Here’s a little story: Back in late 2010, when I decided to start caring properly for my hair (after I grew out my texturizer), I came upon the “Youtube Natural Hair Community”. I heard lots of DO’s, DON”Ts and No-no’s. Two of the popular ones were “stay away from protein, it will make your hair hard” and “moisturize, moisturize, moisturize”. Needless to say, I avoided everything with protein like people avoid a plague, and I moisturized like it was going out of style, after all, who wants hard hair?
Fast forward a few months later I ended up with over-moisturized, soggy hair and porosity issues. So, I did what I should have done from the get go…do more/my own research! At that point, I started really diving in and studying my hair, what it likes, how it responds to certain things and how to bring it into balance when it goes off-balance 🙂
Our hair is made up of protein, specifically Keratin. It’s what forms the structure/support system for your hair. Sometimes when I hear terms like “my hair doesn’t like protein” being thrown around, I often think…”are you saying your hair doesn’t like itself”? Of course, I’m being silly, but I’m sure you see what I mean. I also think “protein” is generalized and often gets a bad rap.
Our hair needs protein and moisture to be balanced and at its healthiest. While we get protein from food sources, depending on our diet and other factors, we may need to add some form of protein to our hair from time to time. “Protein sensitivity” (another commonly used term), in my opinion, means that your hair has enough protein, is balanced and wants to be left alone until it says otherwise 🙂
Applying some protein products to our hair may make it “hard” to some degree because the protein is filling in gaps/spaces in our cuticles. This may give a temporary hardness but once followed with a moisturizing Deep Conditioner your hair should “bounce back”. Also, there are varying degrees of protein “treatments” from light protein treatments to reconstructors (for cases of severely damaged hair), as well as different types of proteins which serve different functions. Overuse of heavy proteins/reconstructors may result in “hard hair” and even breakage. Also, piling on products with protein (using shampoo, conditioner, Deep conditioner, Leave in and styler) all in one sitting, can also throw your hair off balance.
Let’s take a look some of the Proteins commonly found in Hair Products:
Silk Protein : Softens the hair; found in Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie
Silk Amino Acid: Has the ability to penetrate the hair shaft, it adds softness, body and strength and smooths the hair cuticle.
Collagen: Increases hair elasticity
Vegetable Protein : Readily absorbs into the hair shaft, leaves hair shiny radiant and healthy.
Animal protein: This breaks down into a fatty acid and coats the hair and can cause build up
Wheat Protein : Moisturizes and strengthens, it also increases the hair’s ability to hold moisture
Keratin Protein : Makes hair strong and pliable, restructures damaged hair and strengthens the cuticle. This is the type of protein our hair is made of.
Hydrolyzed Protein : This may labeled as “hydrolyzed wheat protein”, “hydrolyzed oat protein”,”hydrolyzed keratin” or “keratin amino acids”. This means that the molecules have been broken down so small that they are able to penetrate all three layers of the hair to strengthen and smooth.
Protein in products are also sometimes labeled as wheat, corn, soy, silk, oat and placenta. Eggs,yogurt and coconut milk are also sources of protein that many naturals use in DIY treatments.
As always, it is important to choose proteins/products that are best suited to your hair’s needs. However, also bear in mind that your hair’s porosity, the formulation of the product and the percentage of the protein contained has a lot to do with how it works on your hair. For example, I love the Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and it contains silk protein which helps soften the hair, however, I recently tried another product containing silk protein that made my hair feel anything but soft. There are many reasons why this might have happened, so it would be unfair to attribute it to just the “protein”.
What’s your take? Have you had any issues with proteins? Please share below 😉
Until next time
i notice my hair has been having issues with protein lately. but i’m willing to give it another try until the end of summer. and if my hair stul feels hard and limp even afer a misture DC, then I know my hair is healthy enough and doesn’t need the excess protein treatment
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Thanks Tanesha! Knowing your hair is the best thing you can do 🙂
🙂
lol…thanks Yemi! You’re so right, I think we sometimes people anticipate that someone else’s experience will always be their experience. Plus it does not make it better when all these terms are thrown around and people adopt them without really knowing what they mean. Research and learning you own hair is sooo important 🙂
Hey Sunshon, thanks hon, henna/cassia are not proteins, they do however mimic the action of vegetable/plant protein so it can/will make your hard feel hard as they strengthens/condition it, that’s why it’s important to follow up with a moisturizing protein-free DC 🙂
Thanks Beuluv, I think you’re right but as with everything else there are PRO and CONS, but sometimes they let other people’s experiences be their own 🙁
*bad rap*
Great article, you know me I use protein! I feel like the natural community has given it a bad warp though…I love my avocado and egg DC, I lose hair but not more than the usual. In my opinion, do your own research, read this blog! & experiment. What works for you might not work for someone else but the only way to find out is thru research and trials/errors. Being natural is an amazing journey! By the way loved the henna gloss treatment, I’m going to try to do it often, thank youuu!
Wonderful! Question… Do the Henna products have protien in them? I thought I remembered that they do. Great Job once again!
Great article and very informative!My hair responds differently to protein.I’ve since learned to DC and moisturize very well after a protein treatment.Ivusually alternate between moisture and protein treatments.
Your a smart cookie for doing your own research. I’ve always believed in protein for the hair even when mine was relaxed. I think those who chose to stay away from protein just chose to concentrate on the cons of using to much protein.