This post is a bit late, but I finally had my first (and few) instances of serious protein overload.
For those of you who might not know, hair has to have a healthy balance of moisture and protein in order to feel and look great. My hair usually loves protein, but I overdid it this last time.
Here’s what I did:
- I braided up my hair into sections.
- Shampoo’d while in braids, since I’d used cones to flat iron
- Applied homemade protein treatment to braids
- Rinsed after 15 minutes
- Applied moisturizing DC
- Rinsed after an hour or so
Protein Treatment
I should also mention that my hair was suffering from dryness due to the silicones I use to keep my hair from reverting. My hair felt fine until it dried and then I knew I had a problem. I thought perhaps my hair was just getting back to normal after being straightened. So I cowashed it the next day with a protein based conditioner (which I will be reviewing soon) and the problem got even worse. Bingo!
Protein overload.
Symptoms of protein overload (in my experience):
- unusually dry hair
- brittle, hard hair
- easily tangled…may lead to breakage
To rectify my problem, I washed my hair again and used another deep conditioner, and left it in overnight. This fixed my problem and my hair is back to a healthy balance.
So what you can you do if you’ve got protein overload?
- Avoid protein based products
- Use a moisturizing DC to help restore balance to your hair
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I have to say this is the simplest way I’ve heard protein overload explained, without all the jargon. Great job, even I know what protein overload is now
What did or do you recommend as a moisturizing DC?
PS. I love your blog. I don’t think I’ve ever commented but I lurk!
S23, thanks for reading! Check out the Products I Love section for DC suggestions.
Oh my…LOL!! Sounds like you go through a lot of stuff to take care of your hair. I don’t have the time or desire, LOL..but you swim too, so that may be the reason why you do all that you do.