I'll be categorizing this review of the Keratin Complex Treatment on African American hair and giving each area a "Grade" for relative comparison purposes. I'll be using categories that are marketed to be the biggest benefits for this treatment.
Duration - F
My treatment did not last the 3-5 months as advised by the advertisements and stylist. I received the Keratin Complex Treatment by Coppola at Ulta on March 8. Today is March 31 and my hair is back to normal. I've shampooed and deep conditioned my hair five times with appropriate products over the past 3.5 weeks. I did my wash regimen approximately every 5 days. For the amount of money this cost me, even on special at $185 + tip, this was a severe dissapointment.
Mangeability and Appearance - B-
There was a significant increase in manageability for the first two washes (about 10 days) after the treatment. And of couse, days after my initial treatment, my hair was a dream. Oh how I wish it would have stayed like that.
After the first wash, I noticed a decrease in sleekness, yet my hair was still very much better for the treatment. After the second wash, there was a very noticeable difference from the first treatment. By the third wash, my dry hair appeared back to normal, however when wet, it was still stronger. The fourth and especially fifth wash, my hair was pretty much back to its normal state, both wet and dry.
I could quickly detangle my hair with minimal wet breakage with a fine tooth comb without the need of using a wide tooth first. However, I did not get reckless. Wet styling time was decreased because I did not have long detangling sessions.
Change in Health - C
Keep in mind this treatment is supposed to work better with multiple applications back to back. The health of my hair was a slight improvement. Normal styling breakage decreased slightly with the most significant change being wet styling.
Product Usage - A-
I did not have to use as much product as I normally use in my regimen. My products seemed to spread more easily and perform more effectively. A conditioner and serum that I was so-so about, worked great and I have been only using those two for those purposes. Since I've been sticking to the same product regimen for the Moisture Challenge on the Hair2Toe Beauty forum, I can't say about the rest of my stash.
Overall feelings
Let me say that I received this treatment only once and from a salon and stylist I never went to before so a comparison would be invalid. However, in my readings and another forum member mentioning this to me, Ulta salons have been reported to not giving the best Keratin Complex Treatment with the most common complaint being the product didn't "take". If that means its effects did not last as expected, I can echo the sentiment. It could be that they didn't use enough product, I don't know. I can't compare. But the process seemed to go just fine for me.
It also could be that one of my products contained some kind of other chemical derivative of sulfates or sodium chloride that I wasn't aware of that might have accelerated the wearing off of the product. I followed Kai Chic on Mane & Chic during her time with the Keratin Complex Treatment and it lasted a few months for her natural hair. She used their recommended products to maintain her hair as far as I remember. So this could very well be the culprit for me.
As I believe I've mentioned before, the stylist on LHCF who regularly gets the Brazilian Keratin Treatment (different from the KCT) said that the KCT does not last as long or provide as much straightening effect. So it's really unknown to me why mine didn't last as long.
What I will recommend is that if you plan on getting this treatment, make absolutely positively sure that your products do not contain the no-no ingredients. Products such as Elucence, Pureology, and Aubrey Organics would be great to maintain this treatment. And keep in mind, the more porous and/or damaged your hair is (color treated, relaxed, etc.), the more responsive your hair will be and the longer the treatment should last.
So, I am not recommending or not recommending the Keratin Complex Treatment for African American hair at this point. I'm just providing my experience with information to help you make a decision.
;-) L8rs...I'm sleepy and still need to rinse out my DC!
ETA: Pics after my first wash.
3 comments:
Great info info Eryn. Thx for sharing, love all the details.
Thank you. I am looking to get this done for my daughter. Did not know there was a different between Brazilian and Coppola. Thanks again
The first time I had this done was at Ulta as well. The head hairstylist applied it and even told me that the flat iron did not go up to 450 degrees. I told him I had one that did, he said it would work fine with his. Well hundreds of dollars later it did not take all the way. I realized this after buying the Coppola product of the internet and doing the entire process myself for a third of the price. It tames the curl out of the unmanageable parts of my thick coarse hair and I call it my hair steroid. I recommend applying this product yourself and saving a ton of money and ensuring that it is done properly. It looks completely better and last longer doing it myself than when the idiot at Ulta scammed me!
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