How To Get Body After a Keratin Treatment? [8 TOP TIPS!]

Knowing how to get body after a keratin treatment gives your hair the best of two worlds.

There is so much keratin treatment can do to your hair: it makes it silky, straight, smoother, and shinier, but it doesn’t add body to your hair.

So, if you’re looking to switch up your hair profile by adding body after a keratin treatment, rest assured you’re just at the right place.

Let’s begin with eight simple ways to get body after a keratin treatment.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
– Focus on using keratin hair products such as hair thickening sprays.
– The curl patterns in wavy hair and curly hair have the advantage of making your sleek hair appear voluminous.
– Use a boar bristle brush for your hair.
– Use a microfiber towel to maintain hair volume.
– Go for a sulfate-free shampoo.
– Massaging your scalp is another way to improve hair volume.
– Cut your hair.
– A simple switch of hair parts will help lift your hair from the roots.

8 Simple Ways to Get Body After a Keratin Treatment

Here are simple fixes that could add volume to your hair after a keratin treatment. Let’s dive in.

1. Focusing on each hair strand

Working on each hair strand is one great way to avoid having an illusion of volume when trying to increase hair body. For example, applying hair dye to get your hair colored will give an optical illusion of your hair volume.

lady with perfect glossy straight hair under title How To Get Body After a Keratin Treatment

Instead, there are volumizing products designed to make hair clean without stripping off nutrients and oils from the hair shaft that you can use.

In addition, after a Brazilian keratin treatment, you should avoid treating your hair with styling products that make your hair feel weighty.

Rather than waxes, heavy serums, and creams, you should focus on using keratin hair products such as hair thickening sprays.

2. Changing your hairstyle

Your hairstyle plays a great role in determining how people view your hair texture, hair color, and even hair volume (1).

Chemical services for hair, such as keratin hair treatments, will make your hair smooth and give you straight hair. Keeping straight hair will only emphasize the lack of hair volume as the chemical treatment will deplete natural curls.

The curl patterns in wavy hair and curly hair have the advantage of making your sleek hair appear voluminous.

Also, to avoid applying too much heat to your hair when styling, you can consider using a keratin-infused thickening product after getting your hair wet with excess water before braiding and getting your hair dry.

3. Stop using bad brushes

Avoid using hair brushes that can cause hair damage or even break your hair strands, resulting in hair loss.

brushing long blonde hair

Brushes that are made of tough plastic or metal, especially round metals that can cause heat as you apply them through your hair, should be avoided.

I recommend using a boar bristle brush for your hair after a keratin treatment.

4. Toweling your hair the right way

The kind of towel you use and how you towel your hair can also affect how your hair volume appears.

Vigorously rubbing your hair with a rough cotton towel after a bath will not help your keratin-treated hair.

microfiber towel on hair

A microfiber towel is a better option to maintain hair volume after having keratin hair treatments.

Also, rather than using cotton pillowcases, I recommend using either a silk or satin pillowcase for your sleek hair during sleep after a Brazilian blowout.

5. Using hair volume boosters

Keratin shampoos and conditioners are hair volume boosters because they can help strengthen your hair and prevent hair breakage and damage that can result in hair volume depletion (2).

A keratin complex helps apply keratin supplements to the hair cuticle’s core and a keratin coating over the outer layer of the hair shafts. Keratins are natural proteins in hair, skin, and nail composition.

Weeks and months into a keratin treatment, you can refresh the keratin protein that was applied to the hair by using keratin-infused volumizing products.

Make sure you go for a sulfate-free shampoo, i.e., devoid of sodium lauryl sulfate/sodium Laureth sulfate. According to research, sulfate-containing shampoos have detergent-like abilities, which can be dangerous for keratin-treated hair (3).

If you’ll be using a volumizing conditioner, please ensure that you apply it from the midshaft of your hair and not from the scalp. Conditioners can trap oil at the scalp, and this can produce a result that affects how your hair volume appears.

6. Massaging your scalp

Massaging your scalp is another way to improve hair volume.

lady getting a scalp massage

This will help rejuvenate the blood circulatory vessels at that level, greatly impacting the supply of oxygen and nutrients to your hair follicles.

The hair follicle is the part of the hair where keratin-producing cells emanate from.

You can also consider using little drops of hair oils on your fingertips when performing a gentle massage.

7. Haircutting

As controversial as this sounds, the truth is cutting your hair truly makes your hair appear more voluminous. The longer your hair is, the flatter it will look.

As good as it is to have your hair smoother and enjoy what it feels like to have sleek and shiny hair, keratin hair treatments will make your hair appear flattered if you have long hair.

A disadvantage to long hair is that because of their weight, it’s harder for their roots to lift and gain body. This is why hair cutting is a good recommendation for those who want to add volume to their hair after a keratin treatment.

8. Changing your hair part

Maintaining the same hair part for too long can make your hair dull and flat. A simple switch of hair parts will help lift your hair from the roots.

Also, using flat irons can help add some waves to your hair helping it gain body. Applying medium heat to your hair cuticle constantly will also help to boost hair volume.

Check our list of the best flat iron keratin treatment.

READ MORE: How to Reverse a Keratin Treatment Gone Wrong

What Happens When You Get Body On Your Hair After a Keratin Treatment?

Getting body on your hair after a keratin treatment has beneficial impacts and can also have side effects. Let’s start by looking at the pros.

Pros

1. Improvement of overall appearance of hair

You probably had a keratin treatment because you wanted your hair to look nicer. But what happens when your low hair volume robs you of showcasing the smoothness and sleekness that a keratin treatment can bring to your hair?

lady with beautiful straight hair

Adding body to your hair generally makes your hair visibly attractive, especially with the combined effects of a keratin treatment.

2. Hair volume-boosting products will help add lift and texture to hair

As much as the focus is primarily on increasing your hair volume, if you apply some of the tips above, such as using volumizing products and changing your hairstyle, there are additional benefits you’ll get to your hair health.

Your hair will cease to appear dull because hair volume improvement also comes with lifting the hair from the roots.

The rejuvenated supply of oxygen and nutrients to hair follicles revitalizes your hair (4). Your hair stem cells in the follicles are reactivated to replace old cells giving your hair an all-around fresh appearance.

3. It’s the answer to thin hair

Do you have thin hair, and you’ve tried a keratin treatment to make your hair look thicker and fuller? It probably didn’t solve the problem, I guess?

Well, a keratin treatment doesn’t necessarily make your hair look fuller, especially if you have long hair. Your hair will only look smoother and flatter.

Focusing on methods that can help add body to your hair is a good way to help your thin hair. With the right application of volumizing products, the thickness of your hair fibers can be increased, enhancing the appearance of your hair volume.

If you have thin hair, watch this video to learn more about how to get body after a keratin treatment:

Cons

1. Coloring your hair to make it appear more voluminous can interfere with your keratin treatment.

I mentioned earlier that one of the advantages of changing hair color is that it helps to create an optical illusion of your hair volume, especially if you choose the right color highlights that fit your hair type.

The process can affect how your keratin-treated hair appears if you go for a color treatment within the first two weeks after your keratin treatment. The chemical process can prematurely wash off the keratin coating from the outer surface of your hair strands, giving them an uneven overall appearance.

2. Applying styling products on keratin-treated hair can be risky

Some methods for helping your hair gain body require styling products, as I mentioned above. If you use products containing harmful chemicals, your keratin-treated hair can be put at risk of damage, and there could be unwanted results such as hair breakage or porous hair.

I recommend using mild hair care products if you must style your hair after a keratin treatment.

Check more side effects of keratin hair treatment.

FAQs

How can I stop my hair from falling after a keratin treatment?

Ensure you’re eating a diet containing proper nutrients, including enough proteins, and make sure you stay hydrated. You should also avoid using shampoos and other treatments that can contain any harsh chemicals.

Is it safe to tie my hair after a keratin treatment?

Tying your hair within the first two weeks after a keratin treatment isn’t safe. Desist from using hair ties and hair clips during this time.

Conclusion

A keratin treatment plus voluminous hair can indeed produce mind-blowing results. In this article, I’ve shown you how to get body after a keratin treatment.

Surely, you do not need to apply all eight tips. You should carefully apply the tips you find suitable and apply them as stated.

lady with long straight hair under title How To Get Body After a Keratin Treatment

Resources

  • 1. Download Limit Exceeded. citeseerx.ist.psu.edu. Accessed September 12, 2022. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.603.3752&rep=rep1&type=pdf
  • 2. Hair Breakage in Normal and Weathered Hair: Focus on the Black Patient. Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings. 2007;12(2):6-9. doi:10.1038/sj.jidsymp.5650047
  • 3. Rathi S, D′Souza P. Shampoo and conditioners: What a dermatologist should know? Indian Journal of Dermatology. 2015;60(3):248. doi:10.4103/0019-5154.156355
  • 4. Paus R, Cotsarelis G. The Biology of Hair Follicles. Epstein FH, ed. New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;341(7):491-497. doi:10.1056/nejm199908123410706