Symptoms of Protein Overload?

**twill** · June 29th, 2017, 07:14 PM

If there's already a thread that matches this,mods do by all means merge it, but I didn't see one. (I saw one about symptoms of hair needing protein, and what to do if your hair has a protein OD, but not what the symptoms are.)

I have never heard of a protein overload and was wondering what the symptoms of that are. I was confused because I saw some people mentioning a few symptoms... and other people saying the exact same symptoms were signs that your hair NEEDS protein. So count me confused.

I have no idea where my hair falls in the protein- deficiency/overload category, so I would like to learn more about it. Thanks!

**Ophidian** · June 29th, 2017, 07:58 PM

Here's a good overview of protein in hair care:
http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.co...ation.html?m=1

My hair feels plastic-y when I've overdone protein in the past, like doll hair.

**frizzyhair1111** · June 29th, 2017, 08:14 PM

You can do the strand test to determine if you hair is in fact protein overloaded. It's really simple. Take a dry or wet strand of hair and stretch it gently. If it breaks off and barely stretches this is a sign that you need more moisture and that you could have too much protein. Your hair should not be able to break so easily and it should it should be able to stretch

If your hair breaks off when you stretch it you know that it def is dry and needs moisture. In order to fix this you need to focus on putting the moisture back into your hair with moisturizing shampoos and conditioners by using non harsh products -- sulfate free shampoo / conditioner. Also use a deep conditioner about one time a month (usually its weekly but you don't want to put too much stuff into your hair ). Find one that does NOT contain any proteins in it since this will be defeating the purpose of what you are trying to do.

Please keep in mind that protein overload is something that doesn't get back to normal overnight but is a process to get your hair back to normal again.

Hope this helps!

**Kitty-Zen** · June 29th, 2017, 10:01 PM

What pushed me over the edge was a DT to STRENGTHEN when i should have MOISTURIZED. My cwc routine was fine before then, using some protien based conditioner/ shampoo but i definitely made a misstep. I noticed more braid and scrunchie shred for starters, then did a strand test and saw how little streach there was. My hair still felt soft overall though, im not sure if that is usual of the associated brittleness

**twill** · June 29th, 2017, 11:09 PM

Mkay, thanks guys! I was a little confused about all of that (I still am a bit, but reading more about it).

**Anje** · June 30th, 2017, 07:34 AM

When I've had protein overload on my hennaed hair, my hair felt a bit rough and almost sticky-squeaky when I ran my fingers down a stand. (It's normally slick.) The ends felt stiff and formed little kinks and bent angles, and it was super tangly to the point where it was forming new tangles faster than I could detangle while I was combing it.

Clarifying repeatedly didn't help. Cutting the suddenly velcro-like ends didn't fix anything. The first SMT made a big difference, but I think it took about a week of doing SMTs every night before my hair felt normal again.

**twill** · June 30th, 2017, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by Anje

When I've had protein overload on my hennaed hair, my hair felt a bit rough and almost sticky-squeaky when I ran my fingers down a stand. (It's normally slick.) The ends felt stiff and formed little kinks and bent angles, and it was super tangly to the point where it was forming new tangles faster than I could detangle while I was combing it.

Clarifying repeatedly didn't help. Cutting the suddenly velcro-like ends didn't fix anything. The first SMT made a big difference, but I think it took about a week of doing SMTs every night before my hair felt normal again.

Interesting. I do occasionally get random weird strands that remind me of horse hair - course, stiff, and wiry. They're usually very shiny and kind of squeaky like you said, sometimes with strange kinks in them- but they don't seem to break easily or seem particularly dry, and they only seem to get seriously tangled when they have a chance encounter with another weird strand. They seem to grow more at the top and the back of my head than on the sides or towards the front, and I just thought maybe it was a kind of survival of the fittest thing - like only the tough hairs can survive vehicle headrests and buns. But maybe I do have a bit of a protein overload back there. I'll keep an eye on it!

**Anje** · July 2nd, 2017, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by twill

Interesting. I do occasionally get random weird strands that remind me of horse hair - course, stiff, and wiry. They're usually very shiny and kind of squeaky like you said, sometimes with strange kinks in them- but they don't seem to break easily or seem particularly dry, and they only seem to get seriously tangled when they have a chance encounter with another weird strand. They seem to grow more at the top and the back of my head than on the sides or towards the front, and I just thought maybe it was a kind of survival of the fittest thing - like only the tough hairs can survive vehicle headrests and buns. But maybe I do have a bit of a protein overload back there. I'll keep an eye on it!

Honestly, I think everyone has those odd strands. I've got them mostly around my part, my brother says his are over his ears... Weird kinked wirey stands are just one of those things. When I had overload, it was like every single hair had gotten the last half inch bent at a 90 degree angle, bizarre to my fairly straight hair.

**lapushka** · July 2nd, 2017, 08:55 AM

I think I hardly get this. I don't use a lot of protein, and if it is in my conditioners, it is always a balanced formula. I have a foil packet of the "hair mayonnaise", which I am going to try soon. We'll see what that does.

**twill** · July 7th, 2017, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by Anje

Honestly, I think everyone has those odd strands. I've got them mostly around my part, my brother says his are over his ears... Weird kinked wirey stands are just one of those things. When I had overload, it was like every single hair had gotten the last half inch bent at a 90 degree angle, bizarre to my fairly straight hair.

Ah, mkay. I'd say I'm fine then. I think in general my individual strands of hair are thicker than they were a few years ago, but I think that's just because I started taking care of my hair. They've got plenty of stretch and don't break easily. Guess I'm safe from the dreaded protein OD... for now. ^-^