The Complete Guide To Strengthening Your Hair And End Breakage Forever
Contents
- Types of protein treatments
- How To Determine The Best Protein Treatment For You
- 5 Ways To Keep Your Hair Stong
- 3 The Best Hard Protein Treatments On The Market
We have talked about hair strength quite a bit on the blog, so much so that you might wonder why we would tackle the topic again. The truth is most of us tend to find pockets of information here and there and things can get confusing especially when our hair might be going through a crisis. It often helps to get a complete overall picture so that you can determine the best approach for your hair.
When we talk about the strength of your hair we are often referring to the structure of the hair strand. From a scientific perspective, every single hair strand has three layers, the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla. The cuticle is the outermost layer which is made of flat protein cells that overlap each other like scales or tiles on a roof. These scales protect the innermost layers of the hair strand from damage.
In a perfect world, the more intact the outer layer of the hair strand is the stronger your hair will be. In a not so perfect world, like the one we live in our hair strands are subject to our own manipulation, heat, the environment, chemical treatments all of which erode the strand of its precious protein cells. When your hair strand is depleted, expect to have dry brittle hair that splits and breaks when the strand cannot hold on to itself any longer.
The thing that we all have to remember about hair is that once your hair follicle pushes out the from the scalp all the cells that determine the structure of your hair is all you are given for the life of the strand.
Your hair strand does not replicate itself along the length of it once it leaves the scalp which is why people say that your hair is dead. The only way to add strength in places where strength is lost is with protein or other agents that can stick to the strand and create temporary layers that will, in essence, make your hair stronger. In this post, we want to give you a comprehensive guide to strengthening your hair that will help you to eliminate breakage forever.
Types of protein treatments
As we mentioned above hair is made up of protein cells, specifically Keratin and as your hair grows and undergoes more exposure to different things that we subject our hair to protein is lost and the hair loses some its elasticity or strength.
By using products that contain protein in them, you improve the hair’s elasticity and strength properties. Very curly and kinky* hair tends to be dry and quite fragile even in its natural state. With the addition of relaxers or color services, the hair tends to become weaker. Using a protein based conditioner improves the health of the hair immensely and should be applied to any regimen.
There are 6 types of proteins that can be used to treat our hair and they all perform a variety of functions that contribute to the strength of your hair.
Hydrolyzed Human Hair Keratin
This is the most potent of the proteins and matches the keratin in hair exactly. It keeps the hair pliable and strong.
Hydrolyzed Keratin Protein
The protein has been broken down so it can penetrate all layers of the hair better and as such is excellent for deep conditioning*. It also keeps the hair pliable and strong.
Silk Protein
Silk is the strongest natural fibers and has very small molecules that can penetrate the hair shaft. It is excellent for deep conditioning* as it’s known to soften the hair.
Animal Protein
This type of protein will generally just coat the hair shaft and repair damage on the outer layers, examples include eggs
Vegetable Protein
This absorbs more easily into the hair without leaving any build up on the hair shaft.
Wheat Protein
Used in many conditioning products, this is a moisturizing and strengthening protein which also improves the hair’s ability to maintain moisture levels.
Collagen Protein
This increases the elasticity of the hair.
How To Determine The Best Protein Treatment For You
Protein treatments range from relatively light to quite strong and your job is to figure out just how much strength your hair needs so that you can determine what protein treatment to apply to your hair.
The rule of thumb is everybody needs a dose of protein at least every 3 weeks and that protein treatment can be light. Light proteins include vegetable, animal, silk or wheat proteins. Your hair might be doing well, very moisturized but getting to the point where your hair looks a little dull and the strand is very elastic.
Some women who have very fine hair can use a light protein weekly and see great success with their hair because the width of the strand is naturally thin and frankly they need a consistent boost in hair strength.
Hard protein treatments are hydrolyzed protein treatments where the protein from the product penetrate the hair strand and attaches itself to the inner layers of the hair strand. If your hair is chemically processed with color or a relaxer you will find that you will have to do a hard protein treatment every 6-8 weeks.
If your hair is stressed, breaking, dry, brittle very mushy and dull it may be time to do a hydrolyzed protein treatment or a hard protein treatment.
5 Ways To Keep Your Hair Stong
Scalp Care
Believe it or not how you treat your scalp is directly related to how strong your hair is.This means cleaning your scalp and paying attention to any scalp ailments or irritation that you might have.
Pay attention to scalp health by using oils* that not only encourage hair growth but that keep your follicles very healthy. When your hair starts off very strong it is easier to maintain that strength throughout the life of the strand.
Finger Detangling
Finger detangling is popular for a reason; combs and brushes wreak havoc on your hair’s cuticles even if your hair is straight. If you must use a comb ensure that the comb is a wide tooth comb*, and if you must use a brush ensure that the bristles are not close together.
Any device that can strip the hair strand will lower your hair’s tensile strength so finger detangling helps you to avoid damage that tools can cause with one stroke on your hair.
Avoid Certain Ingredients
Your product ingredient list, is your best friend, there are certain ingredients that can strip your hair causing it to be detrimental to your hair’s elasticity.
Chemicals such as sodium lauryl sulfate, often found in regular shampoos, isopropyl alcohol, and diethanolamine are all harmful to your strands. Try to choose products that are as natural as possible and that are chemical free.
Protect Your Hair From The Sun
The sun can have harmful effects on our skin and on our hair. Heat and UV rays weaken the hair strand and will lower its elasticity over time.
Wear a hat when you know that your hair will be exposed to the sun for long periods of time, try sunblock for your hair or use a natural oil with SPF, anything to keep your hair protected daily.
Avoid Heated Styling Tools
Just like the sun, curling irons*, flat irons*, any kind of iron* or heated device that is applied directly to your hair can break it down and make it weak. If you are a straight haired natural then protein treatments cannot be left out of your regimen.
Direct heat breaks down critical layers of the strand to get your hair straight and sometimes your hair will remain permanently straight as you lose protein from heat styling. This is called heat damage and the only way to combat it especially if you prefer your hair curly is to cut off the straight ends and start over.
3 Of The Best Hard Protein Treatments On The Market
OlaPlex
Olaplex is the new kid on the block and can be found in almost every salon you can think of. This is the description from the website:
Our simple three-step process includes a patented active ingredient that works on a molecular level to seek out broken bonds in the hair that are caused by chemical, thermal, and mechanical damage. You can use Olaplex to restore compromised hair or add it to another service to provide the ultimate breakage insurance.
The Olaplex system consists of three products the first two (the Bond Multiplier, and Blond Perfector) designed to be applied to the salon and the final product the hair perfector designed to be used long term at home.
No.1 – Bond Multiplier
No.2 – Bond Perfector
No.3 – Hair Perfector
If you use color or any sort of chemical that erodes the hair strand Olaplex might be the perfect product for you.
Aphogee Two Step Treatment
The Aphogee* two step hard protein treatment has been around for years and the most common treatment used by many of us at home.
What you should know
The Aphogee brand has a ton of products but the two-step treatment pack is very distinct. The protein set will include a conditioner and a very liquid protein treatment that is used on dry hair. It is extremely important that you follow the instructions on the packaging very carefully before attempting to treat your own hair. Aphogee contains hydrolyzed protein that when applied to your hair will penetrate the strand and strengthen your hair from the inside out.
When done right your hair will often feel dramatically stronger and will appear shiny as the proteins improve the look of the strand and your hair is able to reflect light better than it would when dull and damaged.
Here is a demonstration on how to apply Aphogee to your hair:
Nexxus Emergencee
The description of the product is very similar to Aphogee* and serves the same purpose. From Amazon – “Nexxus Emergencee Reconstruction Conditioning Treatment protects and strengthens your damaged hair with its fortifying blended formula.”
Each treatment with Nexxus Emergencee Conditioning Hair Treatment will dramatically condition hair that has been damaged or abused. Nexxus Emergencee Conditioning Treatment stops damage by reconstructing the foundation of your hair and after using it you should condition your hair well to maintain great moisture in your hair.
Final thoughts
Pay attention to your hair’s needs to determine just when to use protein as a remedy for your hair. It is important to know when you can fix your strand versus letting go of the strand by trimming or cutting it. At the end of the day strong hair is healthy hair and if you are on a healthy hair journey we think this post is critical to your success.