Follow up protein treatments with a moisturizing leave-in. Make sure that all products in your routine have moisturizing ingredients while trying to add moisture to your curls. Look for conditioners that pack in both moisture and protein to balance the scale and keep your curls rocking.
After clarifying, follow with a moisturizing deep conditioner such as our Double Cream Deep Quencher. This should be left on the hair for at least 30min, allowing it to really hydrate the strands. On your next wash day, avoid using any protein products.
Creams, oils, and lotions help seal in moisture, which is why it's best to apply these products to damp hair. Water or water-based products are the best foundation for that. Depending on your hair's unique makeup, you might find daily moisturizing necessary, or once-a-week applications may be more than enough.
All hair needs both protein and moisture to stay healthy and strong. In fact, protein and moisture can't work well without the other. You need a strong protein structure in order for water molecules to bind with your strands and to keep the water locked inside.
There are several ways to deep condition your hair to adjust your protein moisture balance. Methods include oil treatments, hair masks, and moisturizing leave-in products. You will need to find a hair mask that your hair responds well to and that is easy for the strands to absorb.
Known as protein overload, having too much protein in your hair may cause it to appear dull, dry, and brittle. Keratin, the main protein in your hair, can be added to your hair to strengthen your strands.
As learned in our previous post, Olaplex rebuilds the broken disulfide bonds in the hair, creating stronger, more resilient hair. However, it does not address moisture and protein, which both contribute to the health of your hair. How do you know if you need to do moisture and/or protein treatments?
Take an inch of your hair and stretch it, if it doesn't stretch or breaks, feels dry and rough, it is brittle/damaged and needs moisture treatment. If the hair stretches far and does not return and/or breaks, feels mushy, gummy or cotton candy-like, your hair needs protein.
Take a wet or dry strand of hair and stretch it gently. If it doesn't stretch easily, snaps quickly, and feels dry, brittle or rough, it means you need more moisture. If your curl stretches but doesn't bounce back into shape, and the hair feels gummy or musy, it means you need more protein.
Experiencing dry, stiff, and brittle hair after using a product with protein or high amounts of protein is a good indicator that too much in present in your hair, which compromises the protein and moisture balance. Too much moisture creates limp hair that is too elastic.
Olaplex has been in the news recently as it is a popular hair product that (until recently) contained a harmful fragrance ingredient called Lilial (also known as butylphenyl methylpropional). Lilial has been banned in the European Union (EU) because of links to infertility in animal studies.
A lot of people will use bond treatments and say their hair feels worse - dry and strawy. That's basically the bond building doing its job. The other mistake you might be making is using too much of the product, because new products are exciting and we get excited about using them. So, remember to use a small amount!
The Olaplex process works while the chemical sits on your hair, because the treatment can be mixed into color. As your hair goes through the chemical change, the disulphide bonds are reformed faster and less breakage occurs. Protein treatments can be used in between your Olaplex treatments.
Common signs of Moisture Overload
If you pull one strand of hair it will stretch and stretch without bouncing back, and eventually fall apart and tear. The hair will feel mushy, limp and excessively soft. Your curls will struggle to hold their shape, they will have little definition and tend to fall flatter than normal.
What Causes Protein Overload? Protein overload is often caused by the products you use in your hair. Shampoos, conditioners, hair protein treatments, and other styling products that contain a large amount of hair protein are typically the culprit. They can disrupt your natural hair's moisture balance.
Excess protein consumed is usually stored as fat, while the surplus of amino acids is excreted. This can lead to weight gain over time, especially if you consume too many calories while trying to increase your protein intake.
A high total protein level could indicate dehydration or a certain type of cancer, such as multiple myeloma, that causes protein to accumulate abnormally. If the result of a total protein test is abnormal, further tests will be needed to identify which proteins are too high or too low.
The UK and EU have recently banned the popular high-end haircare staple, 'Olaplex No. 3' due to the ingredient lilial and its link with infertility. The brand has therefore stated that the ingredient, also known as butylphenyl methylpropional, will no longer be used in their products.
Even if you completely stop using Olaplex, the disulfide link that Olaplex offered is permanent. The condition of the hair there after, depends on how the client treats their hair.
People with low porosity hair strands naturally contain too much keratin protein within their own structure. Low porosity hair is resistant to moisture and are protein-sensitive. By adding “unwanted” protein to the hair strand becomes stiff and brittle, causing it to break.
Imbalanced Protein and Moisture
Another VERY common cause of wet frizz is excess protein or moisture in the hair.