Hair guide
Which treatment is right for your hair?
What actually is hair botox, if there are no injections and no botulinum toxin in it? What is keratin? What is the difference between keratin and nanoplastia? These are the questions I hear most, so here are my answers, the way I would explain them to you in my chair.
Magdalena, Beauty Hive Manchester
Sleek and glossy
Keratin smoothing
- What it is
- Keratin is the protein your hair and nails are built from. Blow drying, heat and chemical services wear it away, and that is what leaves hair brittle and frizzy. This treatment tops it up with liquid keratin and closes the outer layer of the hair, which is what leaves it sleek and glossy.
- What it does
- Your hair dries faster, frizzes less and is much easier to style. Straighter hair is a side effect rather than the main job, so ordinary waves relax, and on very curly hair a wave stays. As it grows out there is no hard line at the roots, because your natural wave simply carries on.
- Hair it suits
- Straight, wavy or curly hair that is healthy or lightly damaged and wants a glass-like finish rather than poker-straight. Wavy hair is where it really shines.
- When I would not do it
- Severely damaged hair, a red, irritated or broken scalp, an allergy to an ingredient, or while you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- How long it lasts
- 3 to 6 months
Stronger than keratin, and it works on lightened hair
Collagen straightening
- What it is
- A collagen treatment that smooths harder than keratin and drops the curl a long way. The name says straightening, but it does not go as far as nanoplastia, and I will always tell you that before we start.
- What it does
- Smoother, calmer hair with far less frizz and far less curl, and much easier to manage.
- Hair it suits
- Every hair type. Bleached, highlighted or balayaged hair cannot have nanoplastia, so if you want it smoother with the curl dropped, this is the one I reach for. If what it needs most is repair, that is hair botox.
- When I would not do it
- Hair that snaps when stretched, a red, irritated or broken scalp, an allergy to an ingredient, or while you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- How long it lasts
- 3 to 6 months, occasionally up to 9 with very good home care
Lasting straightening
Nanoplastia
- What it is
- A formaldehyde-free straightening treatment based on acids and amino acids, with collagen. They go deep into the hair, so it straightens and nourishes at the same time and sits straight and shiny, with natural movement.
- What it does
- Straight, smooth, very shiny hair, wash after wash, and it still moves rather than lying flat. It often lifts your colour by one to three tones, which most clients love. The hair I treated does not go back to curling. After a few months your new growth comes through curly and the ends start to frizz, and that is the treatment growing out, not giving up on you.
- Hair it suits
- Healthy curly, coily or wavy hair that has never been lightened, thick or fine. It works especially well on very curly hair, and on afro-textured hair it is an alternative to a relaxer. A box dye does not rule it out, bleach does.
- When I would not do it
- Bleached, highlighted, balayaged or otherwise lightened hair, never, with no exceptions. The same goes for severely damaged hair, a red, irritated or broken scalp, or an allergy to an ingredient. If you have had a relaxer or a straightening treatment elsewhere, tell me, because I always test a strand first. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, the decision is yours, together with your midwife or GP.
- How long it lasts
- 3 to 9 months
Deep rebuild
Hair botox
- What it is
- Hair botox is only the name the trade uses: no injections, no botulinum toxin, nothing medical about it. It is a deep conditioning treatment, a spa day for your hair, that fills in the worn and thin places along each hair with collagen, keratin, argan oil and amino acids, then seals them in with heat.
- What it does
- Softer, shinier, fuller-looking hair with the frizz calmed. It will not change your curls or waves, they stay as they are and simply look and feel far better, so if you want it straighter, this is not the one.
- Hair it suits
- All hair types, especially bleached, highlighted, heat-damaged or very porous hair, the kind that drinks up everything you put on it.
- When I would not do it
- A red, irritated or broken scalp, an allergy to an ingredient, or while you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- How long it lasts
- 2 to 4 months
Smoothing plus repair
Bioplastia
- What it is
- Rebuilding with light smoothing, based on keratin, jojoba oil and tamarind. It does a little of both, rather than committing you to a full straightening service.
- What it does
- Hair that feels hydrated and lightly smoothed, with its condition back.
- Hair it suits
- Straight, wavy or curly hair that is dry or lightly damaged. It is spot on for wavy, dry hair.
- When I would not do it
- Severely damaged hair, a red, irritated or broken scalp, an allergy to an ingredient, or while you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
- How long it lasts
- 2 to 4 months
The question I hear most
Keratin or nanoplastia: what is the difference?
Keratin smooths and nanoplastia straightens, and once you know that, the choice gets much easier. Keratin tops up what your hair has lost and seals it, while the amino acids in nanoplastia work deeper, so it straightens harder and lasts longer. One of my clients had asked AI and been told it was the other way round, so she booked nanoplastia, and when we talked it turned out she wanted to keep some of her natural wave, so keratin was the one for her.
So ask yourself what matters more to you: properly straight hair, or healthier, smoother hair that keeps some of its natural wave? The first one is nanoplastia, the second is keratin.
Side by side
All five at a glance
Beauty Hive Manchester
| Treatment | Does it straighten? | What it does | Hair it suits | Bleached or lightened? | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keratin smoothing | |||||
| Keratin smoothing | No | Smooths and adds shine | Straight, wavy, curly | If in good condition | 3 to 6 months |
| Collagen straightening | |||||
| Collagen straightening | No | Smooths harder, drops the curl | Every type | Yes | 3 to 6 months |
| Nanoplastia | |||||
| Nanoplastia | Yes | Straightens and nourishes | Curly, coily, wavy | Never | 3 to 9 months |
| Hair botox | |||||
| Hair botox | No | Rebuilds, curls stay | Every type, damaged most of all | Yes | 2 to 4 months |
| Bioplastia | |||||
| Bioplastia | No | Rebuilds, smooths lightly | Straight, wavy, curly | Hair botox suits it better | 2 to 4 months |
Hair botox is only a trade name: no injections, no botulinum toxin.
Still not sure which one?
Send me a photo of your hair on WhatsApp and tell me what you want from it, and I will tell you honestly which one I would choose before you book.