Protein Versus Moisture. Which does your hair need?

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.