KERAGEN Forte Keratin Smoothing Treatment – Professional Hair Restructuring System for Coarse & Resistant Hair | Formaldehyde Formula, Dimethicone Crosspolymer Seal | Lasts 20+ Washes | 2 oz

This is an excellent keratin treatment, and I plan to continue buying it -- but it's not for the faint of heart. I do EVERYTHING to my hair at home, and have had a handful of keratin salon treatments, and this is a case where experience helps. If you're a newbie to home treatments or to keratin treatments, here's what you need to know. * Fumes. You will have them, and on this one, they are BAD. They start the minute you open the little bottle, so be prepared. The fumes are what make it work, but make sure you're in a well-ventilated place, and proceed carefully. *No, you don't have to use sulfate-free shampoos to keep keratin in your hair. (Great news for me as my hair hates that stuff.) You do need a clarifying shampoo before you treat. After the treatment, any mild, moisturizing shampoo will work fine. * The longer you leave it in before shampooing, the better your results. Which leads us to... * DO NOT saturate your hair with the treatment. I have below shoulder length, thick hair, and only needed half a bottle.--and this is a small bottle. When people complain about a "sticky" feeling from keratin, it's because they used too much. Here is the process I followed to achieve utterly amazing, smooth, no-frizz results on my thick, ridiculously coarse, unmanageable hair: 1. Shampoo'd with a cheap clarifying shampoo and let my hair air dry. 2. Put on gloves, opened the bottle, got KNOCKED OUT by the fumes, and applied the product to my air-dried hair with my fingers. 3. Used a thick-toothed comb to distribute it evenly. 3. Waited one hour. 4. Used my hair dryer and a brush to blow my hair straight with the treatment still in it. 5. Used a flat iron at 450 degrees to iron my hair, tiny section by tiny section. I watched a movie while doing this, it took a long time. FUMES, FUMES, and more fumes. 6. Admired my beautifully straight, shiny, hair. 7. Left it in for five days before shampooing. I was going to leave it in for just 3, but it never looked greasy or dirty. Results: It used to take me two hours to go from wet to straight hair. Now, I can blow it dry in about 10 minutes and flat iron it in another 10 for far, far better results. I have no frizz and tons of shine. Best of all, if I let it air dry, I get smooth, soft waves that also look great. I could NEVER just wash and go before. I plan to continue using this treatment every few months. The others on Amazon are all in the $50 to $60 range, which is cheaper than going to the salon, but still a little pricey. This $12.99 treatment works as well as the ones I paid hundred of dollars for in the salon.

OK…I had to amend & change this review. I tried it once more still following all the steps in directions. The results this time were much better & so far have lasted. The crucial step is the last step. Once you’ve done everything & have applied the serum, waited for however length of time you choose & then rinsed, the blow drying & then heat ironing step MUST be done. Last time I basically just let it air dry & put product in it to style with blow dryer. It didn’t take as well. This time my hair is much smoother/straight & no frizz. Hoping it stays that way for a while. & yes, this will definitely make you eyes water. People have commented on the smell. That didn’t bother me but I had to walk out of the bathroom twice because the fumes started to irritate my eyes. Next time I plan to bring a fan in there.

FIRST OFF ALL I AM LAZY TO REVIEW PRODUCTS, IVE BEEN USING KERATIN FOR QUITE A WHILE FROM REJUVENOL COPOLA ( WHICH WAS THE BEST ) BUT SINCE I STARTED TO DO IT AT HOME BECAUSE ITS TOO MUCH MONEY AT SALON I HAVE NOT FELT MY HAIR SO SOFT AND STRAIGHT. YES THE FUMES ARE STRING I HAVE ASTMA BD PRACTICALLY BLOWED IT OUT ON BALCONY WITH 30 WEATHER BUT I GOT IT DONE AND USUALLY MY HAIR DRIES KINDA DRY LOOKING AND WHEN ITS IRONED YOU CAN SEE THE ROUGH BURNED ENDS BUT WITH THIS ONE ITS SMOOTH SOFT STRAIGTH AND MY ENDS DONT LOOK DRY LIKE WITH THE OTHERS. I HAVE OVER PROCESS HAIR WITH BLEACH THAT I DO CONSTANTLY HIGHLIGHTS AND I HAD JUST GOTTEN DONE THREE WEEKS AGO. IT HAS A CHOCOLATELY SMELL AND IF I WOULDNT HAD CUT MY HAIR THE 2 ONCE BOTTLE WOULDNT HAD BEEN ENOUGH I BARELY MADE IT BUT I WANTED TO TRY IT BEFORE GETTING A BIG BOTTLE. NOW I HAVE TO SEE HOW UT COMES OUT WHEN WASHED OFF HOPEFULLY MY HAIR WONT FALL OUT. MY ENDS LOOK A LITTLE DRY ON BACK BUT ACTUALLY THEY ARE NOT THEY ARE VERY SOFT ITS NOT I HAVE SHOULDER SURGERYY IT ITS KINDA HARD TO BLOW OUT THE BACK AND IRON.

I didn’t post a picture but to my huge surprise, this Worked much better than any salon treatment I’ve gotten and I’ve gotten about five over the years. However, some people are going to find it a dealbreaker that the fumes are pretty bad. My throat and nose and eyes Burned so much during the process. It really felt awful. My solution was that I stopped and set up shop on my back deck with a hazmat mask That I luckily I found around my husband’s tool things. I also wore goggles Which made it hard to see what I was doing. I went over each strand 20 times with a flat iron. I wouldn’t recommend that because my hair dried too straight for about a month and I wanted more body in it. Now it’s still air dries Pin straight but there’s more life in it. I can’t believe I did it though - I think it’s been about a month and a half now. it took maybe six hours For the first time but I imagine I’ll be faster the second time. I would do it again, but I would definitely try the non formaldehyde Version just to try it. If it didn’t work very well, I would do this one again, but maybe not more than twice a year because of the fumes. I’m so glad the product exists and saves me $300. It works so much better than anything at the salon. I’ll probably get better goggles for next time and take the time to actually fit that has hazmat mask on me correctly. Instead of just haphazardly putting it on. I would start out on my porch or deck instead of starting out in my house, because even with the fan on and another fan blowing out the window, the fumes were really burning.

I just used it today, so I don't know if it will work long term. So far, I am impressed though. I live in FL and I have frizzy hair. Today I went outside after completing all the steps for the product and my hair did not frizz. It looks shiny too, which is very rare for my hair. This particular bottle is small. thankfully I just got my hair cut short, so it was plenty. If your hair is any longer than about an inch below your ear, you will need the bigger bottle for sure. It will still save you a bunch of money. The smell did not bother me when I out it on my hair, but once I started using the hair dryer, it was pretty bad. It burnt my eyes, nose and throat. I ended up putting a mask on and that helped everything but my eyes. I had to keep turning the heat off and getting some fresh air. Despite all that, I will definitely be buying more and doing this again lol.

Amazing at first..but not long lasting .at least for me

This stuff is glorious! It's left my hair absolutely beautiful, even when it's just washed. The instructions on my bottle indicated that after pressing it out straight, the hair could be washed and styled. I didn't believe it, and just left my hair as is and washed it two days later. Apparently, the instructions are a bit problematic, but if you're familiar with the process, that shouldn't be a problem. Pros: Smooths even curly/kinky hair like mine. My hair is a reflection of the all the ancestors who came before me. I have loopy curls on the sides, frizzy hairline, and almost-kinky in the back. It's all smooth now, and the back didn't revert to its usual form. Cons: The fumes! You need a LOT of ventilation when working with this. I had the fan on in my bathroom and a wet washcloth to press over my eyes and nose. Next time I do this, I'll have either a stronger fan or do it outside! For some reason, this product was easier to use (fumes notwithstanding) than similar products I've used in the past. I will be purchasing this again.

As much as a mess that it was, I wish I had A “before photo” from the day before I did the treatment, because my hair was frizzled and fried from hi lights and hot water washes. It’s looking aLOT better now. Great product. Worth the time and process. It feels like a whole new head of hair. Lasted a good while from what I remember, the previous time. Very happy with results. Thank you