What exactly is happening when I use protein?

[Athena61]

Or, why does my hair hate protein?

Long story short my hair was badly damaged during a bleaching and toning session. I've been applying coconut oil, mostly overnight, followed by co-washing, rinse, protein masque (Bumble & Bumble Mending Masque) for 10 minutes, rinse, SMT, Foxes Shea Butter leave in. My hair still felt like straw when it was done but I assumed it was from the damage.

Then in I changed things up. I did coconut oil for 2 hours under a warm cap, co-washed with As I Am co-wash, rinsed, used another light conditioner, rinsed, used Shea Moisture Anti-Breakage Masque for 30 minutes under warm cap, rinsed, Foxes Leave-In, then DevaCurl ultra defining cream. Air dried. Suddenly my hair was like silk. Magic. Had good slip again like prior to my damage.

A few few days followed and it was time to wash again. Did the overnight coconut oil, followed with co-wash, rinse, condition again, rinse, 10 minute B&B protein mending masque, rinse, Shea Moisture masque, forgot Foxes Leave-in, then DevaCurl. Air dried. My hair was gross, felt like straw, super tangly, just awful.

Today, I followed exactly the routine that yielded the miracle. And it did., again. So I'm blaming the protein since the whole time I've used it my hair has been like Brillo. So, my question is: do you think it is the protein and what exactly does protein do to hair when it "doesn't like" it.

BTW: I did a porosity test on a few strands of my hair. I grabbed 5 hairs from the top portion where most of the damage happened. 3 floated in the water and 2 strands half way floated, ie the hair closest to the root stayed on top and the end furthest from the root sank. My hair is type 2a/b.

Thanks for for any insight you might have.

[truepeacenik]

What you are after is a balance of protein and moisture. Likely, you've take in all the protein that your dead hair can take (and I think it's into any soft spots, but others, like Lapushka and Firefox will know this better), so it's loving moisture.

also, how often are you doing all this?

[LadyCelestina]

I think you are using too much protein.There needs to be a balance.What happens when you skip them,is that your hair gets the 'moisture' that is supposed to help with protein crunchies.

IMO you are using a huge amount of product,so this might be contributing to some hair-freakouts.Just something to think about.
Many do use a lot of different products and it works for them,and if your hair is damaged it certainly does need more rather than less,but what you do seems like a lot.

[Athena61]

I was doing the protein treatment 1x per week,but co-washing 2x weekly.

[LadyCelestina]

Oh and shea butter sometimes builds up.On my hair it certainly does and I have to shampoo to get it out,even though in theory you should be able to co-wash it out.

[Athena61]

I feel like I am a slave to this routine. I was devasted by the damage. The top layer on one side broke off to an inch of my scalp.

[Athena61]

I did a clarifying wash 7-10 days ago.

[GetMeToWaist]

Sounds like you might be doing too much. Less is always more when it comes to hair. Maybe cut out the coconut oil and just cowash then a leave in. Much easier and more effective.

[velorutionista]

just my take, but you have a LOT of variables going on here with all the different products. I'd recommend simplifying a bit so you can see what each is doing and then decide what your hair likes/dislikes. I know it's tempting to fix all the problems all at once, but just remind yourself it's not a race, and you can take your time to figure it out!

[Panth]

Let me get this right... you've done:
- overnight coconut oil treatment
- CO wash
- protein mask
- moisturising treatment (SMT)
- shea butter leave-in
(1x wash, 4x supplemental treatments)

Then:
- 2 hr heat-assisted coconut oil treatment
- CO wash
- additional conditioner
- masque
- leave-in
- curl cream
(1x wash, 4x supplemental treatments)

Then:
- overnight coconut oil treatment
- CO wash
- additional conditioner
- protein masque
- moisture masque
- (wanted to do leave-in but forgot)
- curl cream
(1x wash, 5x supplemental treatments, wanted to do 6x)

And you wash every few days!?

Definitely way, way, way too much stuff. IMO supplemental treatments (i.e. more than your wash, e.g. leave-ins, deep treatments, extra conditioning things, etc.) rarely result in success when done more than once a week - and that's ONE treatment once a week, not all of them. You are vastly overloading your hair with product and this is a) expensive, b) time-consuming, c) overkill, d) may result in damage. Also, as others have said, the other problem is that when doing all of that it's impossible to tell what aspect of your routine is causing problems, what is not having any effect and what is beneficial.

I doubt it's simply the protein that's the problem. In fact, I have absolutely no idea why you think you can blame the protein and not anything else. It's much, much more likely is that you've got too much of EVERYTHING.

I'd cut everything right back. You'll notice that most super-long hairs basically do something like: wash once, twice or three times a week with S&C or CO or some other very simple variant. Maybe do a deep-treatment once a month or so or when necessary. Clarify/chelate when necessary (usually between once a month and once a year). Wait. Be gentle with handling. Wait. Wear updos. Wait.

As you have damage, you may need a little more in the way of deep treatments/leave-ins. You certainly do not need 4-6 deep conditioning/leave-in treatments with EVERY wash in addition to your actual wash products (CO or S&C). O_O

[Athena61]

Thank you. I agree, it is so many treatment and as I've said I feel like a slave to my hair. Normally I only clean my hair every 4-5 days and do the coconut overnight treatment every other time along with the protein treatment. I had to wash it sooner this time because Id been wearing a motorcycle helmet most of the weekend and needed to refresh it. That resulted in the "Brillo" hair.

So, you would suggest co-wash, then ? I like to use DevaCurl gel on my waves, air dry.

[brickworld13]

I agree with Panth. Much too much, and you won't be able to determine which products are doing what. Nightshade had an article about growing out damaged hair. You might want to search the archives for that as it is a good read. ETA: damaged hair article (http://web.archive.org/web/20120125071723/http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)

I started using henna to mask damaged ends, but I still had to cut all of it off. The henna only made it more managable in the mean time so that I could baby it along until I cut it off. As harsh as it sounds, the quickest way to get rid of damage is to cut it. As you seem determined to keep your length, your routine needs adjustment. I would recommend dropping back to pre-poo oiling, CO wash, and a leave in if you need it. Do that for a couple of weeks or a month and then go back and examine if it is helping. In the future, try one new thing at a time so that you can tell if it's working before wasting your time and money on things that aren't working.

[Athena61]

Thanks, Brickworld. That's a great article. I'd stumbled upon it earlier in my readings but had forgotten in my quest to heal my hair the importance of taking things one at a time.

[brickworld13]

You're welcome. :flower: Patience is the key here. Good luck with your growth journey. :)

[Athena61]

Thank you :)

[Panth]

I agree with Brickworld - coconut oil treatment and CO wash could well be a good regular routine. I also agree that I'd only use the leave-in if you need to - i.e. if things start to look dry, then do ONE leave-in or deep-treatment on your next wash, then not do any more until you get bad symptoms again. As for the curl cream - you don't actually say what hair type you are. That'll affect what routine is likely to be best for you.

You are never going to "heal" your damaged hair. At best, all you will ever do is (hopefully) get it to a state where it looks ok, it feels ok and it isn't dry, tangly or otherwise problematic enough to either drive you nuts or cause more damage. Sooner or later it'll have to be chopped off. You can't heal damage.

[ARG]

When I was learning what my hair liked and didn't like, I would start with clarified hair (stripped down, no variables), then add in the new routine/product, and use that for a month (around 4 washes for me). And at the end of the month I'd know how my hair/scalp liked it. I never try out more than one or two things at once, just to make sure everything works well together.

In all honesty, the simplest routine is what works best for me. Wash, condition, leave in, air dry, bun, ignore until next wash day, repeat. The Floor Length Routine (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=126362) thread is the perfect example of simplicity.

When it comes to damaged hair, a lot of patience and micro-trimming may be what your routine needs the most of, and less of products. Good luck!

[Athena61]

Thanks, Everyone. Good advise. My hair is naturally wavy, strong wave pattern, at least before the texture changed after the damage. It's coming back though. Since I've given up all heat the curl creme seems to help shape things up. Ill stick to pre-oiling (not more than every other time), co-wash, leave-in, curl cream, air dry. For one month. And see how it goes.

I do know my hair has to grow out to get rid of the damage. I've been having 1/4-1/2" trimmed off the ends every 6 weeks. And that's ok since I am also growing out to my natural gray color :) Sure wish I had found this site sooner.

[Panth]

You can get a more accurate hair type estimation by following the instructions here (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=116252) and comparing your hair to the photos (or making a post and asking others to help you estimate your hair type).

[Athena61]

Thank you :) I'll try to do this next time I wash.