As a hair expert, one recurring question I often get asked is, “will keratin help hair grow”?.
It’s okay to imagine keratin can help grow; after all, the magical effect it gives you after a single treatment can be particularly dazzling.
But it’s not as simple as it sounds.
Come with me as I walk you through all the answers to your question, primarily how keratin affects hair growth.
CHECK: Best Keratin Therapy Hair Straightener
Will Keratin Treatment Help Hair Grow?
Yes, keratin treatment will help your hair grow in several ways.
There are many approaches to measuring hair growth.
But if you’re particular about your hair strands increasing in length, keratin treatments may not directly make your hair strands grow longer, but there are several things that it does that can lead to increased and sustained hair growth.
Depending on your hair type, your hair shaft may be prone to hair damage, hair breakage, or even hair fall due to environmental damage, harsh chemicals, heat damage, and several other external factors (1).
With this, it might be challenging to have a sustained hair growth cycle as hair breakage, for instance, will always affect the length of your hair strands.
Keratin is a structural protein that makes up a large part of the hair fiber. It is a protective protein that gives strength to hair cuticles from its core and helps maintain hair’s natural texture.
Keratin hair treatments help to replenish the keratin supply to hair by providing a coating of protein over the outer layer of the hair fiber and also getting the keratin to penetrate the hair cuticle right into the hair follicles.
This is important for those who are suffering from low keratin production.
With low keratin production, hair growth will be impeded as the keratin protein is the most important in hair and all epidermal structures.
The keratin chemical treatment will replenish the keratin levels in hair, strengthen hair fibers, and make them resistant to mechanical damage that could abort the hair growth cycle (2).
You could also look at things from this angle. Keratin treatments not only help to smoothen and straighten curly hair and frizzy hair.
They also help to improve hair thickness. Hair thinning is one of those things that can make hair break easily or even affect the appearance of hair volume.
Keratin hair products help to make hair thicker and this, in a sense, is another side to hair growth.
Here is a cool video on the importance of keratin on hair growth.
@sbh_forall Keratin? Is it important? Well Now you know. Dm on IG if you have hairfall problems. #fyp #sbh_forall #hairfall #hairloss #keratin #keratintreatment ♬ original sound – s͢͢͢kᖙ🍂
Does keratin make your hair grow slower?
Keratin does not make hair grow slower. If there are downsides to the keratin treatment, slow hair growth is not one of them.
The keratin protein is the main component of hair, and keratinocytes’ continuous keratin production in the hair follicles sustains the hair growth cycle.
Will hair grow back after keratin treatment?
Yes, your hair should grow back if you experience hair loss or hair fall after keratin treatment.
If you have repeated keratin chemical treatment for your hair over time, your hair may suffer some adverse effects leading to hair loss.
This is because the keratin products used for salon treatments contain various ingredients with lasting effects on your hair.
Averagely, it would be best if you waited 3-6 months for the active ingredients in the keratin products to exhaust their activity period.
There’s a combination of chemicals in keratin hair treatment products, including formaldehyde (sometimes methylene glycol).
Excess formaldehyde exposure can affect hair health, resulting in hair breakage and hair loss. When this happens, you can be assured that your hair can still grow back if you apply suitable measures.
To learn more about keratin treatment for hair loss, you can watch this video:
Will Keratin Thicken My Hair?
Yes, keratin will thicken your hair. Earlier in this article, I mentioned that keratin is a vital protein in hair structure.
However, you must be aware that there are several reasons why there can be hair thinning. Hair thinning can be due to brittleness or a problem with the hair follicles, and all of this can be caused either by a poor diet or by a person’s genetic background.
Suppose the problem is with the hair follicles.
In that case, there’ll be inadequate keratin production, affecting hair growth, volume, and thickness as keratin produced from the hair follicles is the main element in the hair fiber.
One thing you can do if you have thin hair is to use keratin hair thickening fibers. Keratin hair thickening fibers can help improve hair volume and hair thickness.
You can read this research paper to learn about chemical hair thickening agents (3).
Keratin-infused shampoos are another excellent option for thickening your hair. Keratin shampoos are specially formulated for replenishing keratin protein to the hair structure and not necessarily for straightening and smoothening hair like the Brazilian keratin treatments.
Ensure that when going for a keratin shampoo, you go for a sulfate-free shampoo. Keratin-infused sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners are designed to volumize hair and add keratin to the scalp.
Also, eating a healthy diet is an excellent way to replenish the keratin level in the hair.
FAQs
Is keratin treatment good for thin hair?
Keratin treatment is suitable for thin hair and fragile hair that is wavy or curly. Keratin hair treatments are specifically for smoothing and straightening hair and can also benefit if you have thin curly or frizzy hair.
Does keratin damage your hair?
Keratin doesn’t damage hair. Damage to hair by keratin treatment only happens if you have the treatment more than three times a year.
How often should I do keratin treatment?
It would help if you did not do a keratin treatment more than three times a year. This is because it takes about 3-6 months for a keratin treatment effect to be entirely over.
Conclusion
If you took this ride with me up till this point, I’m sure you found it worthwhile!
With the clarity on how keratin treatments affect hair growth, especially considering how I approached it from several aspects, you must have learned a great deal already.
For further recommendations on how to improve your hair growth, you should also do well to talk to your professional hair stylist.
Resources
- 1. SInclair RD. Hair Shedding In Women: How much is too much? ResearchGate. Published April 2015. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275526943_Hair_Shedding_In_Women_How_much_is_too_much
- 2. Geyfman M, Plikus MV, Treffeisen E, Andersen B, Paus R. Resting no more: re-defining telogen, the maintenance stage of the hair growth cycle. Biological Reviews. 2014;90(4):1179-1196. doi:10.1111/brv.12151
- 3. Sciencedirect.com. Published 2022. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022202X9390516K/pdf?md5=3d490d991d983826900fbf05e577c30b&pid=1-s2.0-0022202X9390516K-main.pdf
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
Sylvia is one of the most joyful people you’ll ever meet. She is a high advocate of self-love and encourages women to take care of themselves both mentally and physically. She loves girly talks especially salon talks (a little gossip doesn’t hurt) and spends most of her free time on skincare or hair care. You can find more about here HERE. Find her on LINKEDIN
