Brazil Protein BTOX Extreme Shine Cream 1 kg is a professional cysteamine straightening cream built for gloss, for coarse, frizzy and dull hair that wants to be smoothed and left shining. A cysteamine and cysteine reducer relaxes the hair so it can be ironed straight, while botanical oils, grape extract, hydrolyzed corn protein and marine actives give the extreme-shine finish the name promises. It smooths without formaldehyde or glyoxylic acid, processes in 10 to 50 minutes and is sealed with a flat iron at 204 C, a salon treatment in a 1 kg tub.

Why a shine-forward cysteamine straightener

Coarse, resistant and over-worked hair holds its shape because of the bonds inside the fibre, and once it is smoothed it can still read dull. BTOX Extreme Shine handles both. A cysteamine and cysteine reducer, brought to its working pH by fruit and acetic acids, relaxes the bond structure so the hair can be ironed straighter, and it does that without glyoxylic acid or formaldehyde. Around the reducer sits the shine side of the formula: botanical oils, grape extract, hydrolyzed corn protein and marine actives that leave the hair glossy rather than flat once it is sealed. You keep control over how much you take out, because you section, comb it through and seal it strand by strand.

Key ingredients

• Cysteamine HCl and cysteine HCl: the amino-acid reducer that relaxes the bond structure so the hair can be ironed straighter.
• Hydrolyzed corn protein: the plant protein that conditions the fibre through the service.
• Grape extract and botanical oils: grape (the front fruit extract), linseed, moringa and shea that carry the extreme-shine finish.
• Marine actives: seaweed extracts that condition and add slip alongside the oils.
• Vitamin E: an antioxidant agent on the list.

What to expect

Hair comes out smoother, flatter, easier to blow-dry and, above all, glossier: the extreme-shine finish is the point of this one. How straight it goes is in your hands, set by the 10 to 50 minute window, shorter for fine or porous hair, longer for coarse, virgin textures. It is a smoothing service, not a permanent relaxer, and it carries no formaldehyde or glyoxylic acid, so it suits salons that want a cysteamine straightener with a high-shine result. A strand test first shows how the hair takes it. On compromised hair, a reconstruction step beforehand helps the service sit evenly.

Who it is for

• Coarse, resistant or frizzy hair being smoothed for manageability
• Dull hair that needs gloss as well as smoothing
• Clients who want a shiny, sleek finish from their smoothing service
• Salons wanting a cysteamine straightener without formaldehyde or glyoxylic acid
• Hair being taken from frizzy and matte to smooth and glossy

Who it is not for

• Clients who want body and volume kept: this smooths and flattens the hair
• Anyone wanting only conditioning without smoothing: that is the Mass Replenisher, not this
• Home users: the pack is marked professional use
• Rushed application: let the shine follow a clean iron and an even comb-through

Professional tip

The shine is made at the iron, so the blow-dry and the sealing matter as much as the cream: dry the hair fully and smooth, then seal thin strands cleanly so the light bounces off a flat cuticle. Let the strand test set the time inside the 10 to 50 minute window, and comb the cream through so nothing sits heavy at the roots before you rinse.

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 tub, 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 this hair takes the service.
2. Clarify. Salon practice on virgin, coarse or product-heavy hair: wash with an anti-residue shampoo, rinse well and repeat until the hair feels genuinely clean.
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.
5. Apply. Strand by strand, 1 cm from the root. Work it in with a brush, then comb root to tip 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, not the clock alone.
7. Rinse. Rinse the cream out before you dry.
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, so the finish reads glossy. 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: send the client home with sulfate-free care so the smoothness and shine are not stripped back. This tub does not print a no-wash window.

Where it fits in the Brazil Protein range

BTOX Extreme Shine is the shine-forward smoothing service, the step you charge for when a client wants sleek, glossy hair; send them home with the Brazil Protein Bio Lamination Home Care Duo to keep the result soft between appointments. For hair that needs rebuilding first, Brazil Protein SOS Protein Mask is the reconstruction step, and Brazil Protein Mix Brazilian Oil is the finishing oil for extra shine. Its BTOX sibling, Brazil Protein BTOX Mass Replenisher, is the conditioning btox with no reducer, for clients who want anti-frizz and body rather than straightening.

In short

• Professional cysteamine straightening cream with an extreme-shine finish, for coarse, frizzy or dull hair.
• Cysteamine and cysteine reducer with botanical oils, grape extract and hydrolyzed corn protein; no formaldehyde or glyoxylic acid.
• 10 to 50 minutes processing, sealed at 204 C / 400 F for a smooth, glossy result.
• 1 kg salon tub, maintained with the Bio Lamination Home Care Duo.