What Does Keratin Shampoo Do for Your Hair?

In the quest for the best hair products for healthy, beautiful hair, one powerhouse ingredient often takes center stage: keratin. Keratin used to be just another buzzword in the beauty industry, but then keratin hair treatments became all the rage at salons around the world. This essential protein isn't just for looks; it's a fundamental building block of our hair that helps its strength, elasticity, and overall vitality. That’s why incorporating keratin shampoos and conditioners into your beauty routine is so important to your hair health. But what exactly can a keratin shampoo do for your locks? Let's dive into how this key ingredient promotes healthy hair and discuss why you'll want to switch from animal keratin to vegan keratin in your hair care products.

 

The Science and Power of Keratin

Our bodies naturally produce keratin, a fibrous protein and the main structural component of our hair, skin, and nails. It forms a protective shield around the hair shaft, providing strength and resilience. Keratin shampoos help replenish lost keratin and repair broken keratin bonds, but they work best when used as part of a complete haircare system. After all, shampoos are typically the product that spends the least amount of time in your hair before being rinsed out. When used with a keratin conditioner and styling cream like each of Lu’s Collections, keratin shampoos can provide the following noticeable benefits for your hair:

1. Strength and Protection

One of the primary functions of keratin protein is to strengthen and protect the hair shaft. Healthy keratin levels result in hair that’s less prone to breakage, split ends, and damage from external factors such as heat styling, harsh chemicals, and environmental stressors. By reinforcing the hair structure, keratin helps to maintain hair integrity and promote overall hair health.

2. Elasticity and Flexibility

Keratin plays a crucial role in maintaining hair elasticity and flexibility. Elasticity refers to the hair's ability to stretch and return to its original shape without breaking. When keratin levels are optimal, your hair is more resilient and can better withstand stretching and manipulation without snapping or becoming brittle. This elasticity is essential for preventing damaged hair or breakage and maintaining a smooth, glossy appearance.

3. Smoothness and Softness

Keratin helps give hair its smooth, soft texture. The outer layer of the hair shaft, known as the cuticle, consists of overlapping scales that can become rough and raised due to damage or environmental factors. Keratin helps to seal and smooth the hair cuticle, creating a sleek surface that reflects light and enhances shine. As a result, hair appears healthier, more manageable, and less prone to frizz and tangles. 

4. Repairing Properties

For hair that has been damaged or depleted of keratin, adding keratin to your hair care routine can work wonders. A keratin shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in cream can help repair damage, reduce frizz, and improve hair texture, leaving hair smoother, shinier, and more resilient.

5. Improved Manageability and Styling 

People who use keratin on their hair have experienced more manageable locks. Smooth, well-nourished hair is more responsive to styling techniques such as blow drying, straightening, and curling, resulting in longer-lasting results with less effort. Whether you prefer to rock your natural curls or want sleek and straight strands, keratin-treated hair is easier to style and maintain.

6. Maintaining Color and Shine

By sealing the cuticle and preventing color molecules from escaping, keratin helps prolong the life of your color-treated hair, keeping it vibrant and true to tone. Additionally, the smooth, reflective surface created by keratin ensures that light is evenly distributed along the hair shaft, resulting in enhanced shine and luminosity.

 

Animal Keratin vs. Vegan Keratin

You may know all about keratin, and you’ve probably used hydrolyzed keratin or tried keratin treatments, but have you heard of vegan keratin? Most keratin is derived from animal sources like feathers, horns, and wool. If you’re vegan, vegetarian, or simply want cleaner beauty products, you’ll want to avoid keratin derived from animal parts. In addition, many keratin products and treatments contain harmful chemicals, like formaldehyde, which can be dangerous if inhaled or damaging to your hair. That’s why experts don’t recommend doing keratin treatments more than three times per year. 

Vegan keratin offers a plant-based alternative that has proven to be more effective than animal keratin in strength and elasticity. That's why Lu took keratin shampoos, conditioners, and styling creams to the next level with a proprietary vegan keratin formulation called Impossible Keratin™️. Impossible Keratin uses a trifecta of health-improving proteins -- vegan keratin, vegan collagen, and silk amino acids --- that combine to deliver even more strength and elasticity to your hair strands vs. hydrolyzed keratin.

Here's what Impossible Keratin can do for you, as well as or better than other keratin formulations:

1. Reduced breakage, which translates to fewer split ends and flyaways and increased shine.
2. Decreased frizz by forming a protective barrier against humidity.
3. Protection against heat damage caused by dryers, flat irons, and other styling tools for healthier hair that maintains its shine and smoothness.
4. Better combing and styling because of better alignment.
5. Antioxidant color protection driven by UV protection.

Cleaner, more effective, and custom-formulated, Impossible Keratin is the superpower fueling each of Lu's collections: Control, Freedom, and Rescue. It's the main reason why Lu's shampoos, conditioners, and styling creams go to work from the very first wash to deliver healthier hair for all hair types.

 

The Keratin Difference