Most people want to have a beautiful and healthy hair by using several hair treatments available and most of them are indeed proven to be effective depend on the kind of problem itself. Some of the most popular ingredient or treatment used for hair benefit are Keratin vs Collagen. Both of them are supposed to give back or fix your damaged hair but may also work differently. If you currently considering these two, go check what they can offer below and see which the better option is.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– Are you currently suffering from hair problem
– What are Keratin and Collagen
– What Keratin and Collagen can offer to you
– How to use Keratin and Collagen
– Keratin vs Collagen
Hair Problems
Healthy, volumized, smooth and shiny hair is the dream of everyone who are currently suffering from hair problem or issues because for most of us, hair is an important part that will affect our confidence when socializing for a thin and dry hair will make our appearance look not presentable, moreover, if you are working in a space where there are so many people inside, communicating with each other, having a good appearance will sure boost our confidence and may affect our work and emotion.
While hair problem is a common issue, the fact is we still struggling to find the best solution for our problem for not all people suffer from the same issue and may need a different treatment or product depend on what required.
However, in term or option, there is nothing like the lack of option or not enough product to choose because we can find most of them easily at stores or pharmacies near your place without the need to consult with a specialist first.
Of course it is better to ask for a professional help but not all of us are willing or have the time to check their condition, moreover, if the problem is just on their hair appearance like dry or weak hair and damaged due to various past chemical treatments. Most of the solution for such problems are available widely both in hair salon and in stores so we can choose and try which of them can deliver what we need.
Some more serious problem like hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia is better consulted with a professional because they will know whether to prescribe Propecia vs Rogaine or both of those since this problem need a medication to handle. But, if what you are suffering from currently is only a damaged hair, there are many great options out there to pick, from home used treatment or professional salon products we can applied in such establishment to help fixing our hair and improve their appearance.
About Keratin
Among those many treatment we can do and take or purchase in the market, we are sure most people are already familiar with Keratin since we often see them on many hair product’s marketing campaign and advertisements on various medias today. They seem to generate popularity in the last several years mainly to help people with damaged hair to gain back their healthy and smooth hair. From cheap shampoo on stores until expensive treatment at salon, this specific ingredient is used by so many people due to their affectivity.
For those who are still in the dark about what Keratin actually is, they are a type of protein that made up our hair, nail and skin, so they naturally present in our body including in some of our internal organs and glands. It is a protective protein and have a less prone to scratching or tearing feature compared to another type of cells we produce. Beside in human, it is also present in animals as in their feathers, horns, and wool that are often used as an ingredient in hair products.
As a popular ingredient, we can see them on so many treatments under the name but they may differ from each other so it is better to ask a professional first about the related information before doing the treatment. Unlike professional treatment, home-used products that are claimed to include Keratin in their formulation will mostly work much slower than those treatments but are generally safer with a very little chance of further damaging your hair.
Keratin Benefit
The most well-known benefit of Keratin for hair is to make them look shiny and smooth for example if you have an unruly hair that are hard to deal with, the ingredient can tame them but with a set or procedure done by your salon artists. Since they are protein, the same like in our hair, they supposed to replenish our hair and make the appearance look better by smoothing down the cells that overlap to form our hair strands.
Taken from healthline, our hair cuticle is theoretically can absorb the keratin and resulting them to appear fuller and glossier. For those with curly hair can also benefit by getting less frizzy, easier to style and achieve straighter or neater look. However, for hair loss, there is still not enough evidence if Keratin can help the issue when applied topically or orally, moreover, for Keratin multivitamin which is less common and hard to get.
Using Keratin
Keratin treatment is applied by a professional and the process will go with applying the Keratin hair-straightening solution to your hair and then use the heat of a flat iron steel to seal them. The process will usually take about 90 minutes or so depend on the length of your hair. Currently, there are several similar treatments available including Brazilian Blowout, Brazilian Keratin Treatment, Global Keratin Complex, and Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy by Coppola.
About Collagen
Another popular ingredient used to help people who want to get a healthier hair or to promote beautiful skin and nails is by using Collagen, mostly in a multivitamin form. This ingredient is also often used in different cosmetics or skin care products to promote healthy, youthful look and replenishing the already present collagen in our skin. For hair benefit itself, they are belief to make them grow healthier and overall fix the problem such as unruly or damaged hair.
While most collagen product are taken orally in capsules or in a drink mix, there are also those that can be applied topically such as shampoo, conditioner, cream and other similar treatment. Collagen itself is a natural amino acid and happens to be the most abundant protein in our body composed of proline, glycine, arginine and hydroxyproline. Its main role is in renewing cells and responsible for maintaining the strength as well as elasticity or bones, joint, tendons, and many more.
Since our body is naturally producing Collagen, in younger age we are not required to take them in the form of supplement but when you are reaching the age of 30, it is said that our body’s ability to produce this amino acids is lower, thus causing some difference mainly on skin and how they feel or look which is actually a natural process.
Collagen Benefit
The best and well-known benefit of Collagen will appear on your skin since taking the supplement will help strengthening and add elasticity as well as improving hydration, thus it can reduce the appearance of wrinkle in older age. It is also known to relief joint pain by maintaining the integrity of our cartilage that look like a rubber tissue protecting our joints. Additionally, taking the supplement may increase the strength of nails by preventing brittleness and stimulate hair and nail to grow longer.
There is an interesting finding that found a relation between hair and collagen besides making them to grow longer because it has been discovered that decreasing levels of Collagen near hair follicle stem cells is linked to hair loss and the lack of this certain XVII type of collagen can damage the hair follicle DNA. Additionally, the keratin found in hair is produced more effectively in the body when there is enough amount of amino acids, so consuming Collagen should improve hair health in general as well.
Using Collagen
Since there are two methods to use Collagen; topically and orally, it is best to follow each products’ recommendation when taking them. If we are talking about which best between applying them directly at skin or hair than those taken orally from supplement or nutritional drink. It is believed that the ingredient is too large in molecule to penetrate the skin properly which mean, topical collagen won’t work as good as those we consume and the key is to increase the amino acids in our body to get the complete benefit.
Comparison
Now, let’s compare Keratin with Collagen. As you may already know, both are indeed beneficial for hair health but they are two different things that we should use wisely. Keratin naturally build our hair and their treatment will give you instant result right after application but the chemical and method used to apply them are dangerous. At the other hand, Collagen can’t work as fast by providing the amino acids needed by our hair to fix itself yet they are safer and can give more benefit to our body.
Keratin vs Collagen
| Keratin | Collagen |
|---|---|
| - Present mostly in hair and nails | - Present in connective tissues and ECM |
| - The treatment are instant | - Benefit not instant |
| - May use chemical to apply (professional) | - No harmful chemical |
| - Can harm hair | - Safre for body including hair |
| - Won’t help hair loss (topically) | - Will support hair growth |
Conclusion
All in all, the decision is all yours to make since we may have different need and preference. Both of them are clearly not to treat problem like male or female pattern baldness but can deliver benefit for those who want to have a healthier appearance for their hair. However, if we are to choose, we will recommend you to consume Collagen supplement to get various benefit at once not just for hair.