Protein Sensitivity Dominican Hair Alliance

Protein Sensitive? 3 Alternatives For Strong Hair

by DHA's DIY | Jun 22, 2022 | Conditioning, Protein Sensitivity, Protein Sensitive Hair

Protein loss is the main source of damage to the hair.

Replacing these natural keratins with protein-based conditioners is the usual option for restoring some of that strength.

But what if proteins leave your hair feeling frazzled?

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Protein sensitive. . .

Protein sensitive, one of the many neologisms coined on the hair forums, describes hair that reacts badly to protein-based products. Typically, the hair will show some stiffening and, in the worst cases, even take on strawlike, brittle state. Why exactly it occurs is not 100% clear. Sometimes, the problem can be traced to overuse: typically protein products work by depositing small particles into holes in the hair shaft left by damage. Using too much at once, not cleansing it effectively or using the product too frequently, runs the risk of creating buildup, as layer after jagged layer of the protein residue accumulate on the hair shaft.

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In some cases, however, people notice their hair responds negatively to protein products even without having used them excessively and after applying them only on clarified hair.

If this happens often enough and with different products containing protein, it’s likely a case of incompatibility between the hair and the ingredient type.

Some hair does not take kindly to products being left on its surface, particularly protein-based ingredients which tend to have a natural stiffness to them.

Still, proteins are touted as a requisite of good haircare, and work for the vast majority of people, so it can be hard to see how – even when protein products are unsatisfactory – just where you will get the much vaunted-strengthening benefits. The good news is that the replenishing and resiliency that make protein treatments so sought after can be found in other kinds of treatments and products.

Polysaccharides: Protein Sensitive Alternative #1

While proteins are chains of amino acids, polysaccharides, which include starches, are chains of sugars. These natural polymers can also imbue strength to your tresses, by working in exactly the same way the proteins do: filling in gaps on your hair’s surface left by damage, and in some cases, leaving a protective film over the hair which insulates it against further harm.

While they work similarly, many people who do not do well with proteins find their hair flourishes with polysaccharides. Popular haircare ingredients containing natural polysaccharides include kelp, marshmallow root extract, aloe vera and flax seed gel.

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Coconut oil: Protein Sensitive Alternative #2 protein sensitive Protein sensitive

One of the few oils that can actually penetrate the hair, coconut oil has been clinically proven to protect against protein loss from the inside out. It takes several hours to actually get deep into the hair shaft, but once it does, coconut oil crosslinks to the hair’s natural keratins holding them in place. Try a pretreatment with this oil to get maximum benefits, since it takes so long to penetrate.

Because of coconut oil’s dramatic strengthening powers, some protein-sensitive folk presume that it contains protein and avoid it for that reason. This is a mistake: as an oil, coconut oil is 100% lipid: it contains no protein whatsoever. When it comes to boosting your hair’s strength, oils have several advantages over protein.e

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Water: Protein Sensitive Alternative #3

While protein treatments vary in how effectively they build up your hair’s strength, none can match the work of water – studies have shown that strands with the proper levels of moisture are up to 300% stronger!

Many women who have little luck with proteins are able to cut them out of their haircare regimen completely, by making sure they keep their hair well-moisturised.

Please remember, though, that the strength derives from the moisture levels within your hair when it is “dry”. Keeping the hair wet all the time means keeping it in a weak state and is thus counterproductive.

If you plan on going the moisture-only route and not replacing the protein with another strengthener, it is vital that you keep up your routine for optimal hydration. Layer your products to make sure your hair is kept insulated and stick to the conditioners that make your hair the smoothest and most flexible.

By keeping tabs on your elasticity, and maintaining hydration at healthy levels, you can ensure that your hair is as resilient as can be, without having to rely on proteins.

Image credits:

Kevin Larson
The Argonne National Laboratory
Andraes Guerrero
Rene Schweitzke

Can I Use Oils on Protein Sensitive Hair? It’s Simple . . .

by DHA's DIY | Apr 4, 2022 | Protein Sensitivity, Oils, Uncategorized

Can oils contain protein? Are there oils that protein-sensitive hair should not touch?

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Having trouble separating the hair hysteria from real haircare advice? read below. . .

Oils on Protein Sensitive Hair:

What really has protein in it?

After finding out you have protein-sensitive hair, one of the first things you get sick of is the restrictive diet of products you now have to adhere to, all for the good of your hair. But in addition to the proteins, there is something else you really ought to steer clear of: the widespread misconception as to what products actually contain protein.

First off: oils are 100% fat. They contain no protein. Here’s an example of what a protein molecule looks like. Next to it is a fat molecule:

The basic structure of fats is three fatty acids (a combination of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen) attached to a glycerol backbone. Proteins, in contrast, are made from a combination of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen atoms (in the case of hair protein, there’s some sulphur in there, too). Plus, complex proteins like keratin have four different structural levels, from the basic sequence of amino acids, to the folding of the molecule itself.

In short, very different things. Bar contamination (unlikely to be at a high enough concentration to affect even the most Princess-and-the-Pea type hair) your bottle of oil is not going to contain protein, even if that oil comes from a protein-rich fruit. Like one of these:

Can I Use Shea Butter Oil on Protein Sensitive Hair

Can I Use Coconut Oil on Protein Sensitive Hair

Can I Use almond Oil on Protein Sensitive Hair

So feel free to experiment with oils like macadamia, almond and coconut oil; although they are derived from fruits with protein in them, they themselves are protein-free. (Coconut is not even that concentrated a source of protein, by the way). If you do find that your hair is not compatible with these oils, it’s not because of protein. The real answer is probably something a lot more nebulous and a lot less satisfactory: Every head of hair is different and will thus react differently to different products for different reasons.

And there’s another reason not to eschew certain oils because of anti-protein hysteria: Even if your hair can’t stand proteins, you probably still need the reinforcement proteins give. You just have to get it from somewhere else. Certain oils can provide some strength-enhancing benefits, and, in some cases, largely replace the use of proteins.

Coconut oil and olive oil in particular have been proven to strengthen the hair from the inside out, whereas protein treatments, because of the size of the molecules, work only on the outside of the hair shaft – they’re just too big to get inside. (Amino acids, the basic components of proteins are a little different, due to their small size.)

Dominican Hair Alliance Protein Sensitive Hair

If you can’t use additional proteins, and your hair needs strength, then you really need to be holding on to the natural proteins you already have – the keratin your hair is made from. Olive and coconut oil help with that by actually preventing protein loss. And don’t forget – hair is not only made of protein. Lipids – oils and fats – are naturally present in the hair, and have their role to play in keeping the hair strong, too.

So protein-sensitive heads can benefit greatly from leaving in these lipids overnight (the oils take long to penetrate) on a regular basis, to get the protection they offer from the cuticle down to the cortex.

And don’t sleep on oils that don’t permeate the hair shaft, either. Part of the role of the naturally-occurring lipids on the surface of your strands is to confer strength, a job with which these non-penetrating oils can assist.

The moral of the story. . .

Just because your hair spurns protein-rich products, does not mean you have to shun the oils derived from them, too. These separate substances are protein-free and can have a lot to offer your hair, particularly if you can’t benefit from the heavy-duty protection proteins provide.

Image Credits

|Jeff Carson |Wikimedia Commons| G W Fabian |Healthalicious |Tobias Myrstrand Leander|

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