Does it MEAN anything if my hair doesn't like protein??

[julliams]

I just wondered if it means anything in particular about my hair in general except that it doesn't like avocado??? I just did an avocado, EVOO and honey mask for an hour with my daughter. Both of us had stiff hair that felt like straw afterwards. We didn't even bother getting it totally dry, I could tell it was going to be tangly and now I finally understand the term "crunchy ends".

So I'm wondering what it means? When hair doesn't like protein, I mean?

[Sundial]

Most people follow up a protein treatment with a moisturizing one. Try that out and see if it makes things better for you. My hair hates protein and I just avoid them. Protein causes my hair to become crunchy and brittle, they start breaking off in little bits. Not everyone's hair likes protein so don't worry too much about it if yours doesn't

[WittyWordsmith]

julliams, from what I've read, with your hair-type your hair has so much of its own protein that giving it more is like overload. Usually, hair either wants protein or moisture, and depending on the texture, elasticity, porosity etc. of your hair, you will want one or the other. Coarser hair generally has lots of protein in it and what it wants is moisture.

The structure of your hair is stable with the protein that it already has, so giving it more just makes it crunchy/straw-like.

I think moisture infusions will give you better results. :D Hope that helps!

[julliams]

Thanks - this is what I thought. I also thought it had something to do with porosity - that perhaps my hair has low porosity??? Something like that. I'm not great with science...

[monsterna]

Found this (http://www.livecurlylivefree.com/curly%20hair%20basics.htm) on livecurly and it may help you. My hair hates protein as well. It feels horrible with it. I'm on a mission to find a protein-free clarifying shampoo and conditioner (with water soluble cones). A little tough!

[Athena's Owl]

low porosity hair doesn't get along well with protein, and neither does coarse hair. you may have double whammied it!

[|Xei]

Wow, this exact same thing happened to me before. I used the same type of mask (avocado, EVOO and honey) and my hair became all crunchy and dry. But I still don't know what this might mean, because my hair actually likes protein. I'm not even entirely sure if my hair hated the avocado specifically, or something in the avocado, because it sure likes the fruit's oil. It could be that there's something weird with this combination, and it just doesn't work for certain people :/

[Chiara]

Slightly off topic, but is avocado counted as a protein-y treatment? I always thought they were mostly (good) fats and fibre?

[julliams]

Found this (http://www.livecurlylivefree.com/curly%20hair%20basics.htm) on livecurly and it may help you. My hair hates protein as well. It feels horrible with it. I'm on a mission to find a protein-free clarifying shampoo and conditioner (with water soluble cones). A little tough!

That was incredibly helpful - thank you. It cleared up a bunch of questions I've had for a while. I'll bookmark it because I'm sure I'll read it again. If you come across either of those products - please pm me!!!

[julliams]

My understanding of avocado is that it's a protein treatment but please correct me if I am off the mark there...

[Neneka]

My hair doesn't like protein either. I have low porosity virgin hair.

[jojo]

My hair only likes 2-3 monthly protein treatments, but its very important to put the moiture back into your hair after a protein treatment with a moisturising treatment. Somebody suggested the opposite which is incorrect, the only time you do a protein treatment after a moisturising treatment is if hair becomes mushy and feels like slimy moss as this indicates the hair is over moisturised.

[spidermom]

Is your climate dry right now? If so - it's more likely the honey, which draws moisture toward whatever is driest.
I don't think avocado contains much protein, and EVOO and honey certainly do not. Hmmmmm; I guess I should look it up to be sure.

[Red_Wednesday]

My hair does not like protein either. A dry, tangled mess is what I usually get. My hair also does not like honey, I found this out the hard way. You could try experimenting and removing the honey from the recipe. I've found that in my case, veggie glycerin has been a nice substitute for honey.

[ArienEllariel]

I've found my hair likes small amounts of protein. It prefers more moisture than anything else.. I don't know if it means anything significant.. :shrug:

[jujube]

Is your climate dry right now? If so - it's more likely the honey, which draws moisture toward whatever is driest.
I don't think avocado contains much protein, and EVOO and honey certainly do not. Hmmmmm; I guess I should look it up to be sure.

This. It doesn't really seem like a "protein" treatment to me.

[shikara]

I am thinking the same way as spidermom and Red Wednesday. When I have myself an SMT, my hair was absolutely horrid!! Don't think I'll ever try that again, unless I'm somewhere with the 'proper' dew point.

[gthlvrmx]

Avocado itself has protein in it, but as a oil i don't think as much. If your hair is already medium to coarse, it probably will not like too much protein at all, it will prefer more moisture probably because it is much more porous. Stiff hair isn't fun, has to be able to stretch a little before breaking.
And you say julliams you are a M/C in hair type? Then i think youd benefit by small protein in your hair then put moisture back in and continue. I'm sure the best protein comes from genetics and within anyways from what you eat.
Is it drier where you live? You tend to lose more moisture if it's really dry and hot out there.

[julliams]

Actually it's been raining for weeks around here - very humid.. Very odd that my daughter and I both had the same reaction. I know it's not the honey because I use that in my SMT and I use EVOO all the time.

We followed the avocado treatment up with an SMT and both of our hair is back to normal. Thank goodness for that.

[celebriangel]

Some people's hair is just happy the way it is...I think protein treatments are so popular because people do things that de-proteinify (I know, I'm so scientific) their hair like bleach and straighten (chemically or otherwise). This sort of damage, as far as I understand, will make your hair need protein to stay in reasonable condition.

But with hair that's only ever seen LHC treatment, I just don't think you need any more, particularly with M/C hair. Probably with your type of hair it doesn't really need anything special - just gentle handling, gentle and moisturising wash methods, putting up and benign neglect.

[julliams]

This makes a lot of sense to me - thanks.

[Ribbon]

My hair doesn't like avocado either - but my skin did! You might want to try the mask on your face if you don't want the ingredients to go to waste. Or use the avocado and olive oil parts to make guacamole! :)