Protein Treatment for 4C Hair
Introduction
When we think of protein, we usually think of tasty foods like beef, eggs, or avocados. We’re eager to add these tasty morsels to our meals, but what about our hair care routine? That’s right! Your hair needs protein too. Protein treatments can be a major game changer for every natural of every hair type and condition. So, whether your hair is strong and healthy or weak and broken, you’ll be able to add the best protein treatment to your hair care regimen by the end of this article. Let’s get started!
What is a Protein Treatment?
To understand what a protein treatment is, we need to understand what protein does. For those of you who are big science fans, protein is defined as a large molecule made up of amino acids. These amino acids are great for repairing the gaps in your hair shaft as well as your muscles. You can think of amino acids as nature’s spackle. Now, these gaps aren’t caused by furniture or termites (or at least we hope not). The usual culprit for holes in your hair are heat styling, coloring, aging, and/or frequent hair manipulation.
The goal of a protein treatment is to temporary fix these holes, emphasize your hair pattern, strengthen hair strands, and protects your hair against breakage. It does this by putting a protective layer over your hair.
How Do I Know I Need Protein?
Well, if you have hair, then you need a protein treatment. What will vary is how much you’ll need. There are two types of protein treatments out there: light/moderate or intense/reconstructive. Knowing which one to use and how often you’ll use it will solely depend on your hair.
If your hair is considered quite healthy, then you’ll only need to use light/moderate protein treatments twice per month. This will help you keep up with holes and gaps that may develop over time and improve the quality of your hair texture. But how do you know your hair is healthy? Here are a few signs:
| · Great elasticity | · No breakage |
| · Healthy shrinkage | · Little to frizz |
| · Soft feel | · Healthy scalp |
If your hair is damage or high porosity, then you’ll need an intense/reconstructive protein treatment. With damaged hair, you’ve accumulated those gaps and hole that have weakened hair. Weak hair leads to damage, shedding, and breakage. Whereas with high porosity hair, though not necessarily damaged, will need help with strength and maintaining moisture. You’ll only need to apply your treatment once every six to ten weeks since it’s so powerful.
How do you know your hair is damaged? Here are a few signs:
| · Brittle hair | · Dull appearance |
| · Excessive shedding | · Very dry |
| · Split and broken ends | · Limp hair texture |
Remember, there’s no shame in need a stronger protein treatment. It only means that your hair needs a little extra care.
What Should I Look for in a Protein Treatment?
When looking for a protein treatment, you’ll want to make sure it contains hydrolyzed proteins, plant-based proteins, and amino acids. If you’re like me, you can be a bit mistrustful of chemicals that have super complicated, sci-fi sounding names. So, we’ll break down each of these for you.
Hydrolyzed proteins are a type of protein that have undergone hydrolysis. That basically means that water is added to the protein to help it bind to your hair and makes protein treatments so effective. There are a few types of hydrolyzed proteins to look out for that will be super helpful.
| · Hydrolyzed keratin: strengthens hair, improves elasticity, and reduces damage caused by chemicals. | · Hydrolyzed wheat protein: helps with reducing frizz, increasing volume, and keeping in moisture. |
| · Hydrolyzed oat flour: increase shine, protects from breakage, smooths hair, and repairs damage. | · Hydrolyzed collagen: decreases breakage caused by styling. |
| · Hydrolyzed milk protein: increases manageability, moisture retention, shine, and quality of hair. | · Hydrolyzed silk protein: increases shine, improves elasticity, and strengthens hair. |
| · Hydrolyzed soy protein: increases moisture retention, shine, and decreases frizz. |
Amino acids are the smaller parts of protein that will be able to penetrate the hair shaft faster. However, they won’t have the same punch as your hydrolyzed proteins. Amino acids are great for those of you who don’t have much damage but do want to improve your hair growth, elasticity, and emphasize your natural hair texture. Here are a few amino acids to look for to get those benefits:
| · Cysteine: strengthens hair, protects from harmful UV rays, and emphasizes natural textures. | · Methionine: promotes hair growth and strengthens hair. |
| · Lysine: strengthens hair, promotes hair growth, and reduces symptoms of male pattern baldness. | · Arginine: thickens hair and promotes shine. |
How Do I Use It?
When applying a protein treatment, always follow the instructions. But typically, you can expect to use your protein treatment on your wash day. You’ll cleanse your hair, use your favorite conditioner, then apply your protein treatment. After your treatment, make sure to follow up with a deep conditioner. Why? Because protein treatments and conditioners are very different.
Protein treatments are great for hair strengthening and making moisture absorption easier, but it doesn’t add moisture. That’s why using a deep conditioner, which are specially made to quench your hairs thirst, will be a perfect way to end your hair care routine.
Extra Tips for Protein Treatments
At this point, you’re well educated on the great qualities of protein treatments. You might be ready to start your shopping trip now! But there are a few extra things that you need to keep in mind when using and shopping for a protein treatments:
- If you need a light/moderate protein treatment, you’re probably already using it. Did you know that deep conditioners, leave-ins, and balancing moisturizers might already have hydrolyzed proteins or amino acids? Before shopping, check your cabinets.
- Never use protein treatments for moisturization. If adding moisture is your focus, then it’s smart to add protein treatments to your routine. But the way that protein treatment help with moisturization is through retention. Please note that retaining moisture isn’t the same as adding moisture.
- You can suffer from protein overload. The incredible results that you can experience from a protein treatment can be intoxicating. But the rule of “too much of a good thing” does apply here. If your tempted to start using protein treatments more often, keep in mind that protein overload does exist. Protein overload is when you add too much protein to your hair. This can cause your hair to become severely dry and break off. It’ll go from have a strong, silky texture to being more like straw.
- Keratin treatments and protein treatments are not the same. Keratin treatments are made for straightening hair and smoothing it out. These treatments are the key parts of a Brazillian blow out. Whereas a protein treatment will reinforce the natural curls and coils that you have.
Citations
Alston, S. (2021, March 18). Why protein treatments are essential for healthy natural hair. Miche Beauty. Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www.michebeauty.com/blogs/the-miche-manual-blog/why-protein-treatments-are-essential-for-healthy-natural-hair
Curls, College, director. What Is a Protein Treatment | All About Protein Treatments for Natural Hair. YouTube, YouTube, 30 May 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K4ZIV05lgA. Accessed 12 Jan. 2022.
Perkins, S. (2015, January 8). DIY protein treatments. 6 Proteins that MUST Be Hydrolyzed… if You Want them to Work | NaturallyCurly.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/home/6-proteins-that-must-be-hydrolyzed-if-you-want-them-to-work