How to Tell If Your Curly Hair Needs Protein

Types of Proteins for Your Hair.
Proteins come in all shapes and sizes, and can penetrate your hair in different ways. This means not all protein treatments or protein producs are created equal.

For a long time, in the beginning of my curly hair journey, I thought my curly hair hated protein. Every time I used a product with protein my hair felt very crispy and frizzy. Then I learned that perhaps I was using the wrong types of proteins for my hair. The aha moment led me to create the perfect curly hair protein cream product...but more on that later.

The first thing that may come to mind when thinking of protein treatments for your hair is using eggs. In reality, eggs will do nothing to strengthen the interior of your hair shaft because the proteins are too big to penetrate. Instead, egg will sit on the outer most layer of your hair until you wash it off.

The most common types of proteins are hydrolyzed. These are natural proteins that are broken in size so that they are the correct molecular size to penetrate the hair shaft. You'll notice them on ingredient labels because they will always start with the word hydrolyzed.

Another type of protein is amino acids. These are the smallest type of protein and will penetrate your hair shaft the deepest.

How do I know if my curls need protein?
Okay, the question you really came for. How do you know if your curls need protein?

Let me start off by saying that all hair needs some protein. But, if your curls are craving those good 'ol protein products they will surely communicate that to you.

Keep reading for the 6 ways to tell if your curls need protein.

If Your Curly Hair Is Damaged

Damaged hair leads to highly porous curls (aka high porosity hair). High porosity hair will have excessive holes, tears, and gaps in the hair shaft. These excess "pores" causes the hair to absorb and release moisture faster than normal. This normally leads to frizzy, tangled hair that often appears dry and dull.

How do you know if your curly hair is high porosity? A quick and easy way is to notice how quickly your hair gets wet and how quickly it dries. If your hair tends to get satiated quickly and dries quickly, you most likely have high porosity hair. You may also have high porosity hair is you tend to use heat, chemicals, or bleach your hair.

Proteins will help to strengthen your strands and fill in the gaps. They will also nourish the hair with vital proteins to help seal those gaps and create a stronger canvas for styling.

If Your Curls Don't Spring or Bounce like They Used to

Loss of elasticity in your curly hair is a top sign that it needs protein. How can you tell if your hair is elastic or not? Simple! Take a few strands of your wet hair (still attached to your head), and stretch the hair. You will know the strands are balanced if the hair bounces back to its original length without breaking.

If the strands don't bounce back and/or look limp it signifies that your hair needs a protein boost. When you boost your hair's protein levels, it improves its elasticity, which makes your hair bouncier, full of life, and easier to style.

If Your Hair Has Been Colored Recently

Substances like hair dye, bleach, and other treatments are made with chemicals that can alter the hair's bonds by raising the pH of your hair and cause the cuticles to rise. This leads to damage, which leads to high porosity hair.

High porosity hair will lead to loss of proteins and moisture, which can lead to breakage. Protein rich products will help fill in some of the holes caused by the damage, to allow your curls to maintain more moisture for a longer period of time.

If Your Hair Feels Gummy or Sticky

When your hair loses its natural feel, especially when it feels gummy or sticky, it means that the internal support system of your hair could be having a problem. Such scenarios arise when your hair is chemically processed frequently or if your hair has suffered an excessive amount of damage.

A weak support system of your hair means its texture changes and gives off an unpleasant feeling. Therefore, you need protein to help reconstruct your hair's support system and give life back to your strands.

If You Have Dry, Brittle Hair

If your hair is losing water too quickly, this could due to a lack of protein. People will often seek an oil or deep conditioning treatment to remedy dryness, but unless the hair has protein to seal in the moisture, these options won't give you the desired result.

If Your Hair Looks Stringy and Limp

When your hair is stringy, flat, or limp, that is a sign that it needs protein. Normal hair should be durable and full, so you should look out when it starts to droop.

Adding protein back into the hair will revitalize your strands and get them to a healthier state. You may think that your hair needs a bit of hair styling product to bring it back to life, but this practice significantly compromises the health of your hair. Layering more products on weak hair will weigh it down, causing it to look stringy.

The Solution
If you're experiencing any of the above symptoms, your hair is in need of some protein as soon as possible. The easiest thing. to do is to rotate in some protein heavy products during your next wash day.

We recommend using the Miribel Naturals Powerhouse Protein Cream to help quench your hair's protein need and give your curls bounce, shine, and life back.

The Powerhouse Proteien Cream is full of proteins, with 2 protein sources in the first 6 ingredients. Ingredients include proteins like rice, wheat, and quinoa, with a boost of reparative ingredients like chia seed il and neptune kelp Extract help repair damaged hair.

This cream is also very concentrated, making it versatile in that you can use in in multiple parts of your wash day (rinse-out conditioner, leave-in conditioner, or protein treatement). It also means a little will go a long way.