What do you mean by protein?

[champagne]

I've been reading about crunchy ends of hair being related to protein in hair products. I want to try cutting them out a bit to see if this helps my crunchy ends, however I dont know what I'm looking for! :confused:

Would anyone be very kind to explain to me how proteins appear in ingrediants lists and how I recognise if a product contains protein. Right now I use Aubrey organics rosa mosqueta nourishing shampoo and conditioner I really have no idea if they contain proteins (I hope not as I just bought them :rolleyes:).

Also is coconut oil a protein?

Thankyou so much I can't wait till I know enough that I can answer questions not just ask them lol xx

[Khiwanean]

According to the Aubrey organics website, the shampoo has hydrolyzed soy protein in it. Usually, proteins will have "protein" somewhere in the name. The conditioner is protein-free.

Coconut oil is not a protein, but it does help prevent protein loss.

[PinkyCat]

Or "Keratin"

[Anje]

Protein is protein, just like what you learned in biology. Hair is made of it, wear and tear and chemical treatments can make some of it wear away, and replacing some of that can help patch hair up.

So read the ingredients list and remember what you were taught. Anything that says "___ protein" on it is protein (duh), as is anything that says "___ amino acids". Less commonly, you might find "___ peptides" in there.
Things you might not recognize right away are the specific proteins keratin and collagen. Another one is that most things described as "hydrolyzed ___" are proteins that have been broken down by hydrolysis.

Coconut oil isn't protein. It's lipid = fat.

_________

Have you tried CLARIFYING your hair yet? I would suggest doing that before trying to eliminate protein.

[spidermom]

Well explained, Anje.

[Vlientje]

Awesome post, Anje!! Exactly what I was looking for, thank you! :D

I do have an additional question about protein.. Since the hair is made of it, WHY is it bad when it's in conditioners? Sounds like such a natural and logical thing to use :o And then, why do people start using keratin, which is so much protein! This is confusing :P

[monsterna]

Awesome post, Anje!! Exactly what I was looking for, thank you! :D

I do have an additional question about protein.. Since the hair is made of it, WHY is it bad when it's in conditioners? Sounds like such a natural and logical thing to use :o And then, why do people start using keratin, which is so much protein! This is confusing :P

Protein is usually your go-to thing if your hair is feeling mushy/mossy. Whereas moisture is what you go for when you're experiencing dry hair. Protein works well to help "fill the gaps" in hair that has been over-processed. Too much of either protein or moisture will result in either too dry/crunchy or too mushy/flimsy hair. It's not inherently bad. Some people like protein, and some don't. I belong to the latter :D.

[Vlientje]

Alright, so this is another this that I need to test and see what group I belong too :D I have read earlier that protein can damage hair, if not well moistured. This frightens me..

[Anje]

Hair damaged by heat and chemical treatments like dyeing and perms tends do extremely well with protein. It fills in the gaps and helps the hair behave properly. Fixes that mushy, stretchy, limp quality such hair can develop.

The main problem with protein is that treatments of it tend to be drying. I really don't know why, but it remains the fact that it often is and therefore it's usually best to immediately follow a heavy-duty protein treatment with moisture. Some people, myself included, tend to have hair that gets buildup from proteins easily, causing our hair to become dry, velcroy, and have hook-like ends. The hair shafts actually feel rough between the fingers when you've got serious protein-overload happening. The thing that helped my hair recover when it was really bad was first clarifying, then repeated SMTs. I just COed with SMT mix daily for a few days, and my hair became more normal every time.

Not everyone gets protein overload. In fact, it seems like some of the most popular CO conditioners are ones that give me overloaded hair in half a bottle. It's really one of those things that you need to find out for yourself whether it's a miracle product, something that's useful when used sparingly, or something to be avoided entirely.

[Vlientje]

Very clear post, thank you!! It's on my to-try list now :D