to egg mask or not to egg mask

[grecianmermaid]

hi everyone!

a few years ago i did an egg mask once a week for around one or two months. At first my hair looked AMAZING, it was shiny and grew fast.
However i over did it with the protein and my ends ended up fried and I had to cut my hair short.

I now currently use macadamia hair mask and coconut oil/olive oil.

However I feel my hair is lacking shine and body and I feel if i did the egg mask perhaps the moisture/protein balance would be good and overall benefit my hair? but i don't want to risk my hair being brittle again and having to chop off all my hard work!

so shall I try egg masks again?????

[parkmikii]

If you say that you got a protein overload by using it every week for 2 months, why don't you try it again but waiting more between applications. Maybe use it just once a month or so for a shine boost?

[bunneh.]

I'd try doing it only once a month or so like parkmikii suggested and keep checking the ends to see how they behave. If they start acting strange stop using it at least for a few months and clarify hair to reset it and continue with the usual routine that works for you before going back to the egg mask.

[maborosi]

Hm, out of curiosity, did you do a strong moisture treatment afterwards to kind of balance out the protein?

My hair needs protein to stay strong, but if I don't balance out with a good, deep moisture treatment, my hair gets dry, tangly, and wild.

[mermaid lullaby]

Well...maybe your hair doesn't need the egg

[Daydreamer.]

I think it'll be alright if you haven't used protein in awhile. Just make sure to not use it too often and to alternate with moisturizing masks.

[grecianmermaid]

Hm, out of curiosity, did you do a strong moisture treatment afterwards to kind of balance out the protein?

My hair needs protein to stay strong, but if I don't balance out with a good, deep moisture treatment, my hair gets dry, tangly, and wild.

this is my plan for my regimen:

1.every thursday night leave olive oil/coconut oil in hair overnight (wash out next morning)

2. every second week on a tuesday i will do either an egg mask or apple cider vinegar rinse

1 is the moisturiser and 2 is the protein

*also 1. I repeat every week!

and in between washes i'll do daily oiling with either argan oil or coconut oil (just on ends of hair)

I hope that made sense! :P

[lapushka]

If your hair is fine without it, then why mess with something that works just fine? That's my question. Maybe your hair doesn't like protein. Why would you want to try this again, when the outcome was so bad last time?

[grecianmermaid]

If your hair is fine without it, then why mess with something that works just fine? That's my question. Maybe your hair doesn't like protein. Why would you want to try this again, when the outcome was so bad last time?

My hair isn't fine without it. It's been quite limp and i've had a lot of shedding and I remember when I first tried out the egg mask a few years ago how shiny and strong it made my hair. So I think that I just overdid it last time and i'm going to try and do it just once a month and see how my hair reacts.

[maborosi]

this is my plan for my regimen:

1.every thursday night leave olive oil/coconut oil in hair overnight (wash out next morning)

2. every second week on a tuesday i will do either an egg mask or apple cider vinegar rinse

1 is the moisturiser and 2 is the protein

*also 1. I repeat every week!

and in between washes i'll do daily oiling with either argan oil or coconut oil (just on ends of hair)

I hope that made sense! :P

That makes sense, thanks!

Have you ever tried to do the coconut oil after washing out your egg mask? I have found that that is the best way for protein treatments to work for me. If I wait too long, my hair gets dry, staticky, and it tangles really badly on the ends.
What my routine usually looks like is this:

1. CO-wash (or shampoo hair), just get the hair clean.
2. Apply my protein treatment of choice (I have a light one that I use weekly, and a much stronger one that I use only once or twice a month, as needed)
3. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, then rinse it out. I do not condition yet.
4. Towel dry my hair, then apply SMT (Here's a thread on it) (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128). I personally let my moisture treatment sit overnight. Some people say it's not necessary, but I just do it because it's kind of a pain to wash it out quickly.
5. Rinse, apply oils and leave ins, and enjoy my hair!

This has been the best method for me to avoid dryness, and it leaves my hair in amazing shape.
Of course, I also do everyday oilings and leave ins, too. My hair does need protein, even though the treatments dry it out. (Strong protein treatments tend to do this to my hair.)
I bleached it last year and have been doing this rotation as often as I feel necessary so my hair can avoid any unnecessary dryness or damage.

I hope that helps you!

[lapushka]

My hair isn't fine without it. It's been quite limp and i've had a lot of shedding and I remember when I first tried out the egg mask a few years ago how shiny and strong it made my hair. So I think that I just overdid it last time and i'm going to try and do it just once a month and see how my hair reacts.

Oh OK. Be sure to follow up with plenty moisture! Wash it out and do a nice long moisture mask or moisture rich conditioner.

[-Fern]

I would say start by asking what your hair needs now, not what worked back then. Everything is constantly in flux. :meditate: We have lots of folks way more knowledgeable on here than me, but here's the basic troubleshooting I've learned from LHC (feel free to correct me/chime in):

First, wash with a clarifying shampoo and let your hair air dry. Then we can start to check for what the hair needs.

When you try to break a piece of hair by pulling it from both ends, does it stretch slightly and then snap (1)? Does it snap right away(2)? Or is it slightly gummy and stretches significantly(3)?

Is your hair frizzy (usually 2)? Are the ends drier than the length? (4) Is your hair limp (maaaybe 3)?

1) Good balance of moisture/protein :thumbsup:
2) Needs moisture
3) Needs protein
4) Pretty standard, just needs TLC

Next, oil treatments are not quite the same as moisturizing treatments. Oils can be great for locking in moisture, or keeping humidity out, but they themselves do not provide moisture to your hair. You could try a deep treatment such as SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128).

Third, the proteins available in an egg mask are too large to penetrate the hair shaft. So I think all it really does is coat the outside, for better or worse. I know several members make protein masks with gelatin, which is fine enough to penetrate.

[Nadine <3]

I've always heard the protein molecules in eggs is to large to penetrate hair so you can't get protein overload from it. I'm almost guessing you had build up from the egg coating your hair, not the protein. If you've ever had your house or car egged before, you'll know that they coat things really easily! I would say do it maybe once a month, using shampoo in between and see how you get one with it. Masks are fun, but I think at least for me they need to be done in moderation.

[MeAndTheMaz]

I would say start by asking what your hair needs now, not what worked back then. Everything is constantly in flux. :meditate: We have lots of folks way more knowledgeable on here than me, but here's the basic troubleshooting I've learned from LHC (feel free to correct me/chime in):

First, wash with a clarifying shampoo and let your hair air dry. Then we can start to check for what the hair needs.

When you try to break a piece of hair by pulling it from both ends, does it stretch slightly and then snap (1)? Does it snap right away(2)? Or is it slightly gummy and stretches significantly(3)?

Is your hair frizzy (usually 2)? Are the ends drier than the length? (4) Is your hair limp (maaaybe 3)?

1) Good balance of moisture/protein :thumbsup:
2) Needs moisture
3) Needs protein
4) Pretty standard, just needs TLC

Next, oil treatments are not quite the same as moisturizing treatments. Oils can be great for locking in moisture, or keeping humidity out, but they themselves do not provide moisture to your hair. You could try a deep treatment such as SMT (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128).

Third, the proteins available in an egg mask are too large to penetrate the hair shaft. So I think all it really does is coat the outside, for better or worse. I know several members make protein masks with gelatin, which is fine enough to penetrate.

Oh boy! This is exceedingly helpful. Thanks.

Is there a standard Stretch Quotient that can give some idea about your needs?

ETA: And is this necessarily done on clarified, air dried hair? Or can I just find a random shed and yank on it?

[lapushka]

I think Nadine is right about this! Eggs can't penetrate the way glycerine masks can. So maybe try a glycerine mask instead.

If you have *any* buildup, before you decide to chop it off, clarify-wash! Several times, if need be. It's almost impossible to ruin your hair from these natural home based DIYs.

[-Fern]

Oh boy! This is exceedingly helpful. Thanks.

Is there a standard Stretch Quotient that can give some idea about your needs?

ETA: And is this necessarily done on clarified, air dried hair? Or can I just find a random shed and yank on it?

I'm glad you liked it! I pulled the gist of it off the old archives and wish I could find it again...

The clarifying wash could probably be skipped, but I suggested it since the OP mentioned that coconut oil applications were part of the current regimen.

Honestly, what I do is pull five or six shed hairs from my hairbrush and break them. I have a mixed hair type, and my coarser hairs are always more fragile than my medium/fine hairs anyhow, so I just try to get an average. :o As far as stretch, really, I'm mostly looking for any stretch/hesitation/resiliency before the hair snaps. Especially on my medium hairs, I can usually see a slight stretch before it snaps, but when I've gone longer between deep treatments, they pretty much all snap immediately. Or maybe it's all in my head and a matter of seeing what I expect to see. :crazyq: :lol:

[-Fern]

This didn't wind up being the one I was looking for, but it is a great article all around! "Damaged Hair: Understanding, Preventing & Rehabilitating (http://web.archive.org/web/20120122064345/http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)"

[rosey4exclaim]

I didn't read through the whole thread, so forgive me if I'm repeating what someone else said.

Why not combine the egg with the coconut oil? One of my favorite homemade hair masks includes 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup honey, and an egg (when my hair was hip-length, I used 1/3 cup each of oil and honey). You just have to make sure the coconut oil is liquid, but not hot enough to cook the egg. I usually alternate between this, SMT, and regular shampoo and conditioning, doing this mask about two to three times a month.

[MeAndTheMaz]

I'm glad you liked it! I pulled the gist of it off the old archives and wish I could find it again...

The clarifying wash could probably be skipped, but I suggested it since the OP mentioned that coconut oil applications were part of the current regimen.

Honestly, what I do is pull five or six shed hairs from my hairbrush and break them. I have a mixed hair type, and my coarser hairs are always more fragile than my medium/fine hairs anyhow, so I just try to get an average. :o As far as stretch, really, I'm mostly looking for any stretch/hesitation/resiliency before the hair snaps. Especially on my medium hairs, I can usually see a slight stretch before it snaps, but when I've gone longer between deep treatments, they pretty much all snap immediately. Or maybe it's all in my head and a matter of seeing what I expect to see. :crazyq: :lol:


This didn't wind up being the one I was looking for, but it is a great article all around! "Damaged Hair: Understanding, Preventing & Rehabilitating (http://web.archive.org/web/20120122064345/http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79)"

Nice. Thanks. So, I guess as long as there's a little stretchy resistance before it breaks, you're probably doing okay.

I'll have a look at that article. Thanks for that too. :blossom: