Difference Between Keratin Treatment and Brazilian Blowout

Trying to decide between Keratin vs Brazilian Blowout treatments but don’t really know the difference between them?

blonde lady with long, straight hair beside Keratin vs brazilian blowout poster

Below, we’ll explore exactly what makes each one so unique to help you decide which is better for your hair.

Let’s get started!

CHECK: Best Professional Hair Straightener

How keratin treatment is different from Brazilian Blowout?

Keratin and Brazilian Blowout are both hair straightening treatments that claim to make hair more manageable, shiny, and frizz-free.

Both use keratin to achieve their goal: smooth and gorgeously pin-straight locks.

So, if we want to understand the difference, we first need to understand this major similarity. Let’s learn a bit more about keratin for hair.

straight and shiny hair

What is a Keratin Treatment for Hair?

A keratin treatment is a procedure that replaces your hair’s natural protein with keratin, the protein found in hair and nails.

The procedure was initially developed to treat curly hair, which has a tendency to frizz.

It helps strengthen your hair and can help it grow stronger (but not faster, although it may seem that way).

As Grace Gallagher of Healthline explains, “Keratin can strengthen and fortify hair so it doesn’t easily break off. This can make hair seem to grow faster because the ends aren’t breaking off.

Now technically, a Brazilan Blowout is a keratin treatment, but there is one major difference (and a few minor ones) between the brand-name procedure and the general treatment.

Let’s check them out to help you decide which you should choose.

Brazilian Blowout vs Keratin Differences

The biggest difference between a Brazilan Blowout and Keratin is customizability.

Where a keratin treatment is pretty straightforward and doesn’t really allow for much customization, your stylist can easily tailor a Brazilian Blowout to suit your needs.

gorgeous lady with long, brown hair

For example, depending on how your stylist mixes up the formula, you could achieve anything from slightly relaxed and shiny waves to pin-straight glossy locks.

The other main differences have to do with downtime and uptime, so to speak.

Compared to a straight keratin treatment, a Brazilian Blowout has a shorter downtime (or as I call it, a “recovery period”)

With keratin, you can’t wash your hair or even pull it back for a few days. With a BB, though, you don’t have to wait at all.

By “uptime,” I mean how long the treatment lasts. Brazilian Blowouts only last about

Brazilian blowout is a temporary solution and you need to repeat it about every 12 weeks (3 months), although certain products can help extend that time a bit.

Keratin treatment, on the other hand, can last for up to six months.

Watch this video of a woman getting Keratin treatment for the first time:

READ MORE: Keratin Treatment Vs Permanent Straightening: What’s the Difference?

What Should I Choose: Brazilian Blowout Or Keratin Treatment?

I like both treatments but I like Brazilian blowout better because you don’t need to do much with your hair after the treatment.

You can just go about your normal life, styling your hair as usual. So I can go to a salon and get it done on a Sunday, and then go to work on Monday with my usual style.

That said, since you have to repeat it every 3-ish months, you may want to go with the longer-lasting keratin if you just don’t have time to go to a salon that often.

Check: DIY Brazilian Blowout at Home

FAQs

Does Keratin Treatment Cause Damage?

lady with a long, straight hair

If you’re doing it right (going to a professional and waiting at least 4 months between treatments), then no, it shouldn’t damage your healthy hair. If you already have highly damaged hair, though, talk to your stylist to find out if it’ll wreak more havoc.

Which Last Longer, Brazilian Blowout Or Keratin?

happy lady after doing brazilian blowout at home

As mentioned above, a Keratin treatment lasts longer. A Brazilian Blowout only lasts about 12 weeks, while keratin can last for up to 6 months. Of course, both depend on how often you wash your hair and what products you use to maintain the treatment’s full effects.

What is Safer, Brazilian Blowout, or Keratin?

Both of them contain formaldehyde, which is a known carcinogen (cancer-causing), so neither is really safer than the other. You can ask your stylist about formaldehyde-free keratin treatments, but they’re typically not as effective.

Is Brazilian Blowout Recommended For Color-Treated Hair? 

colored long straight hair

Yes, a Brazilian blowout is fine for color-treated hair.
In fact, it’s been specially designed for coloring-treated or unmanageable hair. So you can achieve gorgeous hair within a short span of time by using this product. 

Can You Get Keratin On Dyed Hair?

Yes, you can get Keratin on dyed hair. Most hair dyes contain chemicals that strip the hair of its natural oils and add new ones that will change the color of the hair. These chemicals, however, also do something else: they strip away the Keratin from the cuticle of the hair and replace it with different Keratin.
The cuticle, which makes your hair dull and frizzy when it has too much oil, is made up of Keratin. So when you color your hair with a chemical dye, with a different kind of Keratin. It gives you shinier hair.

Also Check: Brazilian Blowout vs Japanese Straightening: What’s the Difference?

Conclusion

As we’ve seen, both methods use keratin, but the Brazilian blowout is an advanced method to straighten the hair.

As for which to choose, like I said, it really depends on your overall hair goals and how much time you want to devote to achieving them.

Your stylist can help you decide which is right for YOUR hair.

References

  • Gallagher, Grace. 2020. “Pros and Cons of Keratin Treatments.” Healthline. Healthline Media. April 2020. https://www.healthline.com/health/keratin-treatment-pros-and-cons#cons.
  • Iftikhar, Noreen. 2019. “What Are the Side Effects of a Keratin Treatment?” Healthline. Healthline Media. February 25, 2019. https://www.healthline.com/health/what-are-the-side-effects-of-a-keratin-treatment#potential-side-effects.
  • Weathersby, Courtney, and Amy McMichael. 2013. “Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment: A Review.” Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology 12 (2): 144–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.12030.
woman brushing her long, straight hair

How about you, do you prefer Keratin treatment or Brazilian blowout? Let us know in the comments below!

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