This Is the Treatment Jennifer Aniston Swears By for Glossy Hair

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This Is the Treatment Jennifer Aniston Swears By for Glossy Hair

Welcome to the Jennifer Aniston’s Hair Fan Club—you’re among friends here. If you’re wondering how the actor gets her hair so sleek and shiny, well, some of the credit has to go to her longtime hairstylist Chris McMillan, who she has worked with since the Friends days. However, Aniston has also been known to have keratin hair treatments to smooth frizz and boost shine. The treatment can make hair easier to style day to day, without eliminating natural texture, whether that’s a wave or a tight coil.

“Keratin is a protein that is found naturally in the hair, fingers, nails and skin,” says Elena Lavagni, founder of Neville Hair & Beauty. “This keratin creates a protective layer around the hair making it look smoother. It’s designed to preserve the structure of each strand, leaving it more manageable and healthier looking.” After applying keratin to your hair, the stylist blow dries it in, finishing with straighteners set to a very high temperature, to seal the treatment in. It takes a couple of hours (maximum) to apply, then offers two to three months of shine. 

Done correctly it can leave hair looking and feeling better than ever, but it can go wrong, as Aniston experienced herself back in 2013. The actor admitted that a Brazilian blowout (a souped-up iteration of a keratin treatment, which can contain harsh chemicals), had gone wrong, prompting breakage. She soon chopped it off. Thankfully, these chemical-packed treatments are less widely available today than they once were and most salons now offer a more natural approach, including Neville, whose treatment (called Braliz) is formaldehyde-free.

“Instead of formaldehyde and other damaging chemicals, our treatment contains natural ingredients such as Brazilian Botanical Bioactives, gurarana, cashew and brazil nut oils, which have antioxidant properties to help realign hair fibers and repair and smooth out hair cuticles,” says Lavagni. “The treatment not only removes frizz, it also repairs the bonds and any damage from the sun, heat and color treatments.” By improving the strength of the hair, it actually minimizes the chance of breakage which, in turn, aids growth—a far cry from controversial Brazilian blowouts.

Before booking a treatment, it's advisable to check with your salon whether the treatment contains formaldehyde—repeated exposure to which has been shown to have negative impacts to health (there is also a link with cancer)—or other dangerous chemicals. Look for reputable keratin treatments such as Braliz, KeraSilk, Cezanne and KeraStraight, and if your salon can’t or won’t tell you what’s in a treatment, consider booking elsewhere.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Hannah Coates