Thanks for the help,
@kodochax.
Here's my history with protein.
Before last year, I'd never HEARD of needing protein for the hair, much less a protein-moisture balance.
Oh I completely get this naturals push deep conditioning and being protein free all the time, which sucked for me because I kept trying to figure out wth my hair was like a rock even after deep conditioning for hours on end. I would moisturize my hair at 8am and it would be dry again by noon, and I never even left my house. LOC, LCO, LOCO, LCB. None of that crap worked for me. My steamer is in the corner of my room collecting dust.
I was scared to use protein. So I baby-stepped it by starting out trying AO GPB (shampoo and conditioner).
No hydrolyzed proteins, the people who raved about this were probably low porosity. As a general rule of thumb, if a low porosity person can use it on a regular basis it's not strong enough for me.
Next I tried a Nutress protein pack (from Sally's, because it has almost universal good reviews).
Good one, I've never got around to trying this myself ( it's on my list tho). It has hydrolyzed vegetable protein, do you remember how your hair felt after using this?
The last protein treatment I gave myself was the SM 10-in-1 masque.
Hydrolyzed rice protein and all the way at the bottom of the list. Probably wouldn't do much for you.
Oh, Lordt. I don't know WHAT happened, but I DC'd with that SM 10-in-1 masque overnight, and the next morning I did not recognize my hair. It went from naturally hanging similar to my avatar to becoming completely shrunken up. It was like I had someone else's hair. I had to start all over learning how it felt, how to style it, how to detangle it, etc. My hair felt very strong, but not like my hair at all.
Your hair just didn't like the combination of ingredients it's happened to me before, shea moisture works for some but I find all their masks to be sub par. Don't let this scare you away from using protein. The protein is so far down the list it couldn't have been that.
Since then, the only protein I've put on it is the protein in my DevaCurl Decadence No Poo and One Condition.
Good choice, these have hydrolyzed quinoa and as far as I know hydrolyzed quinoa has the ability to penetrate the hair strand and it's up in the list so this is good to use on a regular basis.
I have no idea if the way my hair looked after the SM 10-in-1 masque is what my hair looks like when healthy . . . or if that was an over-proteinization. I'm still waiting for it to loosen back up and unfurl again and be my hair again.
Definitely not, my hair gets softer, stronger and my coils clump more whenever I do a protein treatment.
I am totally confused.
Also: I never got that wonderful rave feeling with AO GPB that everyone was always talking about. I just kept using it every time I felt like my hair might be under-proteinized and thus close to starting to break.