Post-keratin Shampoo: Which ingredients should I avoid?

In this article I fruitlessly try to get to the bottom of what shampoos you shouldn’t use after a keratin treatment.

I recently got a keratin treatment for the first time. I was provided with a shampoo and conditioner after the treatment and told that I must use these special shampoos to ensure the treatment lasted. The hair dresser was unable to tell me what specific ingredients I had to avoid, nor whether I should also avoid certain styling products. I had spent £175 on transforming my hair and wanted to make sure it remained sleek long enough for me to get at least some of my money's worth.

A quick google will tell you that sulphates and sodium chloride are two ingredients that a post-keratin shampoo should not contain. The only reasoning I could find was that they strip the keratin protein from the hair cuticle. Sulfates, such as ammonium lauryl sulphate and sodium lauryl sulphate, are surfectants that remove dirt and grease from the hair. They are very common shampoo ingredients. Sodium chloride’s function seems to be to thicken the shampoo. I could find no more detailed explanations on the effect these chemicals have on keratin treated hair.

The Plot Thickens

My salon gave me a special shampoo for after-care. It was from a range called L’kerabelle with the tagline ‘the world of keratin’, so it was definitely marketed as suitable for keratin treated hair. The shampoo advertises the fact that it contains no sodium chloride, but it did contain both sodium laureth sulphate and ammonium sulphate, two of the sulphates I’d read elsewhere were no-nos post keratin.

Interestingly, the tresemme deep cleansing shampoo I’d been using previously also contained no sodium chloride. Does this mean it would be equally suitable for post-keratin treated hair as my specialist shampoo?

I’m not sure. It did contain ammonium chloride, which is the salt used to thicken shampoos based on the surfectant ammonium sulphate (sodium chloride is used to thicken shampoos containing sodium laureth sulphates). I wondered if ammonium chloride could have a similar effect as sodium chloride. I couldn’t find any information that specifically stated that ammonium chloride should be avoided post-keratin. However, I’m still going to err on the side of caution, given that £175 is at stake, and not revert to my standard shampoo just yet.

Conclusion: there is very little convincing information on keratin aftercare. This, combined with the high cost of the keratin treatment, is going to make me err on the side of caution and seek a shampoo that contains neither sulphates, sodium chloride or ammonium chloride, even though I don’t feel I’ve been convinced as to why any of these are non-desirables. Check the ingredients of your keratin shampoo carefully, as mine seems to contain the things that are warned against. I’ll post again soon on the results of my search for a post-keratin shampoo.