Keratin Complex formula that catapulted this brand to haircare stardom, this heat-activated Keratin Complex smoothing therapy can be used on any hair type and guarantees a soft, smooth and shiny finish.
Keratin Complex Natural Keratin Smoothing Treatment For Blonde Hair: Not just for blondes, this is a gentler version of the product above that still delivers breathtaking results. It has a neutral tint that won’t interfere with the appearance of blonde, grey or white hair. Plus, it’s formulated to activate at a lower temperature and contains added conditioning agents, making it ideal for use on fine, fragile, or over-processed hair of any color.
Keratin Complex Express Blowout: The fastest-acting professional Keratin Complex treatment, this formulation takes just one hour to eliminate 95% of frizz from your head, with the results lasting for an average of six weeks.
Keratin Complex FAQs
Still have questions about Keratin Complex? Let’s answer them!
Does Keratin Complex Straighten Hair?
Sort of. Keratin Complex is not designed to be a straightening treatment. However, it does reduce curl to some extent in the high-strength salon treatments. If you’re simply using a Keratin Complex shampoo at home however, or applying some Keratin Complex Infusion Therapy into your curls every time before drying, it won’t have any straightening effect but will lead to smoother, more defined-looking curls or waves.
On a side note, if you regularly flat iron your hair, be sure to check out the Keratin Complex straightener ‘Stealth V’ which has been designed to use in conjunction with their straightening products.
How Often Should I Get A Keratin Treatment?
Would getting a professional keratin treatment every week lead to the strongest, most beautifully healthy-looking hair in the world? Actually, no. An overload of protein in your hair can actually have the opposite of the desired effect, making it feel dry and brittle.
Given that Keratin Complex’s professional-grade treatments deliver such fabulously long-lasting results, you don’t need to use them that often anyway. The original Keratin Complex Smoothing Treatment for example, plus the version for blondes, will make your hair smoother and more manageable for as much as five months.
As for the other products such as shampoos, conditioners, and styling aids, you can safely use them as often as you’ve always washed or styled your hair, since these contain lower concentrations of keratin.
Can Keratin Treatments Damage Hair?
Aside from the minor risk of increased brittleness through over-use that we’ve just described, the answer is no. Keratin Complex simply replaces the keratin that your hair used to have but lost, so it is essentially restoring your hair to its optimal, natural state. It fixes damage, not causes it.
If you’re worried about overdoing it with keratin treatments, speak to your stylist for advice on the ideal frequency, or get one done only in the summer when humidity – and therefore frizz – is at its highest.
Does Keratin Complex Have Formaldehyde?
Wondering how much formaldehyde is in Keratin Complex? The answer is zero! That’s one of the reasons we lone Keratin Complex over many of the other chemical smoothing treatment options out there. There are salon treatments that release formaldehyde gas, a known carcinogen, but Keratin Complex is not one of them, making it a much safer alternative.
How Do You Maintain Hair Treated After A Keratin Complex Treatment?
After you’ve invested in a Keratin Complex smoothing treatment, naturally you want to maximize how long your glossy new look and silky-soft new texture lasts for. The most important thing to remember is to not wet the hair for at least 72 hours (3 days) after a professional treatment; if you do get it wet by accident, immediately blow dry that section and go over it with a flat iron on a low heat setting.
You should also avoid ponytails, hair clips/pins, and anything else that holds your hair back (including tucking it behind your ears!) for the same period. The idea is to not let anything interfere with your hair’s new shape until it has fully ‘set’ into position.
How to maintain a keratin smoothing treatment once those 72 hours are up? You’ll want to ensure your shampoo and conditioner are free from sulfates and sodium chloride, which can strip the newly-deposited keratin right out of your hair. The Keratin Complex shampoo and conditioner is formulated especially for use after keratin treatments, and adding other Keratin Complex products such as hair masks or hair balm into your regular routine will help maintain the results for longer.
Is Keratin Complex A Good Brand?
The fact that their signature formula has won Favorite Smoothing Treatment annually for almost a decade speaks for itself. Keratin Complex really does transform your hair! Just check out some Keratin Complex reviews online if you want to see what ‘real people’ think of it too, and we’re sure you’ll be convinced to give it a try.
Where Can I Buy Keratin Complex Smoothing Treatment?
Right here at Editors’ Pick! We have the brand’s signature Smoothing Treatment, and we stock a wide range of other Keratin Complex products from shampoos to travel kits, to hair dyes and hairbrushes. And we offer all of it with free US shipping and returns!