Help - protein overload from egg hair mask!

[tigress86]

I don't usually put egg in my hair, but I had a bunch of egg yolks left over from baking cake, so I thought why not. I know that I get protein overload quite easily and that eggs contain protein, but I hadn't used any protein products in a while so I thought one hair mask can't do much harm. I was wrong! My hair ended up stiff, dry, brittle. Despite using a moisturizing leave-in, the ends are awful. Until this I used to find maybe 3-5 splits and white dots in my quite thick hair when I looked for them, now I have white dots literally all over, my ends are breaking off when I touch them. I've had issues with protein overload before so I would usually know how to fix it, but this time it's so bad, I don't know what to do. I would usually clarify first before adding lots of moisture, but right now the ends are so fragile, I'm afraid that clarifying might be too harsh. So I need advice - is it best to clarify no matter what, to get rid of the protein? I'm not sure what to do and it's sad to see my hair falling apart. I feel so stupid for putting the egg in my hair, from now on I'm gonna play it safe with the protein and stay away.

[Aderyn]

In general, you should follow a protein treatment up with a moisturizing one, and I think you're only supposed to use one egg in a protein treatment (?). Just a moisturizing leave in won't be enough.

Try conditioning your hair (yes, go get your hair wet again!! maybe try spritzing it with just water or a water/conditioner combo a little bit at a time if you're afraid of breakage) with moisturizing conditioners/deep treatments/SMT's. I'd try just getting your hair wet then doing a lot of rinse out conditioner, rinse that out, then condition again for a little bit longer, rinse out and see how it dries. Maybe even throw a third condition in there. It may not bounce back after one treatment, but keep it up and you should be fine.

[Panth]

Don't clarify - clarifying is generally drying (a side-effect of the harsh cleansing) and that's the opposite of what you need right now.

Aderyn is right. Do some moisturising treatments (e.g. SMT) and just avoid any protein-containing products for a while. It'll fix itself in a treatment or two.

[Horrorpops]

I was under the impression egg yolk (the yellow part) is mainly fats and is approximately only 16% protein (link (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/113/2)), it is actually the whites that contain the bulk protein (link (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/112/2)).

To that end I think your hair may not react well to the egg yolks or they have left some buildup. I would strongly suggest a good clarifying wash in lukewarm water and then follow with a moisturizing treatment. Particularly if previous moisturizing hasn't fixed the problem, it might not be just protein overload.

[Panth]

I was under the impression egg yolk (the yellow part) is mainly fats and is approximately only 16% protein (link (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/113/2)), it is actually the whites that contain the bulk protein (link (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/112/2)).

To that end I think your hair may not react well to the egg yolks or they have left some buildup. I would strongly suggest a good clarifying wash in lukewarm water and then follow with a moisturizing treatment. Particularly if previous moisturizing hasn't fixed the problem, it might not be just protein overload.

I agree, it's more likely to be a build-up/coating/weirdness issue rather than protein overload per se as egg proteins are actually too large to enter the hair and so are an ineffective home protein treatment for hair (http://www.curlynikki.com/2014/06/why-eggs-mayo-dont-work-as-natural.html).

[lapushka]

I think those white dots can't magically appear after applying egg yolk to your hair. They had to have been there before (heat damage?). S&D thoroughly and if at least half your hair is riddled in white dots, you'd be better off trimming.

[Panth]

I think those white dots can't magically appear after applying egg yolk to your hair. They had to have been there before (heat damage?). S&D thoroughly and if at least half your hair is riddled in white dots, you'd be better off trimming.

Well spotted, lapushka. I didn't notice the bit about white dots. However, I agree with you.

[Nadine <3]

I always heard egg protein was to large to enter the hair shaft so it is ineffective as a protein treatment. I would say it's build up and you should clarify and then follow up with a deep moisture treatment.

[tigress86]

Thanks everyone for your answers! It does seem odd that it would be protein overload, considering the information you guys have provided about egg yolk not being a good protein source and eggs are actually ineffective protein treatment. I did use 5! egg yolks however, if it wasn't the protein, maybe something else in them was too much for my hair.
I did a microtrim recently and my ends were in great shape, so these sudden white dots are scary. I don't use heat and the condition of my hair has kept getting better and better. The white dots have only appeared before when I used too much protein-rich products, so I figured it was sudden protein overload. But it could be something else about those eggs. Putting food in my hair never works out for me, lol. I have also had awful results with avocado.

[Panth]

I did a microtrim recently and my ends were in great shape, so these sudden white dots are scary. I don't use heat and the condition of my hair has kept getting better and better. The white dots have only appeared before when I used too much protein-rich products, so I figured it was sudden protein overload. But it could be something else about those eggs. Putting food in my hair never works out for me, lol. I have also had awful results with avocado.

Could you have trimmed with blunt scissors. That'd be my first thought.

[tigress86]

Could you have trimmed with blunt scissors. That'd be my first thought.

No, I don't think it's the scissors. I trimmed with hairdressing scissors, I bought them a couple of months ago and have only used them for hair.

[Panth]

No, I don't think it's the scissors. I trimmed with hairdressing scissors, I bought them a couple of months ago and have only used them for hair.

Have you ever dyed, bleached, permed or chemically straightened your hair or used a flat iron, etc.?

[Horrorpops]

And just because the egg yolks didn't act as a protein treatment and cause overload doesn't mean you hair might not like it for other reasons - for example my hair hates olive oil. No real reason, it just makes it feel dry and tangly.

At least you now know egg yolks (and avocado lol) don't mix well with your hair. I have to say the only "food" I've found to work in my hair is honey, cinnamon and coconut oil. I'm with you on most food based hair treatments, they don't work on my hair!

Also depending on the shower temperature and things the egg could have left a nasty coating over your hair, which could explain why it is feeling funny or tangling... but maybe not the white dots. I don't think clarifying will malemake your hair feel more brittle, so I think it's still your best shot followed by an SMT/ moisture treatment.

And sometimes with white dots I'll not see any and then find a whole bunch all at once. For me its definitely related to old bleach damage so that is something to consider also :)

[Anje]

Clarify and SMT. That should make it feel better.... but you might find you need to SMT several times (perhaps as a CO wash every day or two) before it really feels normal again.

[meteor]

Egg protein (in its natural, not hydrolyzed, form) is way too large to penetrate hair shaft anyway, so that's not the real issue.

The real issue is coating/build-up from a product that was not designed to work with hair. You mentioned that your issues with avocado were similar - it's also build-up, I believe.

My recommendation is, of course, to clarify (followed by a moisturizing treatment/conditioner that you trust, that doesn't give you unpredictable results). Given the seriousness of build-up, you might need to clarify more than once. Don't forget to massage a bit of shampoo into the length, instead of just letting shampoo suds run down the length (the latter would likely be insufficient).

Here is more information on protein size and how protein interacts with hair:
http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2013/09/more-about-protein.html
"The protein part of eggs (egg white/egg albumin) has a molecular weight of approximately 33000- 40000" - http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2009/06/size-matters-protein-conditioning-part.html
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2009/06/protein-conditioners-for-hair-part-2-of_03.html

If you really want to do a DIY protein treatment from kitchen stuff, you could try gelatin (which is small, broken up enough for hair): http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/04/gelatin-protein-treatment-recipe-update.html
But mayonnaise, egg masks, avocado masks, milk, yogurt, etc likely don't have protein small enough to penetrate hair... yet they can cause some build-up. :flower:

[lapushka]

Have you ever dyed, bleached, permed or chemically straightened your hair or used a flat iron, etc.?

Yes, this! ^^ Most likely the white dots come from any of those than the egg. Egg can't create white dots. No matter how hard you try!

[tigress86]

Thanks everyone, your answers have been really helpful. I do have some old bleach damage in the ends - I guess my hair just didn't like the eggs or the build-up made my hair so dry and stiff that it made the damage appear. Anyway, I clarified (and I did have to massage the shampoo in my length like meteor suggested to get rid of the weird feeling) and did a deep conditioning treatment, also S&D. My hair feels pretty much back to normal. I must have freaked out at first because there weren't as many white dots as I thought I first saw. Maybe 10% of the hair if even that. I hope the dots won't reappear and I'm good to keep growing. It is hard to grow hair with former damage - one wrong move or something that the hair doesn't like and it can start to crumble. Anyway, although I know now that egg protein won't enter hair, I will stay away from it. And other experiments as well. I guess that for now it's best to stick to the products I know and trust.

[meteor]

^ Yay! That's so great that your hair is back to normal, tigress86! :joy: If there is still any weird feeling at all, just clarify again. FWIW, I had similar experiences with food items, usually - that massive dry coating/build-up. Just because you saw what looked like white dots, doesn't necessarily mean they are in the hair-shaft (breakage) - that could be tiny bits of product reacting with other stuff on hair surface and appearing like tiny white flecks - which hopefully was the case here. :) That's why I think clarifying (sometimes more than once, but always followed by a moisturizing conditioner you trust) is the first step to attempt in such cases. :)