looking for protein conditioner that won't irritate my skin

[jaine]

Does anyone know of a protein conditioner or protein treatment that meets all of the following requirements?


No parabens (because brands that do this typically leave out a lot of other weird chemicals that irritate my skin, too many to list)
No "Fragrance" ingredient (it's OK if it's scented with essential oils but the vague "fragrance" ingredient is a wildcard that's almost always irritating to my skin)
Gluten-free (or at least no "wheat" in the ingredient list)


Are there any options besides Aubrey Organics GBP conditioner? I have that one and I'm not too happy with it because it's so oily and difficult to rinse out completely.

I apologize if this has been asked before... I searched and I googled... but most people are not cursed with sensitive skin like I am. :( So when I search I see a lot of recommendations for conditioners that would irritate my skin...

[linnepinne]

Maybe you could try something home made? I've read that egg yolk is a good protien source in deep treatments. But you have to rinse it out with cold/luke warm water, or you'll end upp with omelette on your head! :D

[pixiedust]

Seems we have a similar hairtype ;) I also face the same problems with irritating fragrances.

My hair responds really really well to coconut yogurt. I eat it as a vegan alternative to dairy yogurt and you can find it at whole foods. I'll mix it with some light oil and smetimes ground flaxseed and guar gum and leave it on my hair wet or dry for an hour or so, its the best protein treatment I have ever used.

Not sure if its much for protein but I also like to DT with coconut milk and I get similar, less obvious results.

[Siiri]

There's Mill Creek Keratin conditioner, but it has essential oils, "botanical fragrance" and barley extract. Here are the ingredients:

Deionized Water, Hydrolyzed Keratin, Cottonseed Oil, Panthenol (Provitamin B5), Balsam Peru, Olive Oil, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Rosemary Extract, Barley Extract, Stearalkonium Chloride (Fiber base content), Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Octyl Dimethyl PABA, PEG-100 Stearate, Sodium Caseinate, Sodium Hydroxide, Corn Oil, *Organic Aloe Vera Gel, Citric Acid, Organic Essential Oil, Caramel, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Botanical Fragrance.
*Certified Organic Ingredient by BCS Oko-Garantie

[torrilin]

Are you celiac, or do you have a wheat allergy? Coz if the issue is celiac, the conditioner upthread that has barley won't work, but if it is a wheat allergy it might.

The protein heavy conditioner I'm using at the moment is Nature's Gate Henna conditioner, but it contains both hydrolized soy protein AND hydrolized vegetable protein so it is no good. I'm not sure why they are doing that either, since henna acts as a protein treatment all by itself, and there is a lot more henna extract in the product than either the soy or the unknown veggie protein.

Alaffia's Shea and Honey conditioner contains oat protein, which is ok for wheat free but if I'm remembering right, NOT for gluten free (I may be on crack because I'm remembering the protein in oats is gluten). Their Shea and Henna conditioner might be ok, since I don't see any protein ingredients but the henna.

Just as a comparison, Joico K-Pak only contains stuff they're describing as human hair keratin, but... it contains fragrance. And parabens. So no good for my friend who is allergic to parabens, and probably no good for you due to the fragrance... but depending on how bad the fragrance sensitivity is it *might* be worth seeing if you can patch test it.

If you lived here in Madison, I'd drag you down to Community Pharmacy, the local hippy pharmacy. They've got a whole shelf of fragrance free shampoos and conditioners, and they don't mind if you spend two hours camped on the floor reading labels... but if you talk to the staff they can often save you the time. And for a lot of products, they have testers so you can patch test before you buy. Philly might not have a hippy pharmacy, but chances are there is *some* place like Community... just I have no idea where I'd start looking.

[In2wishin]

Another option is to take a conditioner you know doesn't affect you and add protein. You can get hydrolyzed wheat, oat (my favorite), and silk proteins pretty much anywhere that sells soapmaking/bath and body supplies. Typical usage is 2-3% by weight.

[jaine]

Thank you for the suggestions!! :)
It is celiac not wheat allergy...although I just checked the ingredients on a John Masters Organics conditioner that doesn't bother me...and it has wheat in it. So maybe I can be flexible about #3 ...as long as I don't get hungry in the shower and start eating my conditioner :)

[torrilin]

I dunno enough about celiac disease, but in your place I can understand why you'd want to skip wheat proteins. And honestly it seems like a reasonable thing to want to skip. It might be worth talking to your doctors to see if they can recommend a patch test protocol for you? I know it is a pain in the ass, but it is probably worthwhile to prevent surprise flare ups and overloading your body with stuff it doesn't tolerate well.

[jaine]

My list of what to avoid seems to be working so I think I'm OK there (no parabens + no fragrance + not eating gluten = no skin reaction)...I was just looking for product recommendations. I think I have a few good ones to try now! :)

[pixiedust]

I can also reccommend The Millcreek line, specifically the biotin conditioner. In fact, I believe if you check the labels most of the Millcreek products have keratin high up n the ingredients and no wheat protein, just barley extract, but with further investigation you may find one without (: