Protein Usage Guide

[dawnss]

I was thinking that since there are the occasional thread popping up about protein, I think that it might be a really good idea if we have a thread that can compile member's tips and tricks, articles, and other information about protein and hair.

I guess I should start:

1). Examine your hair's elasticity prior to using any type of protein treatment what so ever. I would suggest that you find a shed hair, emerge it in water and see how easily it snaps back to it's original state or breaks after you pull and stretch it then you may consider adding a light protein conditioner to your regime as needed.

I think this article explains this much better, I will mention that this article does not belong to me it is the author's property.

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-fine-art-protein-moisture-balancing-for-393904.html?cat=69

I know that the audience is geared toward African American women who relax their hair, but since hair, regardless of one's ethnicity, has the same basic structure her article is a great basic tool for those in need.

2). Know the signs of protein overload for your hair: does your hair become brittle, dry, or etc?

3). Please, please, please, use moisture in conjunction with your protein treatments, unless your hair loves protein then you need to find what moisturizing treatments work for you.

4). I would be careful about using hair reconstructors like Aphogee Two Step Treatment (the moisturizing deep conditioner they come with is garbage by the way), DRP-11, Motions CPR, Nexxus Emergencee, and etc. Generally these are meant to be used on hair that is severely breaking off, or hair that has been through chemical processes (so all you BKT users, I would avoid these because bkt uses keratin which is... a really heavy protein, in fact human hair is made of keratin).

5). How often you decide to use protein is up to you, I like to use it twice weekly, especially because I detangle my hair while wet and it is more prone to snap and break while wet.

6). If your hair does not seem to be accepting moisture if could be for a few reasons. You need to clarify your hair. Your hair's porosity is thrown off (please check into this especially if you hair always seems dry no matter what products you use, how many times you moisturize, your hair sucks up moisture and doesn't stay moisturized, or if you heat style(d) or do chemical services). Or you just need to do a protein treatment, in order for your hair to accept moisture it needs proper fortification first, so it might behoove you to try a light protein treatment first and see if that helps with your hair's needs.

Hopefully, with all of the information we all compile we can make sure that we all have more knowledge about protein usage.

[SerinaDaith]

I have never done anything protein with my hair, my hair just got long enough to ponytail about a momth ago and I am already seeing breakage even with the non metal elastics I have and trying to vary my pony position. What would be a good light protein for a total newb?

[Long_hair_bear]

I do a protein treatment once a month after I clarify. I use babyface pure protien. :) Love it so far!

[TheWhiteRabbit]

I wash my hair with an egg once a week and that seems to be enough protein for my hair. :)

[SerinaDaith]

I will have to give that a go on my next wash day.

[dawnss]

Eggs are great but they are definitely a moderate protein! I think that coconut milk/cream is a really good protein treatment as well.

[MeowScat]

I tried 1 egg a few months ago. I whipped it up, added a tiny bit of honey and put it on my dry hair (what a gooey, drippy mess I made!)

I let it sit for almost a half hour, washed, conditioned and air dried.

I had so many splits after that I had to S&D for over an hour. These weren't little splits, either, they were 2 - 3 inches long. I've never had them go up that high.

Does my hair hate protein? Or was the egg just not the right kind of protein for me?

I did the "float a few hairs in a bowl of water" porosity test. I let them soak for 5 hours and they floated the entire time, even when I pushed them under water. I guess it's not porous like I assumed it was.

[dawnss]

I tried 1 egg a few months ago. I whipped it up, added a tiny bit of honey and put it on my dry hair (what a gooey, drippy mess I made!)

I let it sit for almost a half hour, washed, conditioned and air dried.

I had so many splits after that I had to S&D for over an hour. These weren't little splits, either, they were 2 - 3 inches long. I've never had them go up that high.

Does my hair hate protein? Or was the egg just not the right kind of protein for me?

I did the "float a few hairs in a bowl of water" porosity test. I let them soak for 5 hours and they floated the entire time, even when I pushed them under water. I guess it's not porous like I assumed it was.

It sounds like that was too much protein for your hair, eggs are really a moderate treatment so I always assume that if you aren't having that much breakage you might want to avoid them. It also though could be that your hair didn't have enough moisture after the treatment.

At least your hair isn't porous, that is something to be happy about!

[MeowScat]

Good to know, thank you! I was wondering if the egg drying a little might have been the culprit but I guess protein isn't my friend. Moisture is.

Do you know protein ingredients in shampoo / conditioner? I know that silicone ingredients end in cone, one, xane, etc. But what do proteins end in?

[Henrietta]

1). Examine your hair's elasticity prior to using any type of protein treatment what so ever. I would suggest that you find a shed hair, emerge it in water and see how easily it snaps back to it's original state or breaks after you pull and stretch it then you may consider adding a light protein conditioner to your regime as needed.

So... the easier the hair snaps/the longer it takes for it to go back to its original state the more protein? Or the other way around?

[Elessaelle]

Do you know protein ingredients in shampoo / conditioner? I know that silicone ingredients end in cone, one, xane, etc. But what do proteins end in?

Protein usually have hydrolyzed in their name (for example hydrolyzed keratin or hydrolyzed wheat protein). You can find list of proteins commonly used in hair products here (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/celebrities/ingredients-commonly-found-in-hair-care-products) (you just have to scroll a bit, protein list is in the middle of page) :)

[afu]

for the person who asked about the hair stretch test, your hair needs protein if the stretches and moisture if it easily snaps.

My advice would be to make sure you are using a protein source of a size suitable to enter and stay in the hair shaft. From what I've read reseach has shown that egg protein in it's raw state is generally too big to enter the hair and amino acids can simply fall straight back out again. Hydrolysed are the best options.

For a strong protein treatment you can use dissolved gelatin

[ravenreed]

Are you sure there isn't already protein in your shampoo or conditioner? Lots of breakage may mean too much protein somewhere.



I have never done anything protein with my hair, my hair just got long enough to ponytail about a momth ago and I am already seeing breakage even with the non metal elastics I have and trying to vary my pony position. What would be a good light protein for a total newb?

[gthlvrmx]

Good to know, thank you! I was wondering if the egg drying a little might have been the culprit but I guess protein isn't my friend. Moisture is.

Do you know protein ingredients in shampoo / conditioner? I know that silicone ingredients end in cone, one, xane, etc. But what do proteins end in?
Is that true? some silicones end in one?? I thought it was cone and xane, my suave naturals conditioner contains some long ingredient starting with the letter M and ends in one. i dont think its a silicone. maybe it was a preservative i dont remember.

Some proteins are like collagen, keratin, soy (wheat?), hydrolyzed. silk, amino acids. There might be more im not sure.

[dawnss]

Good to know, thank you! I was wondering if the egg drying a little might have been the culprit but I guess protein isn't my friend. Moisture is.

Do you know protein ingredients in shampoo / conditioner? I know that silicone ingredients end in cone, one, xane, etc. But what do proteins end in?

I can put up a list of common protein ingredients, but these articles are not mine lol.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/ingredients-commonly-used-in-hair-care-products-proteins

This article just provides a list of common proteins found in hair products.

[dawnss]

for the person who asked about the hair stretch test, your hair needs protein if the stretches and moisture if it easily snaps.

My advice would be to make sure you are using a protein source of a size suitable to enter and stay in the hair shaft. From what I've read reseach has shown that egg protein in it's raw state is generally too big to enter the hair and amino acids can simply fall straight back out again. Hydrolysed are the best options.

For a strong protein treatment you can use dissolved gelatin

Thanks, I just want to mention that if you are doing the hair elasticity test, please do it on hair submerged in water.

I think this article explains this much better, I will mention that this article does not belong to me it is the author's property.

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-fine-art-protein-moisture-balancing-for-393904.html?cat=69

I know that the audience is geared toward African American women who relax their hair, but since hair, regardless of one's ethnicity, has the same basic structure her article is a great basic tool for those in need. I will post this in the first post I made in the thread so that anyone can find it.

[juliaxena]

Since I am using protein in my deep treatments, I think my damaged hair feels better and I don't really see healthy hair have any problems with it. I use Joico K Pac Reconstructor and then follow with a rich conditioner. I wonder if there are any people who use K Pac on regular basis without following with a moisturising treatment. I think it may only be my damaged parts needing the moisture treatment after protein. When my damage is all grown out, I am sure my hair won't need that much moisture. The K Pac seem light enough to me and I do think I will need a very light conditioner - this one seems the lightest I have ever seen. So what do you all think about using only K Pac regularly?

[dawnss]

Since I am using protein in my deep treatments, I think my damaged hair feels better and I don't really see healthy hair have any problems with it. I use Joico K Pac Reconstructor and then follow with a rich conditioner. I wonder if there are any people who use K Pac on regular basis without following with a moisturising treatment. I think it may only be my damaged parts needing the moisture treatment after protein. When my damage is all grown out, I am sure my hair won't need that much moisture. The K Pac seem light enough to me and I do think I will need a very light conditioner - this one seems the lightest I have ever seen. So what do you all think about using only K Pac regularly?

Wow, I know that reconstructors tend to be the big bad boys of the protein world lol. I haven't used it or really looked at the ingredients, but if it really is a heavy protein treatment I would be somewhat cautious about using it on healthy hair it might cause your hair to become too brittle. Now if your hair really likes protein and strong protein treatments at that (if it even is a heavy protein) then I would keep using it. Just make sure that when using protein you follow up with some kind of moisture, or just listen to your hair. It will tell you what it needs.

[bunnylake]

I noticed that when I used Natures Gate shampoo, which lists protein high on the ingredient list, my hair hates it. However other products that have protein lower on the list, or closer to the middle, my hair seems fine. Is it possible maybe my hair is ok with certain types of proteins? Are all proteins the same?

[dawnss]

I noticed that when I used Natures Gate shampoo, which lists protein high on the ingredient list, my hair hates it. However other products that have protein lower on the list, or closer to the middle, my hair seems fine. Is it possible maybe my hair is ok with certain types of proteins? Are all proteins the same?

That makes sense, all proteins are not created equal. There are proteins that are much stronger than other ones and different conditioners have their proteins in different concentrations.

[katfemme89]

Call me dense but I'm still confused. seems like every response concerning the "stretch test" has had some kind of typo or grammatical error in it, rendering the answer clear as mud. lol

If you hair stretches it needs protein? if it doesn't it needs protein? which is it? I thought healthy hairs are supposed to have a lot of elasticity?

[ratgirldjh]

I tried 1 egg a few months ago. I whipped it up, added a tiny bit of honey and put it on my dry hair (what a gooey, drippy mess I made!)

I let it sit for almost a half hour, washed, conditioned and air dried.

I had so many splits after that I had to S&D for over an hour. These weren't little splits, either, they were 2 - 3 inches long. I've never had them go up that high.

Does my hair hate protein? Or was the egg just not the right kind of protein for me?

I did the "float a few hairs in a bowl of water" porosity test. I let them soak for 5 hours and they floated the entire time, even when I pushed them under water. I guess it's not porous like I assumed it was.

I had this before from doing an egg wash! Not the splits - but FRIED hair!!! Then I realized that when I had done egg washes in the past (with much success) that I had always pre-oiled my hair!!! So the next egg wash I did I added in olive oil and got amazing hair!!!

My hair hates protein in conditioners - I mean dry, crunchy, crispy hair that even breaks! But eggs have been no problem for me as long as I either pre-oil or add oil into the egg shampoo! I have been doing them weekly for a few weeks now.

My current recipe: 1 egg, about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, juice of 1 lime, several drops of ylang ylang EO and a bit of water. I shake it up to get it foamy and then wet my hair and wash! I don't leave it on for long at all because it seems more drying to me. Also I figure if a quick egg wash will even remove oilive or castor or coconut oil from my hair it is very cleansing!

[MeowScat]

I can put up a list of common protein ingredients, but these articles are not mine lol.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/curl-products/ingredients-commonly-used-in-hair-care-products-proteins

This article just provides a list of common proteins found in hair products.

Thank you for the link and also for starting this thread. I'm learning a lot here. :)


Protein usually have hydrolyzed in their name (for example hydrolyzed keratin or hydrolyzed wheat protein). You can find list of proteins commonly used in hair products here (http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/celebrities/ingredients-commonly-found-in-hair-care-products) (you just have to scroll a bit, protein list is in the middle of page) :)

I've seen that word a lot on ingredient lists and always wondered what it was. Thank you for that and also for the link!



Is that true? some silicones end in one?? I thought it was cone and xane, my suave naturals conditioner contains some long ingredient starting with the letter M and ends in one. i dont think its a silicone. maybe it was a preservative i dont remember.

Some proteins are like collagen, keratin, soy (wheat?), hydrolyzed. silk, amino acids. There might be more im not sure.

Yikes! My autocorrect changed "conol" to "one", sorry about that ! I'm so glad you caught that gthlvrmx.


I had this before from doing an egg wash! Not the splits - but FRIED hair!!! Then I realized that when I had done egg washes in the past (with much success) that I had always pre-oiled my hair!!! So the next egg wash I did I added in olive oil and got amazing hair!!!

My hair hates protein in conditioners - I mean dry, crunchy, crispy hair that even breaks! But eggs have been no problem for me as long as I either pre-oil or add oil into the egg shampoo! I have been doing them weekly for a few weeks now.

My current recipe: 1 egg, about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, juice of 1 lime, several drops of ylang ylang EO and a bit of water. I shake it up to get it foamy and then wet my hair and wash! I don't leave it on for long at all because it seems more drying to me. Also I figure if a quick egg wash will even remove oilive or castor or coconut oil from my hair it is very cleansing!

This sounds like a great idea. If I do a protein treatment again, I'm going to try your way. I never thought of adding oil to the routine. Thanks ratgirldjh!

[juliaxena]

Wow, I know that reconstructors tend to be the big bad boys of the protein world lol. I haven't used it or really looked at the ingredients, but if it really is a heavy protein treatment I would be somewhat cautious about using it on healthy hair it might cause your hair to become too brittle. Now if your hair really likes protein and strong protein treatments at that (if it even is a heavy protein) then I would keep using it. Just make sure that when using protein you follow up with some kind of moisture, or just listen to your hair. It will tell you what it needs.


It doesn't seem ike a big bad boy to me nor particularly strong, but then other than my regular conditioners with protein I have nothing to compare it to really. Doesn't seem very strong to me. But I don't really know, so I am asking more knowledgable folks here.

[dawnss]

Call me dense but I'm still confused. seems like every response concerning the "stretch test" has had some kind of typo or grammatical error in it, rendering the answer clear as mud. lol

If you hair stretches it needs protein? if it doesn't it needs protein? which is it? I thought healthy hairs are supposed to have a lot of elasticity?

Ok here goes lol, I may not do that great of a job. If you take a hair strand submerged in water and stretch it there are a few different results that may occur:
1). Your hair may spring back to it's original shape with no breakage
2). Your hair may snap easily (it won't stretch thus it is not elastic), which may suggest that it needs more moisture.
3). If your hair stretches under pressure (it has elasticity) but then breaks then your hair needs more protein. Remember protein helps the hair retain it's shape even under constant stress or pressure, so your hair should hold its shape even while you are combing it.

I should have mentioned that it is important to pay attention to your hair overall while wet. If your hair is mushy and over conditioned (which can happen) then your hair will keep stretching, which will lead to it snapping because it can't maintain the stretched shape.

The article I posted really helps explain the moisture and protein balance much better. The article is linked on the first post of the thread. If you've read the article and still find the concept confusing then post more questions. Someone will be able to help you answer them!

[dawnss]

Thank you for the link and also for starting this thread. I'm learning a lot here. :)



I've seen that word a lot on ingredient lists and always wondered what it was. Thank you for that and also for the link!




Yikes! My autocorrect changed "conol" to "one", sorry about that ! I'm so glad you caught that gthlvrmx.



This sounds like a great idea. If I do a protein treatment again, I'm going to try your way. I never thought of adding oil to the routine. Thanks ratgirldjh!

Your welcome. Adding oils does sound like a great idea for protein treatments.

[dawnss]

Call me dense but I'm still confused. seems like every response concerning the "stretch test" has had some kind of typo or grammatical error in it, rendering the answer clear as mud. lol

If you hair stretches it needs protein? if it doesn't it needs protein? which is it? I thought healthy hairs are supposed to have a lot of elasticity?

Oh and you're not dense, I was really confused when I first started learning about protein/moisture balance lol. Hopefully, I was able to help you enough.

[katfemme89]

Oh and you're not dense, I was really confused when I first started learning about protein/moisture balance lol. Hopefully, I was able to help you enough.

Yes you did help so much! I understand now. Ty for the response. I am about to go try this now. :)

[katfemme89]

Ok, so I did the test.

My hair floated the entire time, which I take to mean that it's not porous? (but that's confusing to me, because any oil on the hair would make it float, since oil is hydrophobic, correct?)

I took the hair and stretched it, and it stretched about twice its length, and coiled up into a tight little curl, and then shrunk back to its original length, and straightened out. I repeated the process several times and it did the same thing every time, until the last time and I pulled a lot harder than the last times and then it just snapped lol. I read the article and I believe that this is a good sign?

[dawnss]

Ok, so I did the test.

My hair floated the entire time, which I take to mean that it's not porous? (but that's confusing to me, because any oil on the hair would make it float, since oil is hydrophobic, correct?)

I took the hair and stretched it, and it stretched about twice its length, and coiled up into a tight little curl, and then shrunk back to its original length, and straightened out. I repeated the process several times and it did the same thing every time, until the last time and I pulled a lot harder than the last times and then it just snapped lol. I read the article and I believe that this is a good sign?

Yay!! I am so glad that the articles helped you. I do not know if oil would make the hair float, once the hair strand is entirely submerged in water. I do know that oil is hydrophobic!

I am really happy for you that your hair stretched and retained it's original shape that is excellent! Whatever you're doing keep doing it. It sounds like your hair is a fan of it.

Oh and I keep forgetting to mention that your hair barrette is really pretty in your avatar pic katfemme89, that is your barrette, right? And your hair updo is really pretty as well. The barrette reminds me of Irish lace crochet if you haven't seen it the crocheted pieces are really intricate and the lace work is absolutely stunning, which is really pretty, hope you didn't take offense to that.

[katfemme89]

Oh and I keep forgetting to mention that your hair barrette is really pretty in your avatar pic katfemme89, that is your barrette, right? And your hair updo is really pretty as well. The barrette reminds me of Irish lace crochet if you haven't seen it the crocheted pieces are really intricate and the lace work is absolutely stunning, which is really pretty, hope you didn't take offense to that.

Thank you! Yes that is mine, I believe that I got it at wal mart for like four dollars. I really like it, too. It's girly yet classic and not frou-frou. I used it in that pic to close up the opening to a gibson tuck. I haven't heard of Irish lace crochet, I gotta look into that (I love crocheting!). I've seen tatting which I think might be similar?--and I've seen celtic knots, but I don't know if that's the same. Thank you for the compliment, no offense taken at all!!!! :D

[Henrietta]

Oh, finally I get all the rules of assessing what my hair needs. Thanks people :) So far I couldn't figure out (in theory, I haven't tried it yet) how to interpret the Wet Strand Test results :P

[dawnss]

Thank you! Yes that is mine, I believe that I got it at wal mart for like four dollars. I really like it, too. It's girly yet classic and not frou-frou. I used it in that pic to close up the opening to a gibson tuck. I haven't heard of Irish lace crochet, I gotta look into that (I love crocheting!). I've seen tatting which I think might be similar?--and I've seen celtic knots, but I don't know if that's the same. Thank you for the compliment, no offense taken at all!!!! :D

Oh that's great! I have heard of tatting, but I have never tried it.

[dawnss]

Oh, finally I get all the rules of assessing what my hair needs. Thanks people :) So far I couldn't figure out (in theory, I haven't tried it yet) how to interpret the Wet Strand Test results :P

Yay!!! I'm glad we could all help you out!

[katfemme89]

So I have this S&C that I got a long time ago from Sally's beauty supply, it's called Silk Elements. The proteins it contains are Hydrolyzed silk and hydrolyzed keratin. Are those good proteins for hair? I know that I've read that keratin is really too big to penetrate the cuticle, but what about the silk protein?

[Henrietta]

Me has another problem :D (Obviously...)
I've read it all but I'm still not sure about how to do the wet hair test. Put the hair into container with water. And then: should I take it out and stretch when it's still wet or should I put my fingers into the water and stretch the hair under surface?
See? I'm never sure :D

[SerinaDaith]

Okay thanks to all of you I did a protein treatment yesterday with mayonnaise. It smelled horrible and did leave my hair feeling like straw but I followed with clarifying wash, a honey and coconut oil deep treatment, a second wash with my non sulfate shampoo, toweled and then left a fair ammount of conditioner, my hair is soft and does not smell like egg salad left out too long.

Seriously thanks! If I had tried protein pre lhc I would have freaked out at the straw stage and probably done another hack job on my hair while swearing off protein of any sort as long as I live!

[Long_hair_bear]

I use babyface pure protien every other month now due to the high cost. Just did it last night and my hair feels wonderful!

[jojo]

Since I am using protein in my deep treatments, I think my damaged hair feels better and I don't really see healthy hair have any problems with it. I use Joico K Pac Reconstructor and then follow with a rich conditioner. I wonder if there are any people who use K Pac on regular basis without following with a moisturising treatment. I think it may only be my damaged parts needing the moisture treatment after protein. When my damage is all grown out, I am sure my hair won't need that much moisture. The K Pac seem light enough to me and I do think I will need a very light conditioner - this one seems the lightest I have ever seen. So what do you all think about using only K Pac regularly?

I use joico K pak a couple of times a week and my hair is healthy from doing this, I also do a 2 step every 3 months and my hair loves it. My hair is very fine but thick so protein is good for my hair, as long as you finish with a good moisturising conditioner your hair should be fine.

[Henrietta]

Me has another problem :D (Obviously...)
I've read it all but I'm still not sure about how to do the wet hair test. Put the hair into container with water. And then: should I take it out and stretch when it's still wet or should I put my fingers into the water and stretch the hair under surface?
See? I'm never sure :D

Anyone...?

Also, is it necessary to follow a protein treatment with a moisturising one? If yes, it it like... at once? You rinse protein stuff and apply SMt or whatever moisturising 10 seconds later?

[SerinaDaith]

Anyone...?

Also, is it necessary to follow a protein treatment with a moisturising one? If yes, it it like... at once? You rinse protein stuff and apply SMt or whatever moisturising 10 seconds later?

I did because my hair felt like straw and I am still shedding like mad. My hair is softer but the shed is unpleasant. :rolleyes:

[Henrietta]

I did because my hair felt like straw and I am still shedding like mad. My hair is softer but the shed is unpleasant. :rolleyes:

Thanks! I guess I will check if I need to follow protein treatments with a moisturising ones...

And what about the wet strand test? Should I take my hair out of the water or put my fingers under water? :)

[gthlvrmx]

hmm im unsure about the stretch test. if you pull from the ends, of course its going to stretch farther. if your fingers are closer together, itll snap faster. im assuming my hair is healthy, it stretches more but the closer my fingers are, the faster it snaps.
i found this last year i think but it worked better for me.
http://blackbeautyblackhair86911.yuku.com/forum/viewtopic/id/511#.UFEYLbJlTz0