Black Hair Protein and Moisture Benefits

Protein

Protien is what gives the hair its strength and structure. Hair is about 70% keratin protein by nature. Protein is found most prevalently in products like

1. Instant conditioners (bargain brands like Suave and V05),

2. Leave in conditioners,

3. Protein treatments (such as aphogee),

4. Protein conditioner treatment

5. Even some moisturizers.

Moisturizers

Moisturizers are products that are water-based and nourish your hair deep within the strand.

Water is the ultimate moisturizer so water based products are best for really getting the best moisture benefit. Products with moisturizing properties tend to be your conditioners and other water-based products. Moisturizers may also be protein-based, but these protein based moisturizers do not have the moisturizing benefit that moisture-based moisturizers have.

Good moisturizers will not contain ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, or lanolin. These are cheap product fillers. Be wary of products that claim moisturizing benefits and contain these ingredients. There is nothing moisturizing about them! Petrolatum and mineral oil are sealants and have the potential to suffocate the hair and scalp and seal out the moisture it needs.

Sealing in your Moisturizers

Our hair naturally contains moisture, but because our hair is also naturally porous, keeping the moisture inside is a difficult task. Sources of outside moisture, or external moisture supplementation is a must for black hair. Water molecules and moisture from these supplemental moisturizing products easily passes into the hair shaft, but they pass out just as easily.

The moisture you apply needs to held in by something. Oil. A light coating of oil on top will help seal the moisture inside. Oils are made of large molecules. These molecules are too large to absorbed by the hair strand. Applying oils to the hair and scalp will coat them and trap moisture that is inside on the inside and moisture that is outside on the outside. The key is to lock in the moisture within the strands with your oil. If you use oils without a moisturizer or before one, the oil will seal the moisture out of the hair strand and lead to eventual dryness.

This technique of moisturizing and sealing has really been helpful to me and is a resonating hallmark of my regimen. Moisturizing success is all in the order in which you apply your products.

Remember! Oils DO NOT MOISTURIZE!

Perhaps a words like “nourish” would be better than moisturize. Oil alone will not and cannot moisturize within the hair shaft.

An oil can only coat the outside of the strand, and give it shine- the illusion of moisture. Again, the molecules that make oil are much too large to penetrate through all of the cuticle layers. The cuticle layers can be as few as 6 layers or many as 15 or more layers thick.

Oil molecules are “hydro-phobic” which means they repel and do not readily mix with water. Remember, if you apply an oil product to your hair before you have added a moisturizing product, you have created a seal on your hair strand that water and moisture cannot penetrate.

When the Balance is thrown off by too much protein

Hair that is shifted too far on the protein side will break easier, both wet and dry, because it lacks elasticity. Hair that breaks with very little tension or stretching is moisture deficient. Any type of stretching or tension will break it because the protein goes in and adds structure to the hair.

Too much structure will make the hair rigid, decrease its elasticity, leave it brittle and prone to breakage. This was the issue with Kim’s hair. She was feeding her hair more protein than she needed to maintain a healthy balance. If this describes your hair at any time listen up! To correct this imbalance, you will need to go into a simple deep conditioning and moisturizing regimen. You may not be doing "protein treatments" per se, but you may be using other products that are protein heavy ingredient wise.

I would watch out for protein in common products like leave in conditioners, moisturizers, gels, and instant conditioners like Suave and V05. Protein hides in a lot of everyday products- so avoid those for a few weeks until your moisture balance is corrected. This will give your hair a chance to even out the protein/moisture balance.

Hair Breakage Problem Scenarios- read these hair scenarios to figure which category you fall into

Protein and Moisture- A proper balance of both protein and moisture is needed to maintain a healthy black hair and minimize breakage.

Performing a Wet Hair Assessment-figure out which end of the balance wheel you fall under

Moisturizers- to prevent hair breakage and grow long black hair