Keratin treatment is one of the most popular hair straightening and de-frizzing techniques out there. But, is it suitable for all age groups? Can children get it? Well, here is everything you need to know about keratin treatment and children’s safety before you take your kid to a Brazilian keratin salon.
Keratin Treatment & Children
Keratin treatment is a treatment that a lot of adults opt for. Whether it be because you want to get rid of frizz, or you just want to give your hair that smooth and straight look, you don’t usually think twice before diving into this treatment. But what happens when you bring children into the equation?
Keratin treatment and kids? Why do kids need keratin treatment? Well, sometimes, it can be more of a matter of necessity than anything and some kids have extremely unruly hair that can’t even be brushed without spending an hour on it.
This is why a lot of parents opt for keratin treatments for kids. Why wouldn’t they? It’s a proven way to straighten hair without any monumental damage. It should be okay for kids too, right?
Well, there are still some things that you need to keep in mind. Regardless of potency, any hair straightening treatment will be damaging and kids have developing and very sensitive scalps, so you need to be careful when it comes to opting for this treatment for kiddos.
This doesn’t mean you can’t, you just need to do the right research before exposing your kids to chemicals.
Keratin Treatment For Children: Safety Tips
So, if your kid has unruly and coiled-up hair, then you might need to go for some sort of treatment to rectify the problem. Luckily, there is a way for you to save your kid’s hair without making it go through a damage wreck. So, here are some things you need to consider before opting for a keratin treatment, especially for your child. These things are key to keep in mind.
Choose A Formaldehyde-Free Formula
One of the biggest problems with keratin treatment is the chemicals in the treatment used to straighten the mane. While the adult scalp is a bit different and rigorous against this exposure, the same can’t be said about children’s scalp.
If you have no choice and you have to go for a keratin treatment, then you want to choose the safest option and that is a keratin treatment that straightens hair without formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a chemical that is responsible for breaking down the protein bonds in the hair. But it can also be damaging. This is why you want to opt for a safer formula for kids that won’t irritate the scalp.
No Heat
If you’re going for a keratin treatment for your kid, then you want to be as safe as possible. For instance, you want to skip heating tools altogether, even the blow dryer.
You might not realize this, but even a safe keratin treatment formula can be damaging and the amount of heat used in the treatment is enough for damage of a lifetime, especially for a kid. So, after the fact, you need to keep heating tools away from your kid’s hair.
Less Sun Exposure
One way by which you can not only ensure that the keratin treatment lasts long, but also reduces damage in general, is to avoid too much sun exposure. This is important because kids are usually found outdoors playing and doing whatnot.
Well, if your kid has gotten a keratin treatment quite recently, then you want to skip the sun and outdoors for a bit. As for school, you want to keep your kid’s head covered at all times, so that the sun doesn’t irritate the already sensitive scalp and ruin things in the long run.
Check For Sensitivity
Scalp sensitivity – this is something that a lot of parents are generally worried about. A lot of products and even specific chemicals can make the scalp very irritated and sensitive and you don’t want that for your kid. So, when you’re opting for a keratin treatment, it is mandatory to always check for chemical sensitivity.
This is usually the age when children can develop a lot of sensitivity issues and the scalp can be one of them. So, make sure that you’re doing a patch test beforehand and that will show whether the treatment has any potential side effects on the scalp or not. If it doesn’t, then you’re good to go. The same should be done if your kid is getting hair color and highlights Rockville for the first time.
The Right Age
Even though it is not recommended to expose your kid’s hair to any sort of chemicals before they grow into teenagers or adults, you still need to know when it’s safe for you to consider a keratin treatment for your kid’s unruly hair. The minimum at which you can apply any sort of chemical on the mane is 12 years old. Anything below that will only turn the experience into a nightmare.
Children’s hair and scalp are very different from us adults. They are very sensitive to chemicals and heat and exposing them at a young age will only make matters worse than solving them.
Choose An Experienced Professional
If you want to go for a keratin treatment for your kid, then you need to opt for a professional that deals with kids keratin treatment. Technicians who do chemical hair straightening for adults are different because they work on almost a different age group of people and those people have different hair than small kiddos.
So, it’s better to go for a trained hair professional that deals with kid hair and scalp, because they will curate a treatment that will get the job done and it won’t be as damaging as any other treatment.
Change The Hair Care Products
This is more like a post-treatment tip or guideline, but as you change your hair care products and routine after getting your hair treated, then so do children. You need to swap out their regular shampoos for sulfate-free shampoos.
Now, kids don’t usually need an extensive hair care routine that has serums, masks, and leave-in conditioners. You can get all of the benefits of these products by opting for oiling and making homemade nourishing hair masks with eggs, oils, and even fruits that are naturally high in protein, keratin, and all of the good stuff.
Protective Hairstyles
After getting a keratin treatment done on your child’s hair, you want to ensure that you’re making it last for as long as possible. This is why you want to avoid adding any waves or kinks to the hair by tying up the hair too tightly.
Go for loose ponytails and even braids if you want your kid’s hair to stay out of their faces. Protective hairstyles will prevent those unwanted knots in the hair and they will make the hair look sleek and straight for longer.
Conclusion
Although it is highly recommended that you don’t expose your kid’s hair to anything remotely chemical for a long time, sometimes it is just not possible, so you need to keep these guidelines in mind. And only choose a good keratin treatment salon Rockville to protect your kid’s hair.