Frizzy, fine or lifeless: hair botox, keratin or nanoplasty
People ask for them as if they were the same thing, but each one fixes something different. Keratin tames frizz, nanoplasty properly straightens, and botox doesn't straighten at all: it adds body. Which one is right for you depends on what's going on with your hair, not on whichever name is in fashion.
Three names for three problems
It happens to us a lot. Someone calls and asks for botox because it looked lovely on a friend, or keratin because it's the name they've heard most. Then we see their hair and what it needs is something else.
That's why we don't start with the name of the treatment here. We start with what happens with your hair every morning, and it's almost always one of these three: it frizzes and there's no taming it, you want it properly straight, or it's fine and by mid-morning it's already gone limp.
Each one has its own treatment. They're not interchangeable.
If it frizzes and you can't style it: keratin
Keratin gives your hair back the protein it has been losing and keeps frizz under control. You leave with it manageable and shiny, and the hairdryer stops being a battle.
What it doesn't do is leave it poker-straight. If you have a wave, the wave softens but it's still there. That's where a lot of the disappointment comes from, and not because anything went wrong: people were simply expecting a different treatment.
It lasts for months. Ours lasts between three and six, depending on the treatment, your hair and, above all, what you do with it afterwards, because the same keratin washed every day with any old shampoo lasts roughly half as long as it does if you look after it a bit. And if you're unsure whether to have it done in the salon or buy a bottle, we cover that in the keratin guide.
If you want it properly straight: nanoplasty
Nanoplasty is a straightening treatment. It leaves hair straighter than keratin, lasts longer, and we do it with formaldehyde-free formulas.
In return, it asks for one thing: hair in good condition. For the straightening to take, the hair fibre has to be intact, and if you come in with your lengths damaged from back-to-back bleaching or daily straighteners, we need to rebuild it first. The nanoplasty comes after.
Some people get annoyed when we tell them. We understand (nobody comes in wanting two appointments). But skipping the rebuilding is exactly what makes a straightening treatment wear off in a few weeks, and that really is a waste of time.
If it's fine and goes flat: hair “botox”
First, the name. It doesn't straighten and has nothing to do with facial botox, despite what it's called. It got the name because it fills the hair out.
And that's what it does: it adds body to fine, dull or damaged hair. It's the one that works best when the problem isn't frizz but density, that hair that ends up stuck to your head two hours after you've styled it.
Watch out for this one, because it's the most common mix-up. On fine hair, keratin can take away even more volume: it controls it, yes, but it flattens it. So when someone with fine hair asks us for keratin, we often suggest botox instead. We explain why and you decide.
It doesn't last as long as a straightening treatment.
It gradually washes out and needs repeating more often. How often depends on your hair and how many times a week you wash it, and we'll tell you that when we see you, not before.
So which one is better?
None of them. Each one is better for something different.
Between botox and keratin, the question is whether your hair has too much frizz or too little body: if it puffs out as soon as there's a bit of humidity, keratin; if it stays limp and flat even when you've just dried it, botox. Between keratin and nanoplasty, the question is how straight you want it. Keratin softens the wave and lets you style your hair however you fancy that day; nanoplasty removes it, which is what you're after if you spend half an hour with the straighteners every morning and still leave the house worrying about rain.
What we don't do is give you two just in case. More product doesn't mean better results, and going over the same lengths with treatments and straighteners again and again is what ends up leaving it with no body.
Sometimes it's none of the three
If your hair is just dry, from the sun, the salt or the hairdryer, a hydrating treatment is more than enough. You'll notice it from the first session. It doesn't last as long, mind you, because it's maintenance, not repair.
If what bothers you is your fringe and the front, which is what lifts with humidity and what you see in the mirror, that area can be treated on its own. The rest of your hair isn't touched at all.
And if you colour your hair, the order matters: you usually need to leave a few days between one and the other. We plan that with you at the first appointment.
What we look at before deciding
Before we apply anything, we take a close look at your hair. Whether it's fine or thick, how much water it soaks up, what colour or bleach it has underneath, how much wave it has and how much time you want to spend on it in the morning, which counts for a lot too.
With all that in front of us, the answer usually becomes clear on its own. Sometimes it's “you don't need anything”, and we tell you that too.
After that, what you do in the first few weeks decides how long it lasts. It's all in the straightening aftercare guide.
