Moisture or Protein? Before I wet my hair...

[C@ssandr@]

Ladies, how do you tell if you need to moisturize or proteinize (ok I made that up...) wtihout doing a wet strand test? I'm due for my DC and i'm not sure. And since I prefer to DC on dry/damp hair how can I tell first?
TIA!

 

[C@ssandr@]

Bump...
So everyone here wets their hair first??

 

[Ms. Feliz]

I wet mine first after I shampoo, then I can determine what DC I need (moisture or protein). I think it's best to do it when it's wet because when my hair is dry it doesn't stretch the same as it does when it's wet. Sometimes I'll think my hair is okay and then I get in the shower and I can stretch strands like there's no tomorrow.

 

[Khaiya]

Sometimes even dry my hair feels kinda soft and mushy so i know i need a protein treatment, at other times, the least bit of combing has it snapping and popping so i know yup, need some moisture cause there's no elasticity. Other than that.....i have to wet it. You can tell sometimes when its dry if it feels brittle or hard. Hope you figure something out.

 

[PPGbubbles]

everyones hair is different! getting to know your moisture protien balance takes time

for instance I shed very lil and have almost no breakage at wash time. Last wash I saw a lot of long strands so I thought I was shedding more and.... I was thinking "wow this conditioner made my hair soft"

but something told me to look back at the strands... and I didnt see a bulb at the end of a lot of them.... for me super soft hair and breakage= a need for protein

I did an aphogee 2 step treatment follow my a moisture DC with ABO WC and now my hair is still "soft" but strong (if that makes sense) and the breakage stopped....

It took me about a year to learn MY moisture protein balance. I know that I can do a deep protein every 2 1/2 to 3 month and keep mainly moisture conditioners in between. or my hair will get that stiff hay feeling.

It took me a year or more to "learn" what my hair needs

 

[Fhrizzball]

I thought doing the strand test where you take a shed hair and stretch it and wait for it to snap apart tells your balance?

 

[PinkAngel]

When my hair feels rough and dry while dry, I know I need moisture. It's usually easier for me to tell when I need protein while my hair is wet though.

 

[C@ssandr@]

Thanks for the responses. I'll probably spritz and dampen my hair to get a better idea. I'm pretty sure I'm protein deprived though...

 

[sharifeh]

what if you take a shed hair, wet it and strand test that? is that too ghetto?

 

[C@ssandr@]

what if you take a shed hair, wet it and strand test that? is that too ghetto?

Doesn't sound ghetto to me...

 

[Barbie83]

everyones hair is different! getting to know your moisture protien balance takes time

for instance I shed very lil and have almost no breakage at wash time. Last wash I saw a lot of long strands so I thought I was shedding more and.... I was thinking "wow this conditioner made my hair soft"

but something told me to look back at the strands... and I didnt see a bulb at the end of a lot of them.... for me super soft hair and breakage= a need for protein

I did an aphogee 2 step treatment follow my a moisture DC with ABO WC and now my hair is still "soft" but strong (if that makes sense) and the breakage stopped....

It took me about a year to learn MY moisture protein balance. I know that I can do a deep protein every 2 1/2 to 3 month and keep mainly moisture conditioners in between. or my hair will get that stiff hay feeling.

It took me a year or more to "learn" what my hair needs

Thank you for that! Because I'm still clueless on this. I just do a light protein DC followed by a moisture DC once a week, just to cover all bases. It seems to be working, but I wish I knew my hair a little better.

 

[Ms. Feliz]

Thank you for that! Because I'm still clueless on this. I just do a light protein DC followed by a moisture DC once a week, just to cover all bases. It seems to be working, but I wish I knew my hair a little better.

What would a light protein be? I was thinking of using eggs, but I don't know if that's more on the hard protein side or not.

 

[sharifeh]

Thank you for that! Because I'm still clueless on this. I just do a light protein DC followed by a moisture DC once a week, just to cover all bases. It seems to be working, but I wish I knew my hair a little better.

Same, I'm clueless about protein moisture balance. It seems my hair doesn't respond well to protein but I'm relaxed so that confuses me.

What would a light protein be? I was thinking of using eggs, but I don't know if that's more on the hard protein side or not.

I'm not sure. I've heard people say it was both.

 

[joib]

I am having the same problems with trying to figure this out. What does my hair need ? It seems like every time I run my fingers through my hair I am pulling out long strands with no bulbs. I use moisture products a lot so I don't think that is the problems. Should I be doing a hard protein treatment every 2-3 months?

 

[sharifeh]

op, how did that go?

 

[HairBarbie]

For some reason I always thought I had to use protein semi-frequently even when my hair didn't need it to balance my moisture-protein balance. But I just realized that my hair does better when I use protein once a month of every 6 weeks. My hair hates protein, it took me forever and many breakage to figure that out.

For now I'm just going to keep using moisture and when my hair gets too soft/mushy, I will incorporate protein.

 

[HairBarbie]

What would a light protein be? I was thinking of using eggs, but I don't know if that's more on the hard protein side or not.

Motion CPR is good for a moderate protein, wouldn't cause protein overload. If you want to use eggs and are concerned about it being hard protein, just mix it with a moisturizing conditioner before putting it on your hair.