Today, I’m bringing you an easy but detailed guide to proteins. Everything from what are proteins, to what they have to do with our hair, and to how to effectively find it on products.
*If you come from my Instagram/Facebook 1-Minute Guide To Healthy Curls & Coils, this is the full information from that post so you can read the complete information.
What are proteins?
Proteins are what your hair is mostly made of. If you take one hair strand, you will find that your hair is mainly made out of keratin, which is a hard protein, and amino acids, which is used to make proteins.
Why I need it, and what are the benefits?
When you damage your hair with chemicals, heat, and poor maintenance, you are destroying the protein within your strands. You’re breaking the hair cuticle and bringing a higher porosity level. This also encourages hair breakage and damage.
Because of this, your hair needs something to fill in the gaps left behind by the broken cuticle. This is where protein treatments come in. This added protein will fill in the gaps left by the broken cuticle, and your porosity level will go lower.
This added protein will restore your hair’s strength, structure, and elasticity. Adding proteins will help your hair to grow longer, stronger, smoother, and healthier.
Ingredients to look for in my products
Instead of giving you a huge list of ingredients names, instead, I’ll provide you with words that you can easily remember, hence, identify. These words will make your life easier for when you are looking in the ingredient list of a product to see whether or not the product contains protein ingredients.
Easy words to remember:
- Protein
- Collagen
- Casein
- Amino Acids
- Keratin
- Cholesterol
- Silk
- Grains
- Oats
- Rice
- Wheat
Protein Overload
Yes! Protein is essential for our hair, but too much can be damaging for it.
When you have a protein overload, your hair will be very strong, stiff, hard, and dry. It will look frizzier and can lead to breakage.
Elasticity Test for Protein
While your hair is wet, take a hair strand, secure it with one hand and pull with the other. If it doesn’t stretch, it doesn’t break, and it feels dry, then you have protein overload.
This can be easily fixed by adding moisturizing treatment into your hair.
Protein Sensitivity
However, some people might confuse protein overload with protein sensitivity and vice-versa.
If you haven’t done a protein treatment in a while or is your first time ever, and you feel that your hair becomes hard, stiff, and dry, you might be having what is called a Protein Sensitivity.
Recommendation:
Although you have this sensitivity for protein, our hair still needing protein. Because of this, I recommend you do a protein treatment every month or every two months. You will still protect your hair, but you are not overdoing it.
As an additional tip. If every time you do the protein treatment, you still feeling your hair hard, stiff, and dry, follow up with a moisturizing deep conditioner or treatment. This will help your hair get the benefits, without leaving your hair feeling bad.
*Note: Some people recommend coconut oil as a replacement of protein treatments for protein sensitive hair, but I don’t. Coconut oil doesn’t contain any protein, considering it is lost in the creation process of this oil. Although this oil prevents the loss of protein from the hair, it doesn’t provide any, and you need protein to heal your damaged hair. Something to consider is Coconut Milk, which does have protein.
DIY Protein Treatment
An easy and well-known DIY for protein is the egg one. Everybody does it differently, but I like this one.
Recipe
- 1-2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon sweet almond or olive or coconut oil.
Instructions
Mix everything well. Leave it from 15-20 minutes and don’t apply heat (heat is easily broken with heat).
*This can be used a max of twice a week. Depending on your hair needs, you might need to use it less (once a month).
Conclusion
The more you cause damage in your hair, the more your hair will be destroyed, the higher will be your porosity, and the more protein you will need.
The more protein you add to that damaged hair, the more those gaps are going to be filled in, the lower will go your porosity, and your hair will be stronger and healthier.
Also, something that I can’t leave without saying is that there is no better protein treatment than the one you bring through your mouth. Having a healthy diet with enough protein will bring healthier hair, skin, and body.
Tip:
Even if you have low porosity, you will still need to add protein treatments from now and then. Although you are not exposing your hair to chemicals (color, relaxers, and etc.), heat, hygral fatigue, and environmental exposure are often impossible to avoid. Due to this, your hair’s protein will be damage, and you will need to repair it.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your day! Also, if you want to keep in touch with me, and see more great content like this, make sure to subscribe to my Email List and follow me on Instagram.
xoxo,
