By Elena L. Peters - Beauty & Hair Editor
13 september 26

Hair botox, keratin or protein: which route do you book?

Hair botoxKeratinCysteamineTannin

Hair botox and keratin treatment are not two chemistries, they are two names. What actually defines the service is the reducer on the pack: a reducer means a smoothing treatment, no reducer means it is not one, whatever the tub is called.

This page puts the five smoothing routes on our own shelf side by side, ties each one to the question your client asks in the chair, and closes on what none of them delivers. None of the five is better than the others; they do different things to the fibre.

The short answer: Book a hair botox, a tub with no reducer on its list, when your client wants frizz and volume calmed. Book a smoothing treatment, on cysteamine, tannin or glyoxylic acid, when the shape of the hair has to change. Read the reducer on the pack and you know which of the two you are holding.

Why the name on the tub tells you nothing

The difference is not in the word, it is in the ingredient list. A hair botox, as this page uses the word, is a treatment with no reducer on its list, used to calm frizz and volume. A smoothing treatment has an active on its list that is there to change the shape: cysteamine, glyoxylic acid or one of its glyoxyloyl derivatives, or plant tannin.

The five routes side by side

Five routes, one table. What separates them is the reducer on the pack, not the brand or the word on the front. The first two tubs make the point on their own: same brand, same word BTOX, one with a reducer and one without.

Five routes, one table
No reducer
What it does
Left on 15 to 20 minutes to reduce frizz or 40 to 60 to reduce volume, then rinsed, dried and ironed
On the pack
No reducer on the printed list
Cysteamine and cysteine
What it does
Smooths with an amino-acid reducer; the steps finish with the flat iron
On the pack
Cysteamine HCl and Cysteine HCl on the ingredient list
Glyoxylic acid
What it does
Smooths with glyoxylic acid; the steps finish with the flat iron
On the pack
Glyoxylic Acid, the second entry after water on the 1 L (ME2027.00)
Glyoxyloyl derivatives
What it does
Smooths with glyoxyloyl derivatives
On the pack
Glyoxyloyl Carbocysteine and Glyoxyloyl Keratin Amino Acids on the ingredient list
Plant tannin
What it does
Smooths with plant tannin; the steps finish with the flat iron
On the pack
Tannic Acid on the list. Step B 1 L, in its own words: “acts directly on the salt bonds and hydrogen bond of keratin molecules”

Other lines on our shelf sold under the botox name are in the BTX category: Brazilicious Honey Biotox, Honey and Caviar, Honma Tokyo H-Brush and Robson BTX Blond Power. The cysteamine smoothing line is on the Brazil Protein salon page.

Two of the five routes have a page of their own: cysteamine hair smoothing explained sets out the amino-acid reducer behind Bio Lamination, Nano Gel and Bioplastia Vegan, and nanoplastia explained covers the glyoxylic-acid route. What a hair botox does and does not do is set out in hair botox explained.

Which route do you book for which client question?

A client rarely describes a chemistry. She describes a problem. This is how that translates into a route.

  • My hair frizzes and puffs up A tub with no reducer on its list, read by what it prints: BTOX Mass Replenisher is left on 15 to 20 minutes to reduce frizz or 40 to 60 to reduce volume, then rinsed, dried and ironed.
  • I want my hair to actually fall flatter A smoothing route: cysteamine, glyoxylic acid, a glyoxyloyl derivative or tannin. Within the cysteamine line the steps differ: Nano Gel goes on unwashed hair for at least 40 minutes, Bio Lamination and Bioplastia Vegan go on damp hair for 10 to 50 minutes. The chair times below set the routes apart.
  • My blonde goes warm after every treatment Bioplastia Vegan is the cysteamine cream with “Anti Yellow” on its front and CI 60730, a violet colourant, on its ingredient list. The wider blonde choice is in our guide for blonde hair.
  • My hair is damaged and porous Do not start with smoothing. Treat the porous hair first and book the smoothing after.
  • I want no formaldehyde anywhere near my hair Read the ingredient list of the tub itself. Bio Lamination, Nano Gel, Bioplastia Vegan, BTOX Mass Replenisher and Tanino Therapy step B 1 L carry no formaldehyde on their printed ingredient lists; our guide on formaldehyde and smoothing goes further.

What it costs in the chair, and what the client takes home

Chair time is a real difference between the routes, and it is one of the few things the packs do put in figures. The Brazil Protein packs print a strand test, and that test decides where you sit inside the window.

At the chair, as printed on the pack
No reducer: BTOX Mass Replenisher
Processing
15 to 20 minutes for frizz, 40 to 60 for volume
Flat iron
204 C
Cysteamine: Extreme Shine, Bio Lamination, Bioplastia Vegan
Processing
10 to 50 minutes by hair type
Flat iron
204 C
Cysteamine: Nano Gel
Processing
At least 40 minutes, on unwashed hair
Flat iron
Wet the hair, remove excess water, dry, then flat iron (iron step per the Dutch and Portuguese panels)
Glyoxylic acid: Cadiveu Smoothing Protein 1 L
Flat iron
180 to 230 C
Glyoxyloyl derivatives: Ker Factor Gold 1 L, Mutamba Volume Reducer 1 L
Processing
30 to 60 minutes
Flat iron
Rinse cold, dry 100%, then iron thin strands
Plant tannin: Salvatore step B, 1 L
Processing
At least 30 minutes
Flat iron
Rinse, then iron thin sections at least 10 to 20 times
Every figure here is read off the pack of the product named.
From the chair to the bathroom
Brazil Protein Bio Lamination salon and home-care set

Bio Lamination 1 L in the salon; for home we recommend the Bio Lamination shampoo and conditioner mask.

What the client takes home belongs to the same decision. For Brazil Protein we recommend a home duo per salon cream: Bio Lamination with its own duo, Nano Gel with Nutrition Power Detox, Bioplastia Vegan with Blond Vegan. After a botox service we advise gentle washing and less heat. More on formaldehyde is in our guide on formaldehyde and smoothing, and the tannin route is set out in taninoplastia explained.

What none of the five does

  • None of the five is permanent. Everything grows out or washes out.
  • None of the five is a fix for damaged hair. A smoothing changes the shape; treat porous hair first, smooth later.
  • Do not promise the client a result in months.
  • No formaldehyde on a printed ingredient list is a statement about that list, not about safety.
Professional use, external use only. Strand test before application. Suitable gloves, well-ventilated area. Avoid mucous membranes, skin and scalp. Nano Gel: “Perform a strand test on chemically treated hair. Apply to pregnant women only with medical approval. Do a skin sensitivity test.”As printed on the Brazil Protein packs

The tannin route has its own page on what can go wrong: disadvantages and risks of a tannin treatment. The same honesty applies to the other routes.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, hair botox or keratin?
Neither is better; they answer different questions. A hair botox has no reducer on its list and is a repeat service. A keratin or smoothing treatment with a reducer changes the shape of the fibre. The mistake that costs you a client is booking one when she wanted the other.
What are the disadvantages of hair botox?
There is no reducer on its list, so read what each tub prints before you promise a result. It is not permanent, so it is a repeat service. And because BTOX also appears on tubs that do contain a reducer, you can book the wrong service without reading the pack.
Does a keratin treatment contain formaldehyde?
Not by definition: keratin treatment is an umbrella name, so read the ingredient list of the tub itself. Bio Lamination, Nano Gel, Bioplastia Vegan, BTOX Mass Replenisher and Tanino Therapy step B 1 L carry no formaldehyde on their printed ingredient lists.
Which treatment lasts longest?
Do not promise it in months. None of these treatments is permanent: a treatment with a reducer changes the shape until it grows out or washes out.
What is the healthiest hair straightening treatment?
A treatment without a reducer intervenes least. Across the smoothing routes it depends on the hair, not on the category: the strand test and the processing time decide the load on the fibre, not the word on the tub.
Can you do this on a pregnant client?
Ask her to consult her doctor first. Bio Lamination, Bioplastia Vegan, Extreme Shine and Mass Replenisher print “if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, consult a doctor”; Nano Gel prints “apply to pregnant women only with medical approval”. Follow the safety text on the pack you use.
In short
Hair botox and keratin are names; the reducer is the test. A reducer on the list means a smoothing treatment. Translate the client's question into a route, not into the word on the tub.