thinking of doig a protein treatment

[sarahthegemini]

I have quite fine hair, I'm not sure of my porosity (my hair doesn't take long to get really wet, dries in about 1.5 hours, and when I run my fingers along my hair strands, it just feels smooth, I.e. not bumpy or rigid)

Anyway, I sometimes get breakage when washing my hair or (finger)combing even though I am super gentle. My conditioners are quite protein-y but I came across this product on Curly Emporium: Komaza Care Protein Strengthener, ingredients are: distilled water, aloe vera, behentrimonium methosulfate, hydrolyzed keratin, hydrolyzed silk protein, hydrolyzed collagen, jojoba protein, wheat protein, gluconolactone and sodium benzoate.

I'm thinking of purchasing this as I feel like my hair could do with strengthening, id follow up with a deep condish (I have Jessicurl WDT)

On the other hand, I have some Cassia that might do the trick however i've not tried it yet because i'm a little worried about the possible drying effects.

I'm thinking aloud really, but anyone have any thoughts?

[woodswanderer]

Do you feel like your hair likes the protein products you currently use? My hair hates protein...and combs.
:lala:

[meteor]

I can't tell if your hair needs protein without seeing. It even could be a build-up issue. I guess you've already clarified and performed the "stretch" test: stretching a hair strand and seeing if it snaps quickly (brittle and needs moisture) or stretches without springing back to its structure (needs protein).

I think Komaza products are top-notch formulations. I hope Firefox will reply to your thread as I think she has a lot of experience with Komaza products.
By the way, they have hair analysis services, which will help cut down on experimentation: http://www.komazahaircare.com/personal-hair-analysis.htm

[PamelaViktoria]

I have fine hair too. I once saw a doctor give a speech where he could pick out thyroid issues/endocrine issues just by looking at people in the audience. He said it was fine hair that was a symptom. Ever since then, I always wondered if I'm not genetically supposed to have fine hair...
I know this is off topic haha

[sarahthegemini]

Do you feel like your hair likes the protein products you currently use? My hair hates protein...and combs.
:lala:

So far, my hair is loving the protein products!

[sarahthegemini]

I can't tell if your hair needs protein without seeing it. It even could be a build-up issue. I guess you've already clarified and performed the "stretch" test: stretching a hair strand and seeing if it snaps quickly (brittle and needs moisture) or stretches without springing back to its structure (needs protein).

I think Komaza products are top-notch formulations. I hope Firefox will reply to your thread as I think she has a lot of experience with Komaza products.
By the way, they have hair analysis services, which will help cut down on experimentation: http://www.komazahaircare.com/personal-hair-analysis.htm

I've tried the stretch test, and I was a little confused. When I tried it a while back my hair stretched and didn't ping back, now though (after using the protein products for a few weeks) it stretches a little and does ping back. It does sort of curl/kink at the very ends after pinging back though. Thank you for that link btw, will check it out now :)

[fairview]

I have quite fine hair, I'm not sure of my porosity (my hair doesn't take long to get really wet, dries in about 1.5 hours, and when I run my fingers along my hair strands, it just feels smooth, I.e. not bumpy or rigid)

It is quite easy to feel porosity/damage on a medium or coarse stand of hair by running your fingers backwards on a strand. A strand of fine hair by definition can not be felt when rolled between your fingers which is why it is really hard to tell if there is a porosity problem with fine hair.

The true test of porosity is to take a strand of hair, place it in a glass or something (make sure to break the surface tension of the water by first pushing it below the water). If it sinks quickly it has a porosity problem (chinks are missing allowing the water to saturate the hair) If it floats for a long time, it has insignificant porosity damage.

Too much protein applied to the hair is not a good thing. Excessive protein treatments makes the hair brittle and can be a cause of a lot of breakage.

[sarahthegemini]

It is quite easy to feel porosity/damage on a medium or coarse stand of hair by running your fingers backwards on a strand. A strand of fine hair by definition can not be felt when rolled between your fingers which is why it is really hard to tell if there is a porosity problem with fine hair.

The true test of porosity is to take a strand of hair, place it in a glass or something (make sure to break the surface tension of the water by first pushing it below the water). If it sinks quickly it has a porosity problem (chinks are missing allowing the water to saturate the hair) If it floats for a long time, it has insignificant porosity damage.

Too much protein applied to the hair is not a good thing. Excessive protein treatments makes the hair brittle and can be a cause of a lot of breakage.

In the past when Ive tried this, my hair floats (not sure how long it would float though)

[Firefox7275]

They claim "We found that using Aloe Vera along with Behentrimonium Methosulfate creates a more effective protein treatment. Aloe Vera paired with Behentrimonium Methosulfate act as a carrier for the proteins allowing them to further penetrate the hair shaft to minimize protein build-up."
http://www.komazahaircare.com/protein-hair-strengthener.html

I have the previous hard-drying formula of the Komaza Care protein strengthener, it was serious stuff! I have done a bodge version of the new formula by adding a light conditioner rich in aloe vera and a behentrimonium and liked the results, didn't need to deep treat afterwards but YMMV. To be fair my hair seems to like protein in a conditioner base full stop. Haven't used the new formula but have read good things about it.

DIY tests have been debunked, but fine or damaged hair tends to like hydrolysed protein anyway
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html

Komaza Care hair analysis gets excellent reviews on Longhaircareforum but there is a much cheaper 'new kid on the block' from a regular on Wavy Hair Community and Naturallycurly
http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=626329
http://pedaheh.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/goosefootprints-hair-analysis-with-my.html

[jacqueline101]

My hair likes protein as long it's not in my shampoo.

[sarahthegemini]

Damn, it's not available on CurlyEmporium now, and on the Komaza website, ahipping is astonishing! Oh well :-/

Also, I re-did the float test, half of the strand floated whilst the other half sunk :-/