http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showthread.php?t=84746
Protein and Moisture
Scenario 1: Kim's hair is breaking like crazy and feels like a brillo pad. Every time she touches it, pieces seem to just pop right off. Snap, crackle, pop. Combing is impossible without tons of little hairs covering her sink and back. Her hair feels hard and rough even when wet. She's given it protein treatments because the product says its supposed to stop breakage in its tracks and rebuild the hair, but so far nothing is working and her problem is getting worse.
Scenario 2: Trina's hair is breaking like crazy as well. Her hair feels dry, looks dull, and is very weak. Her hair is too weak to withstand simple combing. It feels extra stretchy when wet and almost follows the comb as she pulls through to detangle. She has deep conditioned and done hot oil treatments on her hair once a week. Since her breakage began, she?s stepped up the conditioning but her problem has gotten worse.
Both of these women have issues with breakage, but the solutions to their individual problems require two very different approaches. Before you go shopping for your hair care product arsenal, you must understand the difference between protein and moisture and what they mean for your hair. Protein and moisture are the key cornerstones of great hair care. Maintaining a proper balance between these two entities is critical for the healthiest hair growth possible. The two scenarios above perfectly illustrate what happens when the balance between protein and moisture is tipped too far in either direction. This section will teach you to effectively recognize the difference between protein based and moisture based problems and help you can organize your hair regimen to effectively combat these issues as the arise.
Protein
Protein is what gives the hair its strength and structure. Hair is about 70% keratin protein by nature. Protein is found most prevalently in products like instant conditioners (bargain brands like Suave and V05), leave in conditioners, protein conditioner treatments, and even some moisturizers.
Moisturizers
Moisturizers are products that are water-based and nourish your hair deep within the strand. Water is the ultimate moisturizer so waterbased products are best for really getting the best moisture benefit. Products with moisturizing properties tend to be your conditioners and other water-based products. Moisturizers may also be protein-based, but these protein based moisturizers do not have the moisturizing benefit that moisture-based moisturizers have. Good moisturizers will not contain ingredients like petrolatum, mineral oil, or lanolin. These are cheap product fillers. Be wary of products that claim moisturizing benefits and contain these ingredients. There is nothing moisturizing about them! Petrolatum and mineral oil are sealants and have the potential to suffocate the hair and scalp and seal out the moisture it needs.
Sealing in your Moisturizers:
Our hair naturally contains moisture, but because our hair is also naturally porous, keeping the moisture inside is a difficult task. Sources of outside moisture, or external moisture supplementation, are a must for black hair. Water molecules and moisture from these supplemental moisturizing products easily pass into the hair shaft, but they pass out just as easily. The moisture you apply needs to held in by something. Oil.
A light coating of oil on top will help seal the moisture inside. Oils are made of large molecules. These molecules are too large to absorbed by the hair strand. Applying oils to the hair and scalp will coat them and trap moisture that is inside on the inside and moisture that is outside on the outside. The key is to lock in the moisture within the strands with your oil. If you use oils without a moisturizer or before one, the oil will seal the moisture out of the hair strand and lead to eventual dryness. This technique of moisturizing and sealing has really been helpful to me and is a resonating hallmark of my regimen. Moisturizing success is all in the order in which you apply your products.
REMEMBER! Oils DO NOT Moisturize.
Perhaps a words like "nourish" would be better than moisturize. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me to recommend a good oil that moisturizes, I would be rich! Oil alone will not and cannot moisturize within the hair shaft. An oil can only coat the outside of the strand, and give it shine- the illusion of moisture. Again, the molecules that make oil are much too large to penetrate through all of the cuticle layers. The cuticle layers can be as few as 6 layers or many as 15 or more layers thick. Oil molecules are
hydro-phobic which means they repel and do not readily mix with water. Remember, if you apply an oil product to your hair before you have added a moisturizing product, you have created a seal on your hair strand that water and moisture cannot penetrate.
