Local actress Makgotso Monyemokathoe shared her hair woes on social media — they eventually forced her to cut it all off.
She lamented that a treatment had destroyed her "beautiful solid 'fro", and said: "My hair fell out, and I just had to cut it all!"
The star admitted that she was devastated.
Recalling her own experience of the Brazilian hair treatment, also known as the keratin hair treatment, Jessica Misener explained to HuffPost that a week or so afterwards, her hair felt "gummy and tacky".
"But the real horror was that my hair began falling out."
"It began innocently enough. In the shower, I was used to losing a few strands when I applied conditioner, but I started to notice that gobs of hair would come out when I ran my hands through it. After a blowdry, the bathroom floor would be littered with stray hairs — gross to clean, and also terrifying. What had I done?"
She realised that some women have these hair treatments not knowing what the side effects could be.
A sentiment Monyemokathoe also shared on Instagram: "Who even asked me to be doing treatments I know nothing about?"
As it turns out, hair loss is a common side effect of the Brazilian or keratin hair treatment. These are the key things we've since learnt about the hair treatment:
1. Hair loss is common
Hair loss after keratin is common. It could be that the treatment traumatises the hair root, causing your hair to thin out and or eventually fall out. Sometimes the scalp suffers chemical burns from improper application.
2. Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is one of the main ingredients in many of these hair straightening treatments, and it can be harzardous, especially when used in unknown quantities.
Some salons claim their version of the keratin treatment is formaldehyde-free, but even treatments that don't contain formaldehyde can literally turn into formaldehyde when heated.
3. The damage is luckily not permanent
The damage isn't permanent, although the the new hair comes in as baby hairs and the regrowth process may take months. This is why some people opt to cut it off altogether and start afresh.