Brazil Protein Bioplastia Vegan Straightening Cream 1 L is a professional smoothing cream for coarse, resistant and curly hair that also tones. Alongside a cysteamine and cysteine reducer it carries a violet pigment, Acid Violet 43, that neutralises warm and yellow tones while the hair is smoothed: the anti-yellow option in the range, built for blonde, lightened, grey or brassy hair. It smooths without glyoxylic acid or formaldehyde, processes in 10 to 50 minutes, and the ingredient list carries no animal-derived ingredients. The 1 L bottle is the backbar size for regular column work; the same cream is also stocked in 120 ml.

Why an anti-yellow cysteamine cream

Coarse, resistant and curly hair holds its shape because of the bonds inside the fibre. Bioplastia Vegan relaxes those bonds with an amino-acid reducer, cysteamine and cysteine, brought to its working pH by acetic, citric and malic acids. What sets this one apart is the violet pigment, Acid Violet 43, on the list: violet sits opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so it counters warm and yellow tones while the smoothing happens. It smooths without glyoxylic acid or formaldehyde, and no animal-derived ingredient appears on the list. You still section, comb the cream through and seal with a flat iron, so you keep control over how much volume you take out.

Key ingredients

• Cysteamine HCl and cysteine HCl: the amino-acid reducer, cysteamine second on the list, that relaxes the bond structure so the hair can be ironed straighter.
• Acid Violet 43: the violet toning pigment (CI 60730) that counters warm and yellow tones, the reason this cream is badged anti-yellow.
• Acetic, citric and malic acids: the acid blend that brings the reducer to its working pH.
• Acai and coconut oil: Amazonian fruit extract and coconut that keep the hair supple rather than straw-dry after ironing.
• Onion bulb extract and vitamin E: conditioning agents on the list.

What to expect

Hair comes out smoother, flatter and easier to blow-dry, frizz reduced and warm tones cooled by the violet pigment. How straight it goes is in your hands: the 10 to 50 minute window is the lever, shorter for fine or porous hair, longer for coarse, virgin textures. The toning is a tint, not a bleach or a colour service, so it cools brassiness rather than lifting or depositing a shade. It is a smoothing service, not a permanent relaxer. On light or previously lightened hair, a strand test decides both timing and how much the violet reads, and SOS Protein Mask first helps compromised hair take the service more evenly.

Who it is for

• Blonde, lightened, highlighted or grey hair that needs smoothing without going warmer
• Coarse, resistant or curly hair being smoothed for manageability
• Clients who want a cooler, less brassy finish with the smoothing
• Salons wanting a vegan-formulated straightener with no animal-derived ingredients
• Anyone moving away from glyoxylic-acid or formaldehyde smoothing

Who it is not for

• Hair where any cool or violet cast is unwanted: the pigment is part of the formula
• Home users: the pack is marked professional use
• Anyone sensitive to eugenol, citral or amyl cinnamal, all declared on the pack
• Anyone in a hurry: keep a dark towel by for the violet cream and work it in cleanly

Professional tip

The 10 to 50 minute range is where the service is won or lost, so let the strand test set the time. Because the cream carries a violet pigment, wear gloves, keep a dark towel and gown to hand, and rinse cleanly from the basin and your tools, since violet stains soft surfaces. On light or pre-lightened hair the toning reads faster, so watch the strand test for tone as well as smoothness.

How to use

Two ways to work this cream, both set out in full: the manufacturer's protocol exactly as it is written on the bottle, and the Brazilian salon method most stylists use in the chair, with this cream's own figures built into it.

Method A: Manufacturer method

1. Perform a strand test before application.
2. Working on damp hair, apply the product strand by strand, 1 cm (0.5 inches) away from the root.
3. Leave it on for 10 to 50 minutes, depending on the hair type.
4. Rinse.
5. Dry.
6. Flat-iron thin strands until the strands are sealed, at an average temperature of 204 C / 400 F.

Method B: The Brazilian method

1. Strand test. Always start here: it sets your timing inside the 10 to 50 minute window and shows how the violet reads on this hair.
2. Clarify. Salon practice on virgin, coarse or product-heavy hair: wash with an anti-residue shampoo, leave three to five minutes, rinse well and repeat until the hair feels genuinely clean. This is craft, not a step printed on this bottle.
3. Damp, not soaking. Towel-dry so the hair is damp: this cream is applied to damp hair, not bone-dry.
4. Section. Split into four to six even sections and clip them up. Keep a dark towel and gown on the client for the violet.
5. Apply. Strand by strand, 1 cm from the root. Work it in with a brush, then comb root to tip with a fine-tooth comb so every strand is coated and nothing pools at the roots.
6. Process 10 to 50 minutes. Fine or porous hair sits at the short end; coarse, resistant or virgin hair at the long end. Watch the hair for both smoothness and tone.
7. Rinse. Rinse the cream out before you dry, clearing all the violet from the hair, the basin and your tools.
8. Dry. Blow-dry completely and smooth, in thin sections, on medium heat.
9. Seal at 204 C / 400 F. Flat-iron thin strands until each one is sealed, moving evenly root to tip. Take extra care around fine or previously lightened sections. As general Brazilian practice, virgin or resistant hair takes a hotter iron, around 210 to 249 C (410 to 480 F), while bleached, blonde or fragile hair is sealed cooler, around 150 to 170 C (300 to 340 F), with a heat protectant, judged on the strand test.
10. Aftercare. Salon practice: keep the hair down and loose, and send the client home with sulfate-free, tone-keeping care so the result and the cool tone are not stripped back. This bottle does not print a no-wash window.

Where it fits in the Brazil Protein range

Bioplastia Vegan Straightening Cream is the service itself, the step you charge for; send the client home with the Brazil Protein Blond Vegan Home Care Duo to keep the result soft and the tone cool between appointments. Within the same Bioplastia Vegan line, Brazil Protein Bioplastia Vegan Max Protein 300 ml is a toning protein cream rather than a straightener, used to nourish and cool tone rather than to smooth. If a client needs a different smoothing route, Brazil Protein Bio Lamination Straightening Cream and Brazil Protein Nano Gel Smoothing Gel run on the same cysteamine chemistry without the violet tone.

In short

• Professional anti-yellow straightening cream for coarse, resistant and curly hair, and for blonde, lightened or grey hair.
• Cysteamine and cysteine reducer with a violet pigment, Acid Violet 43, no glyoxylic acid or formaldehyde.
• 10 to 50 minutes processing, sealed at 204 C / 400 F; no animal-derived ingredients on the list.
• 1 L backbar size; also in 120 ml, maintained with the Blond Vegan Home Care Duo.