Protein Moisture Balance 101
Are you struggling with uncooperative hair despite trying to understand its porosity, oil it, and apply various treatments? The protein moisture balance test could be the solution you're looking for.
If you use only one type of product for your natural hair, there is no way your hair will look healthy, as it lacks other nutrients. That’s why protein moisture balance is so important.
How to do the Protein Moisture Balance Test?
If you haven’t already, find out your hair porosity to understand even more what kind of routine you should build for your hair.
The protein moisture balance test is really simple. It is best to do it on clean, dry hair without any product. I do it before every wash to determine which products I should use.
Take one hair strand: A clean, dry strand from your head.
Hold the hair strand between your thumb and index finger.
Gently pull on the hair strand from both ends.
Now, you need to observe your hair's reaction.
If the hair stretches out a lot before breaking, it probably needs more protein. Get protein-rich treatments or products, such as protein masks or conditioners.
If the hair breaks immediately, it needs more moisture. Look for moisturising treatments or products; deep-moisture masks do wonders for my hair.
If the hair stretches slightly and bounces back, that’s good; you’re balancing your hair accordingly. Yay!
How can I get protein and moisture in my routine?
First of all, eat a healthy diet. Hydrate yourself and eat nutritious foods! It’s good for your hair and your well-being, too.
Protein
Find products labelled with
Restructuring
Strengthening
Rebuilding
Repairing
You can also check ingredients and look for anything that has:
Amino acids
Protein
Hydrolysed
Collagen
Keratin
I have high-porosity fine hair. The cuticles of my hair strands are open, and my hair is losing nutrition fast. That’s why my hair needs protein to rebuild the hair strands.
One more tip - some proteins are stronger than others. Vegetable proteins like wheat, oats, milk, etc, are much stronger and more appropriate for high-porosity hair. Unlike amino acids, which are gentler and more appropriate for low-porosity hair.
Moisture
Products labelled with:
Deep moisture
Softening
Hydrating
No frizz, frizz-free
In the ingredients, you can find:
Coconut oil
Silicones
Panthenol
Cetearyl and cetyl alcohol
Mineral oils
But be aware that the number one moisturising ingredient is water. The ingredients above seal all the moisture in and add slip to the hair.
Still not sure what to use?
For starters, if all your products are only moisturising or protein-based, your hair will get an overload of moisture or protein. You need to balance it out.
In case of a protein overload, cleanse your hair with cleansing shampoo or ACV and get a deep moisturising hair mask.
In case of moisture overload, get a protein mask or anything with heavier proteins, which I mentioned above.
In my case, a hair mask was a good starter every time I experienced moisture or protein overload.
Conclusion
Try out different things and see what routine works best for you. Stop viewing haircare as a burden or something you have to do.
Enjoy it, and be grateful that you can do it because your hair is the crown you never take off. 💖
If you want to know more, feel free to read my scalp and hair health blog posts. Thank you for reading my blog!