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Introduction
You have a keratin treatment on your hair, and you are looking forward to that moment since your hair has been so unruly for so long. However, there is a lot of anxiety over what you should or should not do after the treatment as you know that you have to be careful. One of those things you worry about is washing your hair. When should you wash your hair after a keratin treatment? You know you cannot do it on the same day, or else it can ruin the effects of the treatment. Firstly, don’t be anxious about anything. All you need to do is take the time to learn as much as you can about caring for your hair. And washing your hair is one of those things to take the time to learn first. Let’s go over when you can wash your hair after the treatment.
The Time To Wait To Wash Your Hair After Keratin Treatment
You do not want to wash your hair too soon, or you will not give the keratin time to set in. The last thing you want to do is not give the keratin time to work its way through your hair. The treatment is expensive, and you go through a lot of trouble and time to have it. Even if you did the treatment at home and it was more affordable, the treatment still took a bulk of your day to do. You also had the treatment because you were tired of dealing with unruly and frizzy hair.
Therefore, the best time to wait to wash your hair after your keratin treatment is 72 hours or three days. If you are doing the keratin treatment at home, you may be able to wash your hair after 48 hours. That depends on the product. Therefore, ensure that you follow the instructions on when to wash your hair. But, yes, you may have to endure the greasy feeling within that timeframe. First, however, you have to remember to keep your eye on the prize and why you had the treatment done in the first place. That will help you endure the gross feeling that you would want to wash away in a second.
If you can mentally prepare for this before your treatment, it will also be easier to handle. You also want to ensure that you plan for your first wash after the treatment.
Planning For Your First Wash After Treatment
The last thing you want to do is on the day after your keratin treatment to look for the correct shampoo to use and discover that nowhere carries it. Or, if you order it from Amazon, it may not come in time even if you subscribe to Prime. That means you will want to ensure that you have the correct sulfate-free, sodium chloride-free shampoo for keratin-treated hair on hand before you go for your treatment. Now, here is the thing. If you have the treatment done at a salon, the stylist will likely sell you the shampoo, which you can buy as well. However, if you do the treatment at home, you need to have the proper one on hand.
Now you have your correct shampoo. You will also need to have a microfiber towel around. If you don’t have one, you will also want to buy one before the treatment. Now that you know what you have, it is time to go over how to wash your hair after your keratin treatment the correct way to ensure your hair remains protected.
How To Wash Your Keratin-Treated Hair
Okay, the day has come when you are ready to take your first shower after the keratin treatment. You have your microfiber towel, the correct shampoo, and conditioner handy. When you put on the water, ensure that you keep it at the temperature of 100.4 F or 38 C. Don’t put the temperature up higher than that, or else it will melt the keratin. When you get into the shower, ensure that you do not saturate your hair with water as it can cause the breakage of cuticles. That will cause the keratin to leak out. You want to make your shower experience hasty, so be quick.
Get into the shower, and then immediately take your shampoo and apply a drop the size of a dime on your hair. Massage the roots as they require the most concentration. Even though the shampoo will not damage the keratin because it is free of sulfates, you want to focus on the roots. After massaging your entire scalp well, rinse the shampoo and ensure you rinse it very well.
After that, put some conditioner at the ends of your hair. You can massage it up to the mid-length. Do not put any more conditioner on your hair than the size of a dime. You want to condition your hair to balance it, moisturize it, and keep it away from the scalp. Otherwise, it will cause your scalp to feel greasy. Only massage the conditioner in your hair for a short time, which means not even one minute.
After rinsing the conditioner out thoroughly, you want to get out of the shower and wrap your hair with a microfiber towel. The material is better than cotton because it does not create friction which can take away the keratin. Wrap it around your hair for three minutes. Then allow your hair to dry naturally. Do not use any wet brushes, or else that will cause knots and friction. Also, do not use a hairdryer at all. You can brush and blowdry your hair after two weeks. You will also want to wash your hair only once a week after your keratin treatment.
However, if you have naturally greasy hair, you can wash it three times a week. If your hair is naturally dry, then wash it two times a week. Do what you can to clean it less often if you can.
Conclusion
When you have your first keratin treatment‘, you will have a lot of anxiety about the aftercare. And that includes when to wash your hair after the treatment. Depending on the treatment you have, it can vary, but you will have to wait three days most of the time. You also need the correct shampoo, and any conditioner will do, and a microfiber towel as opposed to a cotton one. You do not want to set the shower’s temperature too high, and you will want to wash it as quickly as possible. Rinse the shampoo and conditioner out thoroughly. Then wrap your head with a microfiber towel for a few minutes, and do not do anything else! If you follow that, your hair will be fine.