KERAZON Brazilian Keratin Treatment Buriti Liss Kit 2oz/60ml - At Home Keratin Treatment Smoothing and Straightening - Keratina para Alisar el Pelo - For All Hair Types

I get my hair professionally straightened twice a year, typically opting for either a Brazilian Blowout or a Keratin Treatment. My last appointment took about three hours and cost $520, including the tip (SF Bay Area prices). Recently, I lost my job, so spending that kind of money wasn’t an option. My hair was way past due and looking very rough! I was desperate, so decided to risk it and try the DIY kits despite all the warnings I heard from stylists:"Do not do it at home. You will ruin your hair!""Your flat iron won't get hot enough.""The product isn’t strong enough.""These treatments aren’t legally sold online.""It will only last a few weeks."All not true and bad advice! I was worried my hair might break off or look fried, but I decided to go for it —and I’m so glad I did!!!My DIY hair experience is limited to a few disastrous bang cuts. I have thick blonde hair (about armpit length) with grown-out highlights. The top layer is mostly straight, but the underside is wavy and frizzy. Overall, my hair is pretty healthy.Time Commitment: The process took me about 4 hours. I have very thick hair, so 1.5 hours of that was spent blow-drying my hair; you are required to use cold air only.Fumes: The fumes were intense! No different than when at the salon but I had a cold and a sore throat, which made it worse. Once I turned on a fan and opened a window, I was fine. I highly recommend having a fan ready before starting.After-Smell: I was worried my hair would smell bad afterward, but it doesn’t have any noticeable odor.Product Usage: I purchased the smaller bottles and used all of the treatment (Step 2), 3/4 of the shampoo, and about half of the conditioner.Flat Iron Heat: My flat iron goes up to 450°F, which worked perfectly. After three passes with the iron, my hair was too hot to touch, so a thermal glove would have helped. When they mean 6-8 passes they mean it. I can tell where I only did a few passes.Supplies: You do not need a brush to apply #2. I found it much easier to put on with my fingers (wearing gloves). I also did not have a comb, which made it hard to separate into sections, and I think it would help my hands from getting burned by hot hair.Tips: Start applying the #2 on the section of hair that gives you the most issues to make sure you get that hair very saturated. Then, if you have leftover, go back and put on areas that cause you the most problems. Mine is the hair next to my neck; when I sweat, it curls up.Final Thoughts:I will not go back to the salon for this treatment ever!!! The results way exceeded my expectations! My hair is smooth, shiny, and straight—and it doesn’t look fried or damaged. The treatment has held up beautifully so far, proving the naysayers wrong. If I had known about this sooner, I could have saved so much money, and I would be planning an amazing Hawaiian Islands for the Holidays (and the humidity would not have made my hair a frizzy mess)Side note on the no job and forced to do DIY treatments: I also did the DIY eyelash perm and tint on myself. It was AMAZING. It looks so good! I will never have that done at a salon, either; next up, I might try and pull off highlighting my hair. So far 2 for 2......Look at me go!

TLDR Version: My hair is long, thick, and 'crinkly'. This is my second time using this product and the results are awesome and long-lasting. Use in a WELL ventilated room. You won't think the product smells bad at first, and it doesn't. But then it hits you and there is no excape. If it gets really bad, so outside for a few minutes and let your space air out. I used about 3/4 of the shampoo (washed twice), the entire 4 oz bottle of treatment, and the entire bottle of hair mask. If your hair is longer than mine you may want to get two sets. Tip: Do NOT wash your hair for 3 days after the treatment and use a quality Keratin-treatment specialized shampoo when you do. Using regular shampoo immediately after the treatment will cancel all your hard work and you won't get great results.Long version: If you have hair like mine, you know it's a struggle to manage. From fly-aways to frizz to always looking like a hot mess, I understand the pain. Flat ironing helps but who has time for all that? I dreamed of being able to "wash and go". Salon options were out of reach because of cost and time, so I tried this home option without expecting much.I first used this product in March of 2022 and OMG, I had incredible results. The process took FOREVER - from blow drying my freshly washed mop to brushing on the treatment to blow drying it again using the cold setting to flat ironing every strand. My arms were jelly, my nose was runny, my eyes were tearing - but I had beautiful, straight, and flowing hair. The treatment lasted well over 9 months; after that I started to notice more and more frizz returning and my hair started to tangle more. Time to set aside a day to do it again but I did it a little smarter this time around.After washing my hair with the shampoo, which basically strips it down to a rats nest of straw, I let it air dry until it was damp but not completely dry. The first photo is what my hair looked like after the wash. I then parted my hair into 8 sections (which was difficult to do being that my hair was extremely tangled) and using gloves, dumped the treatment into a bowl and used my fingers to spread it through each section, followed by the comb to make sure each strand was covered. So much quicker!The instructions say to use a blow dryer on a cold setting to dry the hair. Um, hello? It took me a good 2 hours to get my hair dry last time. Cold air + long, thick hair = HAHAHAHA, nope. This time around I planned in advance - I let it air dry as I worked (desk job, work from home). This might not be an option for you so plan on spending half the day watching TV or whatever takes up 5-6 hours.For the flat ironing, I did it per usual. I don't have expensive flat irons; mine are 1" and 2" Remmington brands from Walmart that I've had forever. They only go up to 430 degrees so that's what I used, going over each little section multiple times. Your hair will get VERY hot and smoke a little as you flatten your hair into submission. Although the instructions say that there is no wait time before rinsing, I did wait about 15 minutes.I rinsed the treatment out of my hair and applied half the bottle of the hair mask, brushing it through with a comb. Then I applied the rest of the bottle by working it through with my fingers; wrapped my hair in a towel, and rinsed again an hour later. You can rinse it out after 5 minutes but I had a conference call and decided to wait. After rinsing, I towel dried my hair, combed it, and let it air dry again. The second photo is it fully dry - no product, no flat iron, nothing. Exactly how it looked and felt last time I used this product.Now the 3-day timer begins - the instructions don't say this but it's best to wait at least 72 hours before getting your hair wet (even sweat) or washing. Don't use any product or accessories in your hair during this time. If you are a violent sleeper like I am (tossing and turning), it's OK to flat iron your hair straight again as needed. After 3 days, wash with a shampoo specifically designed for keratin treated hair. It MUST be sulfate and salt-free (more below).Maintenance: There isn't much to maintaining the treatment other than to use quality products. I use Keratin Complex Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner that I only buy from Ulta (3rd party sellers on Amazon are known to be knockoffs). Yes, it's expensive at $48 for a 32oz bottle...each. It hurts a little when I buy them. Actually, it hurts A LOT but it's worth it. I've been using them since my last treatment and without a doubt is the reason why it lasted so long. BUT, I picked up a set of Loreal Ever Pure Moisture Shampoo/Conditioner for camping and it's every bit as good and much more affordable ($17/23oz bottle). I don't get any kind of kick back from mentioning these two brands, just personal experience.Also, be kind to your treated hair. Keep it natural as much as possible, use sulfate/salt-free products (even dry shampoos, hair spray, etc.). Nothing will strip your hair faster than salt. Limit use of heat stylers. Other than doing this treatment I haven't used my flat irons in a year. When I have needed to blow dry my hair it takes much less time and I can use the low heat setting.Hopefully this review helps if you are looking for something to try at home.