Haircare
All You Need To Know About The Side Effects Of Hair Smoothening
Sonal Trivedi
Hair smoothening, also called keratin treatment or a Brazilian blowout, is a process that makes your hair silky straight and adds an enviable sheen to it. It works by breaking bonds in your hair and then gluing them back together so that they acquire some shine. However, certain side effects might make you stop and think twice if it’s worth the effort!
Hair smoothening occurs in 4 steps:
- Washing hair with a deep cleansing shampoo
- Applying a straightening solution to your hair
- Blow-drying and rigorous flat-ironing hair at a high temperature
- Creating a waterproof seal that enables your hair to maintain its straight structure for a period of three to six months
Hair Smoothening Side Effects
Hair smoothening comes with its own set of side effects. Here’s what you need to watch out for:
1. Increased hair fall
One of the common hair smoothening side effects involves chronic hair fall. It can be a serious sign of deteriorating hair health as well. Excess and continuous use of harmful chemicals directly on your hair during the hair smoothening process weakens your hair follicles. This results in hair detaching from its roots, causing hair fall. It may also cause your hair’s natural strength to weaken, which further causes the hair to break.
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2. Skin damage
The chemicals used during the process can also lead to skin damage. During the treatment, accidental skin contact with chemicals can cause blisters or rashes around the face, scalp, and neck area. A chemical compound called formaldehyde used in the process can also lead to itchiness, redness, and coarseness of the top layer of your skin.
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3. Spoiling of natural hair texture
During the process, your hair’s natural texture may suffer due to the application of some harsh chemicals. The amino acids and disulfide bonds in your hair break and rebond all over again, which is what gives your hair a new, straightened texture. However, this means that the natural texture of your healthy hair is lost.
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4. Dry hair
After a few washes, your hair may experience dryness. The toxic chemicals used to straighten and smoothen your hair also change the hair texture from the scalp to its tip and damage it to a large extent. Another reason for dryness is a flaky scalp, which comes hand-in-hand with the chemicals seeping into your hair follicles. The residue of these chemicals turns your hair extremely brittle. However, you can alleviate this by using hair oil regularly.
5. Split ends
Another hair smoothening side effect involves split ends. The repeated exposure of your hair to high temperatures and chemicals can suck the moisture out of your hair strands and result in split ends. This side effect also includes weaker hair follicles due to the high level of heat used.
6. Dandruff and skin flaking
Dandruff is a huge problem for many, but keratin treatment leads to abundant dandruff. The residue of the harmful chemicals comes together after the process has been completed and results in dandruff flakes. These, in turn, cause itching, hair fall, and greasiness. Dandruff may also be a factor for other serious hair problems like scalp inflammation.
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7. Greasy hair
Greasiness is another side effect of hair smoothening caused by the vast number of serums and lotions applied to your hair daily to maintain a straight texture. Using these serums too often can easily give your hair a flattened look and make it appear greasy.
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8. Discoloration of hair
One of the most noticeable smoothening side effects involves hair discoloration. This can happen when serums and shampoos containing strong chemicals are regularly applied to your hair. It can cause premature graying of your hair.
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it is crucial to find natural hair care products that help rejuvenate your hair while still maintaining the smooth, straight hair texture you want.
Head over to Purplle.com for a great range of Hair Serums, shampoos, and hair oils for your newly smoothened hair!
Read More:
- How To Get Straight Hair Naturally
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About Sonal Trivedi
Sonal is a sub-editor at Purplle.com. Besides having a flair for writing, she enjoys binge-watching true crime shows and cooks the best mutton biryani among everyone she knows. Her expertise lies in hair care as she’s always trying out some home remedies or experimenting with new launched products. She’s also an expert in beauty for men and talks about everything that guys need for their skin, hair and personal care. She writes about the tried and tested methods from her hair care routine which can never go wrong.