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We’ve all been through this; a frizz crisis that has us reaching for our best hair straighteners to tame unruly strands. Of course, this is not always a good solution in the long run. When even your best hair products can’t save seriously dry and brittle strands, treating curls with a much-needed boost of moisture and nutrition could make all the difference. That’s why the latest grooming treatment in salons, hair botox, is turning hairstylists’ heads with its stunning, transformative results.
Renowned hairstylist Michael Van Clarke (opens in new tab) is one of the many hair stylists to add hair botox treatments to his salon’s menu. We spoke to him to find out everything you need to know.
What is hair botox?
Needle phobics can rest assured that unlike baby botox and other tweaks, nothing invasive happens here. “Botox has a nice ring to it,” says Van Clarke, “but this tag combines just some of the key benefits of Botox and fillers — bulking and smoothing, and then applying that understanding to hair.”
Van Clarke explains that the treatment “isn’t about neutralizing muscles, because there aren’t any in hair. There are no hypodermic needles or botulinum toxin involved [botox] in the ingredients. Instead, it’s all about condition.” Think of it as a cross between a deep conditioning treatment and a keratin blow-dry, and you’ll make money. So if your goal is to strengthen and smooth hair, Botox could be for you.
What is the process?
Hair botox is applied to wet hair as easily as your best hair mask. At Michael Van Clarke’s salon, “a blend of nutrients is applied to the hair and sealed with a flat iron before finishing with a bouncy blow dry.” Van Clarke explains that the treatment is versatile and “can impart varying degrees of smoothness, Get body and volume where it’s needed, or even just smooth out those annoying hairlines or fringes.”
Aside from the texture benefits, what is hair botox likely to do for your hair in the long term? Most of the time it improves damage, split ends and frizz. Adds Van Clarke, “Hair Botox is particularly useful in the summer or before a vacation, where the climate or water activities can make it impossible to rely solely on a blow-dry.”
Is hair botox good for hair?
If you’re wondering how hair botox affects your tresses, Van Clarke explains that “healthy hair is essentially 97% protein and 3% water. The goal [of hair botox] is to repair gaps and cracks in the porous protein structure and bring more moisture into the hair. The more complete the hair shaft, the slower it breaks down, allowing you to keep your own healthy hair longer.”
And why is that even necessary? “Heat styling, coloring and harsh products destroy the hair shaft. The hollowed-out protein structure can’t hold as many water molecules, so it becomes brittle, unstable and breaks down faster,” says Van Clarke. “It loses luster and flexibility, becomes thinner and less responsive. You can see that difference by feeling the ends of the hair versus the roots.” Another reason to try heat-free curls in a dressing gown or other non-blow drying methods alongside conditioning treatments.
Hair botox vs keratin treatments
If you’ve ever had a Brazilian loop dry, you’re probably wondering how hair botox compares to the earlier, more well-known salon treatment. Both promise to tame frizzy hair, but at-home keratin treatments are designed to chemically alter the hair’s texture, and in-salon ones (aka Brazilian blow-drying) traditionally use the ingredient formaldehyde to smooth. Van Clarke explains that hair botox “is a blend of nutrients with no formaldehyde.”
There are no harsh ingredients involved as the primary purpose of the treatment is to strengthen and condition the hair. Additionally, hair botox typically costs between $150/£130 and $300/£250. That’s a little less expensive than traditional keratin treatments, which tend to start at the top of this scale.
How long does hair botox last?
It all depends on what specific hair botox treatment you have. Van Clarke explains that “some [hair botox treatments] are temporary and remain in the hair until the next hair wash; Some last longer if the ingredients are ironed or blow-dried into the hair.” If you choose the latter, Van Clarke assures us that the treatment will last between 2-4 months.