Had a client's hair melt off after using a cheap smoothing treatment off Amazon

It happened two weeks ago at my chair in Austin. She came in with this $12 keratin kit she bought online, used it at home, and her hair literally snapped off in clumps when I tried to comb it. I spent 4 hours doing a deep protein treatment to save what was left. Has anyone else dealt with clients bringing in mystery products from Amazon? How do you talk them out of it without sounding like you're just trying to sell them your own stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

leep898d ago

Wait, is that really true about the protein thing though? I thought most of those cheap smoothing treatments actually have way too much protein, not too little. Like the issue is they overload the hair with crap that doesn't bond right and then it just flakes off or melts when heat hits it. @lane.angela I get what you're saying about testing a strand and that's smart, but I'd be worried the damage might not show up till later with some of these knockoff formulas. I've seen clients where the hair looked fine during the test but then snapped a week later after washing. The real problem is these Amazon products have zero quality control and the companies change ingredients without warning. It's just not worth the risk when you're dealing with someone's actual hair.

lane.angela8d ago

You're right to be careful about the wording, I always frame it as a safety thing. "That product can damage your hair because it lacks enough protein to actually seal the cuticle." A quick tip that works for me is offering to test a tiny strand first if they really want to use it, then they see the damage in real time.