Coconut oil is all the rage these
days. I've used it myself and, yes, my hair felt really soft. However, I found my hair was
breaking at the ends.
After reading some beauty blogs, I added other oils to my hair - first castor oil and then aragan
oil. Unfortunately, my locks felt drier and unpleasant to
touch.
I thought by using these oils, I was adding protein to my hair. However, I looked at the nutrition facts on my jar of coconut oil and found, much to my surprise, coconut oil has no protein in it! The coconut fruit itself has the protein but the oil does not.
As hot as coconut oil is right now, so cold is the use of sulphates in
shampoo. Beauty blogs are informing their readers that sulphates strip hair of natural oils. So I tried a sulphate-free shampoo and, again, my hair felt very soft but not strong. My
locks were still breaking.
I researched how to add protein to my hair and
learned about surfactants from Wikipedia:
"Surfactants - approximately 97% of
hair consists of a protein called keratin. The surface of keratin contains
negatively charged amino acids. Hair conditioners therefore
usually contain cationic surfactants, which
don't wash out completely, because their hydrophilic ends strongly bind to
keratin. The hydrophobic ends
of the surfactant molecules then act as the new hair surface."
Examples of surfactants are alkyl
esthers and ....wait for it....Sulphates! So it is advisable to include either of these 2 ingredients at the same time that you are adding protein to your hair.
The highest proteins can be found in
your kitchen: Milk, eggs, and yogurt. I shampoo'd, conditioned, and
treated with a mixture of all 3 - plus surfactants. Finally, my hair felt stronger.
So, I am pro sulphates and am now making
sure my conditioners have an alkyl esther or sulphate. I also moisturise with just some
water in a spray bottle.
To determine whether your hair needs
moisture or protein. Wet a strand and pull it. If it stretches, it needs
protein. If it breaks it needs moisture.
I performed this test now and the strand didn't break when pulled - which means my hair is finally healthy and strong.
