Brazilian Keratin Treatment, also known as BKT or escova progressiva, is a hair-straightening procedure that creates silky smooth hair for up to four months. Although it started in Brazil, the treatment started becoming popular in the United States by 2007.
Many naturals have been flocking to their stylists to sit for the highly crazed Brazilian Keratin treatment. I have heard both rave and some not so rave reviews including breakage after the application of the Brazilian Keratin Treatment. Before you decide to put any type of 'new' or highly popularized product on your skin & body I recommend you doing your research and getting the facts first. So without further adu here are a few fact findings about Keratin.
Keratin is found in skin
, hair, nails and teeth. When it comes to hair, damaged keratin looks dry and brittle. Keratin treatments are purported to protect and smooth hair shafts by coating the hair follicle. The cortex(second layer of hair) is changed after the bonds of keratin are applied. Keratin is used to change the structure of the hair on the inside of the shaft and then bonds and locks into place on the outside of the hair follicle.
According to sources such as Allure Magazine and The CBS Morning Show, The Brazilian Keratin Treatment (BKT) uses formaldehyde, a potentially toxic chemical known to cause health problems for skin, eyes and possibly cause cancer.
Allure magazine tested samples of BKT and found that they contained at least 10 times more formaldehyde than is recommended. So the first thing you should do is make sure the product that you plan to use is free of formaldehyde or has a value of less than 2 percent.
Formaldehyde is classified as a carcinogen by several governmental health and safety agencies. It's been associated with nasal and brain cancer and possibly leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute. Even if salons take special precautions in applying the BKT treatment, some fumes may be released into the air. Every time a consumer uses a flatiron on the hair, it releases more formaldehyde.
Source
Brazilian Keratin Treatments are
not approved or regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or any other government agency. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel, a group of scientists who set recommended safety standards for cosmetics ingredients, has set .2 percent as the maximum level of formaldehyde in a product to be considered safe. When "Allure Magazine" had BKT samples from various salons tested, the samples had concentrations ranging from 3.4 to 22.1 percent, the latter of which is 100 times the safe level set by the review panel.
I decided against getting a BKT for myself because although my hair does get frizzy and big when in humidity and can be hard to manage at times it isn't worth the health risk. I opted out of perming my hair for that very same reason so I don't see the purpose in putting something like formaldehyde on my hair to 'tame' it. The high degree of temperature on the flatiron, up to 450 degrees, seals in the protein treatment and can 'relax' the curl pattern making it more manageable and less prone to frizz. I equate this with the likes of a texturizer. There are also some naturalaxers on the market targeting natural women who don't want that oh so natural kink but still want their hair to be in it's natural curl pattern.
Over all you be the judge, do your research and decide for yourself what is best for you. Visit sites like
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep to research the toxicity levels in products you use at home.
Love for Self, Love for Health™ Lipstick Diva
