Protein and Oil

[alys]

Protein and Oil - I’ve always been curious about these two things. Some say there are no proteins in oil, others say there are. I’ve noticed in my own experiences that some oils left my hair crunchy and clumpy while others left it smooth and soft. Crunchy is normally what happens to my hair when I give it a protein treatment. I prefer to avoid applying protein to my hair as I don’t think it needs it. But I love oils, and it’s funny that the 2 oils I use the most and like the best don’t seem to have any protein after all.
I did some research online and here’s what I found.
(I have added references to this post, and have not copied any images or text content. I really tried and hope that I am not violating any of the house rules here at LHC, and apologize if I have. ADD: if you are interested in looking at the sites I referenced, here's a hint to help make it go faster. Use Finf (CTR+F) and type in amino acid or protein, and search for those words. Some of these sites are long, some contain tables and graphs while others just have text)
● Amino acids are the molecular building blocks of proteins.
(http://www.getbig.com/articles/protein.htm)
● A protein is a long train of amino acids linked together.
(www.bionewsonline.com/5/what_is_protein.htm (http://www.bionewsonline.com/5/what_is_protein.htm))

The 20 Amino acids are (http://www.nutritional-supplements-health-guide.com/amino-acid-list.html)
● Alanine
● Asparagine
● Aspartic acid
● Arginine
● Cysteine
● Glutamine
● Glycine
● Glutamic acid
● Histidine
● Isoleucine
● Lysine
● Leucine
● Phenylalanine
● Methionine
● Serine
● Proline
● Tryptophan
● Threonine
● Tyrosine
● Valine

Common Oils used and whether or not they contain protein:

aloe (yes) http://www.absolutelyorganic-toxicfree.com/page/page/1233820.htm

Sesame (yes) http://www.blissfulbalance.com/productinfopg.html

Soybean (yes) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soybean

Olive (yes) http://www.oliveoilsource.com/olivechemistry.htm

Almond (yes) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=20 http://www.vegsoc.org/info/basic-nutrition.html[/URL]

Grapeseed (no) http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/579/2 (http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/579/2)

Jojoba (yes) http://www.springerlink.com/content/t536347hr4118186/ http://www.luxemag.org/skin-body/jojoba-oil.html

Camellia (no) http://www.ayais.com/en/nature/camelliaoil.htm http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=OILCAMELLIA

Hemp (yes) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodybuilding_supplement

Coconut (no?) Oddly enough after a long time of searching I cannot find anything that definitively says whether coconut oil contains amino acids or proteins. However, this was the worst oil I have ever tried on my hair. It left it crunchy and clumpy and awful. I bought a big tub of it and really tried hard to like it, but no matter how or when I applied the emulsified oil, it left my hair like crud. I know that’s probably the exception rather than the rule, so many people love it and have success with it. Just not me J I would have sworn it was loaded w/protein.

Macadamia (oh yes) http://www.australianmacadamia.com.au/macadamia-story/macadamia-health-benefits.html (http://www.blissfulbalance.com/productinfopg.html)

Shea (no) www.prokarite.org (http://www.prokarite.org/)

Argan oil AKA MorrocanOil (no) [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argan_oil

[Copasetic]

This is really interesting. From the info you posted, I think I might have protein issues! My hair feels amazingly soft and shiny when I use shea butter, and crunchy and gross when I use aloe gel.

[marobader]

go work very helpfule

[alys]

Copasetic - have you tried Camellia? My hair hates aloe and Coconut :( But Camellia is like a godsend for my hair, along with grape seed. I too like Jojobad but only for heavy oil treatments, not leave in daily use.

[danacc]

I'm confused by your "yes" designations on some of these. Are you talking about the plant or the oil made from the plant?

100% oil products do not have protein. Links like that for soy and almond talk about the soybean and the almond nut having protein. They do not mention that the soy oil and almond oil have protein. If the extraction method of the oil is robust, the oil has no protein. This is true of any oil.

I'm not disputing that oil can make hair crunchy. The reason for it is likely completely unrelated to protein content, though.

[alys]

Danac - where are your references? There were 2 oils in the list in which information was limited but info on the seeds/nuts was plentiful, so that's what I referenced. However the remaining oils do actually contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. I'm curious, Did you look through all of the sites/links? Did you look at the Jojoba link? The Macadamia link? The reason that I ask is the wikis and sites I referenced (other than the 2 nuts/seeds) clearly state that the *oils* contain protein.
You dont really explain where or how you got your information.

[danacc]

Here are some references for the oil (not the food the oil is found in):

Sesame oil - no protein/amino acids - http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/511/2
Soybean oil - no protein/amino acids - http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/507/2
Olive oil - no protein/amino acids - http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/7727/2
Almond oil - no protein/amino acids - http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/590/2
Grapeseed oil - no protein/amino acids (confirmed) - http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/579/2
Coconut oil - no protein/amino acids - http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fats-and-oils/508/2

[bumblebums]

A few comments here. First of all, some oils might make your hair feel "crunchy" because they have a melting temperature that is higher than room temperature. Coconut oil is one example of that. It is relatively solid at room temperature, so it might make your hair feel stiffer than a more liquid oil.

Second, "oil" is not really a technical term. It is more precise to speak of fats (lipids), proteins, aromatic compounds, and so on. An "oil" may very well contain some protein, especially if it is unfiltered/unrefined. Many oils that people use on hair (olive, coconut, almond) are composed primarily of lipids. You can tell by looking at the calorie information on the label of edible oils: if it's 120 calories per tablespoon, it's a lipid. This is true of coconut oil and olive oil.

Also, an amino acid is not the same thing as a protein. Just because there are amino acids in the oil does not mean that it has proteins in it. Example: lysine is an amino acid. Adding lysine powder to an oil will not make the oil contain protein, it just has a dissolved amino acid in it.

I often see jojoba described as "not an oil at all but a wax." A wax is a lipid. A liquid wax is an oil by the same logic that a liquid fat is an oil. "Oil" does not have any meaning, chemically.

[danacc]

Danac - where are your references? There were 2 oils in the list in which information was limited but info on the seeds/nuts was plentiful, so that's what I referenced. However the remaining oils do actually contain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. I'm curious, Did you look through all of the sites/links? Did you look at the Jojoba link? The Macadamia link? The reason that I ask is the wikis and sites I referenced (other than the 2 nuts/seeds) clearly state that the *oils* contain protein.
You dont really explain where or how you got your information.

Jojoba and aloe vera are not actually oils. They could contain proteins, and based on your research, they do.

Specific products could contain both the oil and amino acids (protein) from the plant. Several of the sites you referenced seemed to describe products being sold. I didn't look at all of them. However, 100% oil by definition has no protein or carbohydrates. You will only find fats in 100% oils.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

how about castor oil?

[ap1524]

Here's the skinny on castor oil:

snippet: "Castor oil is a vegetable oil obtained from the castor bean (technically castor seed as the castor plant, Ricinus communis, is not a member of the bean family). Castor oil (CAS number 8001-79-4) is a colorless to very pale yellow liquid with mild or no odor or taste. Its boiling point is 313 °C (595 °F) and its density is 961 kg·m−3.[1] It is a triglyceride in which approximately ninety percent of fatty acid chains are ricinoleic acid. Oleic and linoleic acids are the other significant components."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_oil

[Dreams_in_Pink]

It is a triglyceride in which approximately ninety percent of fatty acid chains are ricinoleic acid. Oleic and linoleic acids are the other significant components."

Does this mean it has protein? :confused:

[bluemoon1891]

Great thread, I'll be watching it. My hair has been a crunchy mess for the past several MONTHS despite my constant efforts to clarify and use protein-less products. Judging from this information it must be the oils. :(