Brazilian Keratin Treatments have been around for a minute now and I was wondering what your feeling are about bkt. Have you ever did this and would you recommend it?

I remember one of my friends swearing that BKT was the new “it” product. She was telling me that you could get your hair straight like the Japanese hair straightening technique, but it would work on previously relaxed hair, unlike other systems.

What she didn’t tell me is that BKT originally contained formaldehyde. WHAT THE PUCK?!

Oh but it’s all good now, because  there’s no formaldehyde it was “removed” and FDA closely regulates the  products that enter the US .

But this is all really semantics, no? When relaxers first came out, people complained that they burned, so someone came out with a “no-lye” version, and they marketed it by saying that it was better for the hair and didn’t burn and caused minimal damage.

Ok, they swapped out an ingredient, but the whether you use lye or no-lye, there is still risk of damaging the hair. No-lye doesn’t burn? THAT’S A  LYE (I mean lie) and it can cause just as much damage as a lye relaxer, if not more. I used a no-lye and my hair was crunchy, dry and brittle until I got all of that mess cut out and it burned my scalp, just like a lye relaxer.

So, back to Brazilian Keratin Treatments. Whether formaldehyde, or a formaldehyde-cousin is used to alter my hair’s natural state, I have to ask if it’s worth it for me to willingly put something in my hair, on my skin that is used to embalm and that is linked to cancer?

I’ve seen the before and afters and they are most impressive, but I’m just not comfortable with putting my health at risk. We are exposed to all sorts of things that we need to be concerned with, such as the dangers of cell phone batteries; why add to the list?

Yes, I’d love to be able to workout and not worry about how frizzy my hair will get, or plan my days around my hair, but I’m not willing to take a chance right now. It’s just not worth it to me.

Gracías,

LaNegra