Healthy Curls
Protein
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I stay away from protein, too. I think protein is great in an intense treatment when someone's hair is damaged. However, I think it's used in far too many products.
After a protein treatment, one needs intense moisture. That's because protein, while it can help to reconstruct damage, makes hair feel dry.
My hair started feeling very dry for a while, and I couldn't figure out why. I wasn't using any sulfates, I wasn't using any silicone, I was doing deep conditioning treatments once a week, and still my hair felt like straw. Then I realized that a gel I was using daily had a lot of protein in it. So just as an experiment, I stopped using everything that had any amount of protein. After a couple ACV rinses and a few more deep conditioning treatments, my hair quickly started feeling like normal again.
One day I used a styling cream that I had swapped for and had been wanting to try for a while. My hair felt coarse and dry all day. When I got home I looked at the ingredients for the new product, and wasn't surprised to see two different types of protein listed.
I think protein treats different people in different ways - some people benefit from it, while it makes others, like me, feel dry no matter what we use to moisturize afterwards. The only way to find out if protein is the reason your hair is feeling dry is to stop using it and see.
I still try products with protein once in a while, just to see if anything has changed. It never has, but what can I say, I'm stubborn.
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