Can Keratin Cause Hair Loss? Everything You Need To Know About Keratin

The problem of dry and weak hair makes many people feel uncomfortable. They turned to keratin as a substance to restore their hair. Keratin is a substance that has the ability to restore and make hair strands shinier. However, the improper use of keratin will also bring a lot of harm to the hair. Can keratin cause hair loss? Let’s find the correct answer through our sharing in this article!

Can keratin cause hair loss?

The correct answer is yes. Keratin can cause hair loss.

Keratin is one of the most common hair restoration agents for damaged and dry hair. There are many people who have used this substance at the salon or at home to restore their hair. 

In the early stages, they will come into play and give very good results. You will have strong and shiny hair. They even look thicker than the original hair.

However, after a while, the user’s hair will gradually become dry, broken, and severely damaged. The amount of hair loss can become more and more. The cause may be due to the wrong use of keratin or irritation with the product. To learn more about why keratin causes your hair to fall out. Check it out below!

Why does keratin make your hair fall out?

The biggest reason that keratin causes your hair to fall out is the strong chemicals in it, especially Formaldehyde.

In fact, keratin treatments for hair growth often include formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a toxic chemical that analysts found in artificial keratin. It can be harmful to hair strands.

Formaldehyde is also a toxic chemical that can cause adverse reactions in some individuals. Typical manifestations are skin redness, itching, scalp irritation, nasopharyngitis… This poison can enter your body through your skin and damage the body inside. Therefore, if using Keratin with a lot of Formaldehyde, it will lead to more serious diseases such as nasopharyngeal cancer or blood cancer.

Our scalp is a very sensitive area. When it comes to harsh chemicals found in keratin, the scalp can become irritated. You may experience itching, burning, or redness. Damage to the scalp will affect the hair roots. The hair roots will gradually weaken and cannot hold the hair anymore. That leads to hair loss.

In hair restoration treatments that use keratin, high temperatures of about 450 degrees F are usually used. High heat breaks down the natural keratin structures in the hair fiber. 

The use of high heat styling tools plus the formaldehyde in keratin supplements can cause hair loss and dry, damaged hair. Because formaldehyde is a toxic substance that is harmful to the scalp and abrasive, it makes hair dry and frizzy. Plus the use of high heat on the hair leads to excessive water loss and breakage and damage.

Add to that the potential unhealthy risks, some experts believe it can cause cancer in the long run.

What effect does keratin have on your hair?

Keratin has a huge effect on your hair. It can make your hair better, it can also make it worse.

What is Keratin?

Keratin is a protein that makes up nails and hair, especially accounting for 70% of the structure of hair. It is a protein that protects hair from damage and strengthens hair, creating beauty for hair. 

Hair with adequate Keratin will help keep hair healthy, improve problems of broken hair, damaged hair because of the use of many chemicals.

Therefore, people often use keratin in hair care treatments. Keratin is a natural protein but in the process of using it for hair. Some chemicals have been added to increase the effectiveness. Prominent is Formaldehyde.

How does Keratin work?

Keratin contains substances that can fill the holes on the hair surface such as silicone, proteins,… When we use keratin restoration treatments, the substances in it will coat the surface of the hair, forming a new protective layer.

Keratin can fill the gaps in the hair surface, soften and smooth the hair surface. This makes the hair thick and manageable. In general, these substances can stay in the hair for a while. With proper care, they will last for 6 months.

The hair shaft is a “dead” structure that cannot regenerate itself. Therefore, providing Keratin from the outside is a therapy to help restore and compensate for lost nutrients for hair.

The effect of Keratin on hair?

Keratin creates many benefits for hair. However, it also causes many harms if used incorrectly.

Benefits

• Smooth and straighten hair, repair damaged hair by smoothing and moisturizing hair.
• Act as a protective shield for the hair. It protects hair from oxidation from chemicals and damage from the external environment.
• Fill in the gaps lost in the hair cuticle, so it offers to strengthen hair and improve damaged, broken and elastic hair.
• Reshape the structure of the hair
• Make it easier to style hair 

Side Effects

While keratin creates many benefits for hair, it also causes many side effects. Especially when you use keratin in the wrong way, the side effects will happen more strongly.

• Unreliable keratin products cause more damage to the hair. After a while, the hair will dry out and break.
• Poor quality keratin also damages the scalp leading to hair loss. As a result, hair falls out a lot and can lead to baldness that is difficult to treat.
• Formaldehyde in keratin can cause many effects on human health. Some typical symptoms are eye irritation, nervous system damage, headache.
• Formaldehyde in keratin is also a cause of cancer such as nose cancer or nasopharyngeal cancer.

How to prevent hair loss after using keratin?

Suppose you are experiencing hair loss after using Keratin. What you should do now is to find solutions to improve the condition of your hair. You can refer to some of the following measures:

• Strengthen your hair through diet to combat the harmful effects that Formaldehyde in keratin causes. You should eat more foods that contain protein. It strengthens your hair roots and prevents hair loss.
• Use vitamins products that are likely to help you grow hair. For example, Vitamin C, vitamin B3, vitamin B7…
• Prevent hair loss through anti-hair loss oils
• Don’t use shampoos with strong detergents and sulfates. Strong detergents and sulfates will weaken your scalp and hair roots. Unstable hair roots make hair loss easier.
• Use onion juice. Substances in onions can support hair growth and keep hair strong. Extract onion juice to massage your scalp. Leave for two hours and wash your hair with clean water.
• Don’t brush wet hair and use a hairdryer on high heat. Avoid using hot hair tools, either.
• Avoid stimulants and alcohol. It is the cause of hormonal disturbances in the body. From there, it makes some changes in the human body and causes hair loss.

How to use Keratin properly?

How to apply keratin to your hair is very important. Proper use of keratin will give better results to your hair. It will also prevent your hair from falling out a lot after using keratin.

There are many different uses of keratin. But here are tips for each method to help you use keratin properly:

Keratin Shampoo

To perform hair restoration with keratin shampoo at home properly. Choose a shampoo that contains high-quality keratin. Formaldehyde concentration in shampoo is at an appropriate level. Formaldehyde concentration must be less than 0.118%.

Currently, there are many different types of keratin shampoo, but you should choose products of reputable brands.

Choose shampoo products that contain keratin by reading the ingredient list. They will often have names containing proteins. For example, silk protein, quinoa protein, …

References should be made to those who have used these products before. Get tips from experts for a better experience.

After using shampoo, it is necessary to wash your hair thoroughly. Do not leave keratin shampoo in your hair.

Keratin Conditioner

You should choose the right keratin conditioner. You can use some intensive keratin conditioners. They usually have a stronger effect than conventional conditioners.

Wash your hair as usual. After washing the shampoo, we will apply conditioner to the hair.

Be careful not to apply conditioner to the scalp and hairline. Only use conditioner on the hair shaft.

Leave the keratin conditioner on your hair for 30-45 minutes. Then wash it off with water.

Make sure that there aren’t any parts of your hair left with conditioner. Keratin that sticks directly to your hair can damage your hair.

Keratin Salon Treatment

There are many treatments for hair restoration with different keratin. You can do it at home or go to the salon.

If you go to a salon make sure the person helping you with this treatment is a professional. They are well versed in the proper use and dosage of keratin. You will have beautiful hair without damage after a while.

When you do your treatment at the salon, choose the right Keratin for you. Each salon will have different Keratin treatments at different prices. Before the procedure, the staff will advise you.

After having a Keratin treatment at the salon, you will have to wait 2 to 3 days right before washing your hair. Therefore, it wouldn’t be best to try to tie or style your hair in the first few days.

Keratin Supplements

In addition to using keratin hair care products or treatment. You can also add keratin to your hair by eating protein-rich foods. The nature of keratin is protein, so we can supplement it.

• Keratin and natural protein are commonly found in vegetables like kale, broccoli, onions, garlic, liver, fish, yogurt and low-fat milk. Essential for hair growth.
• You can also supplement the catalysts that create keratin in the body by using foods or vitamins. For example, fruits: tangerines, oranges, cherries, kiwis, grapefruits, strawberries, raspberries,… Or vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, cabbage, etc.
• Limit the use of stimulants such as tobacco or alcohol.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What hair types should keratin be used for?

Keratin is used to restore and strengthen the elasticity of damaged hair types. It also has the ability to straighten naturally curly hair types. Or curly hair due to the wrong care process.

2. What products can be used instead of keratin?

You can use some hair care products instead of keratin like coconut oil, sunflower oil, olive oil, argan oil, etc. These oils have many nutrients that can restore and improve your hair. 

3. Keratin harmful to health or not?

Have! Keratin is actually very harmful to human health.

The artificial keratin of the treatment contains Formaldehyde. This is a deadly poison.

It can penetrate the skin into the body, turn into a gas, and enter the lungs. It will cause symptoms such as headache, nausea, and affect the skin and kidneys.

Even exposure to this substance for a long time can cause cancer. You should weigh in before using keratin treatments at the salon.

Conclusion

Keratin can restore your hair to be beautiful and perfect. However, using the wrong dosage and wrong way will cause hair loss a lot. Even damaged and difficult to restore. It also causes many harmful effects to your health such as cancer due to Formaldehyde. To make the best use of keratin and not cause bad side effects to the body. You need to research carefully and treat keratin with experts.

Can keratin cause hair loss? We have come up with the correct answer and detailed analysis. Hopefully, our sharing will help you have more beautiful hair!