Affordable Keratin Treatment: Rio de Keratin At-Home Keratin Treatment

Love the concept of the keratin treatments, but hate the hefty price tag? Well, thanks to the growing popularity of these treatments, many more are entering the market and creating budget-friendly options for those who just can't stomach the $300+ price tag.

A few months ago I was the lucky winner of an RDK Rio de Keratin Cocolada Keratin Treatment Starter Kit ($75), and having had nearly every treatment under the sun to tame my messy, frizzy, uncooperative curls, I thought I'd be the perfect person to test this out and share my feedback with you. Just to give you some background, I have been straightening my hair for years. I've always had thick curly hair that no matter how hard I tried I could not manage. I never even met a stylist that could tame my hair without heat-styling it into submission. I was simply never able to get my hair to curl nicely, not without a considerable amount of time and effort, which I just didn't have every day. The result: I either blow dried my hair straight or it would go in a ponytail. Fastforward to 1998, when I got my first relaxer. I was in heaven. Now, I was never able to just wash and go. But my hard work blow drying wouldn't be reversed by the effects of humidity -- at least for a few months. The problem: Relaxers are a bit harsh, and getting them done every 2-3 months resulted in breakage. So, come 2003, I was introduced to the thermal ionic straightening treatment (or as some people call it, Japanese straightening). I was in heaven! The price tag was hefty, but it lengthened the time between treatments significantly. I was told the treatment would last 6 months. Six months after the first treatment, I saved up my money and repeated it. To my surprise, the more I did it, the less often I had to get it redone. Six months, extended to 9 months, making the hefty price less painful, since I had to get it redone so rarely. But, the price continued to escalate, until one day, I couldn't justify it. My stylist then introduced me to the Brazilian Keratin Treatment. I was told it would not last as long as the thrermal ionic treatment, but that it was a gentler treatment that would also make it possible for me to color my hair. I'd always been told that with the thermal treatment, you shouldn't also color your hair as it might prove too harsh. Also, after enough thermal treatments, my hair was quite limp, something I was OK with, considering all the years of super frizz. The keratin treatment seemed promising. I could color my hair, it took up significantly less time (the thermal was a 3-5 hour process!)- about an hour and a half including time to dry and style - and I could style my hair straight or curly. You see, the keratin treatment isn't really a straightener. It coats your hair strand to help cut down styling time, and resist humidity. So, I could straighten my hair w/o the weather affecting it, but I wasn't limited to only wearing my hair straight - something I'd heard many people say was the reason they didn't get relaxers or straighteners, they still wanted the versatility of curling their hair.

Needless to say, I've had my fair share of hair straightening experiences in the battle against unruly curls and frizz. But as keratin treatments grow in popularity, so has the price. I went from paying $200 to $300 plus! Yikes! It was starting to approach thermal ionic prices without boasting the extended-duration benefits. You see, the keratin treatment, rather than chemically altering your hair to go from curly to straight, coats your strands. I don't know the science behind it, but if I had to liken it to something I'd say that thermal ionic is like permanent hair color and keratin is like demipermanent. One fades as you wash your hair, while the other grows out. As a result, the less often you wash your hair the longer your keratin treatment will last. I've gone 6-7 months between salon keratin treatments. However, I think that over the years, my hair has changed from the days of supremely curly, unruly hair. I have lots of hair, but it no longer feels as thick as it was, and as my treatments grow out, my curls are not as tight and unruly as they used to be. Maybe as I've grown older, my hair has just changed. I'm told these things are possible. But, who knows.

Let's move this story forward, I'm now the excited winner of a RDK at home keratin treatement (thanks Felicia at This That Beauty)! Now, keep in mind, this does not claim to be the exact same as a salon-strength keratin treatment. It is expected to last less time (1 month), but you are also saving a significant amount. To see if the treatment would boast the same results, even if for a shorter duration, I did the treatment on my sister. I just don't think I'd be able to do a good job on myself, since you really have to flat iron your hair all the way around really well to seal the treatment in. To do that, you really need so be able to see the back of your head. So my suggestion if you plan to get this, enlist a friend to help out. Here is what I found:

• We had enough product for two treatments: If you have a lot of hair and it's really long, this may not apply to you, but my sister's hair is a growing-out bob. Lenght-wise, her hair (in the back) came down to the nape of her neck, and in front was a little longer, so probably brushing her collar bone. So, for $75, she gets two treatments. That is $32.50 per treatment!
• Treatment lasted almost the entire month: I gave her the first treatment Sept. 30. She enjoyed the results until Oct. 26, when she emailed me to tell me she was fighting against some extreme humidity and her hair was losing the battle. My sister has oily hair, so she needs to wash every other day, sometimes daily. My guess is that if I'd done it on my hair, it would have made it the entire month. I have dry hair, and can go up to 3 days between washes (sometimes even 4 days).
• She did not experience any hair damage

The treatment comes with a shampoo and conditioner (and it they smell like coconut!). If you have a keratin treatment done to your hair, you must use sulfate-free shampoos, as they will not strip the treatment out of your hair. My sister used the shampoo and conditioner provided for the first wash after her treatment, then switched to her sulfate-free shampoo.

All in all, my sister is thrilled with her results and the savings she can experience (she has also had salon treatments done in the past) and plans to purchase another RDK kit for when this last treatment wears off.

Have you tried an at-home keratin treatment? Do you plan to? Has this article helped you learn a little more about the options available to you? Tell me what you think! How do you plan to beat the battle of the frizz?

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