Keratin or smoothening — which one you actually want

People usually arrive asking for one and describing the other. Both make hair easier to live with; they are not the same treatment, and choosing wrongly is the reason some people say these treatments never work on their hair.

Keratin fills. Smoothening restructures.

A keratin treatment coats and fills the hair, sealing the outer layer so the strand lies flatter and reflects more light. It reduces frizz and cuts drying time, and it fades gradually — as it wears off, the hair simply returns to what it was. Nothing is permanently altered.

Smoothening changes the bonds inside the strand. The effect is stronger and lasts longer, but it does not fade — it grows out, which means a visible line where new texture meets treated length. That line is the thing most people are unprepared for.

Coloured hair changes the answer

Hair that has already been lightened or coloured twice has spent some of its strength. On that hair, condition has to come before smoothness — which usually means keratin rather than smoothening, and sometimes means waiting. A treatment that leaves you with straight hair in poor condition has not solved anything.

What to expect afterwards

• Both want a sulphate-free shampoo — ordinary shampoo strips the result faster.
• Colour after the treatment, not immediately before it.
• Judge the result a week later, not the same day. Freshly done hair always looks its best; what matters is where it settles.