Conditioning Your Hair 102: The Moisture-Protein Balance

I covered the purpose and types of conditioners in Conditioning Your Hair 101.  A big component of maintaining well moisturized hair is providing your hair with the proper balance of moisture and protein.  This is much more difficult to access then is sometimes presented in most online resources.  The truth is, “we” (hair obsessed bloggers) can attempt to explain how to tell if you need moisture versus protein for hours on end, in post after post, but the bottom line is you have to learn your hair.  Two of the best written articles on this topic are by Audrey Davis-Sivasothy (also author of The Science of Black Hair):

Note that the first article was published in 2007 at the infancy of most Black hair forums, when the term healthy hair journey was relatively new and the products catering to growing Black hair were not as prevalent.  I honestly think this whole online hair community (forums, bloggers, social networks, YouTube) has forced manufacturers to step their game up in meeting our haircare needs.  I point that out because when I first began my journey (2009), everyone was trying to rotate their products to find the perfect moisture-protein balance.  Women were obsessed with ingredient reading and if a product contained any hydrolyzed, amino acid or silk anything they quickly categorized it as a protein product.  The search was constantly on to find products that were “purely moisturizing.”  I cannot tell you how many threads and posts I’ve read inquiring for conditioners that contain absolutely no protein.

Well, I fell into that trap and every wash tried to determine if my hair needed moisture or protein.  How often should I use the ApHogee 2 Minute Reconstructor?  How frequently should I a hard protein treatment like ApHogee 2 Step Protein Treatment?  In between those times, I moisturized like a mad-woman: co-washes, baggying, and using products that contained no protein at all.  Every wash, I’d grab a shed hair and stretch it.  Oh no! Its way too stretchy! I’d frantically grab for my ApHogee products.  Oh no, now it’s snapping too quickly and brittle!  Then I’d follow with a moisturizing conditioner and baggy overnight.  Well, that was exhausting for me!!!  I hated trying to find the proper balance and tracking what products I used and when.  Three years later and now I let the products do the work for me.  My regimen consists of products that contain the right amount of moisture and protein for my hair.  Mostly everything I use contains both:  Kerapro for dry to very dry hair (shampoo, conditioner, and elixir), ApHogee Keratin & Green Tea, and Bee Mine Balanced Cream Moisturizer.  My hair is thriving!!! The only time I use specific moisture or protein products are the washes before and directly following a relaxer (see my regimen).  It has taken the guesswork out of my weekly washes and my hair is thriving.

How to Reverse Protein Overload.