Proteins don't work?

[Mahars]

I found this article on Beauty Brains. It's interesting because it gives a take on proteins I've never heard before. It essentially says that proteins don't stick to hair at all, and that their effectiveness as a hair conditioner is just a big beauty myth.

http://thebeautybrains.com/2007/01/1...mere-proteins/

[Gumball]

Either way my hair hates protein so I'm still in the gold going without them. Interesting article. I guess I'm not devoted to sexy products!

[jeno]

My hair hates proteins too! It took a while before I realised that it was the proteins that caused build-up.

[Elle]

My hair doesn't like proteins, but I'm not so sure that they flat out don't work. I tried Joico K-PAK once and it re-texturized my hair like nobody's business! It felt sooo soft, smooth and sleek like never before. The problem was that it only worked once. I tried using it again a week later and it made my hair rough. I tried once again a month later and had the same rough results. Since this was years ago, perhaps I should give it a try again. Maybe reconstructors/proteins are only good for my hair once a year.

[savi]

I wish I knew more about chemistry to answer this. However the site didn't claim proteins to be completely useless, simply stated them to be tricky and not too moisturizing. A hard ingredient to use. In a way I do believe they do atleast something because over using them can make hair hard and crunchy, and using them every now and then , at least on me re-texturirizes hair. Which reminds me Elle, maybe your hair simply doesn't need protein, it's virgin so it doesn't have the same amount of damage as for instance, well, me.
My point being, I think they work, maybe not as well as I thought but still.

Oh and then there is the question keratin versus vegetable based proteins...
Like from cheese.

[redcelticcurls]

From a curly perspective, I find that it is more common for a fine haired curly to like proteins and for a coarse haired curly to hate them, especially if they are not using shampoo. There are always exceptions of course.

My hair hates them in any way shape or form, no matter how low down on the ingredient list it is.

[Mahars]

I wonder if it didn't work for people with healthy hair because the cuticle isn't roughed up enough to let the protein in. My hair is very porous from chemical treatments and flat ironing, and it seems to like products with protein. I wonder if porous hair is more able to use it but on healthy hair it builds up and causes crunchiness. Just a thought.

[harley mama]

I have tried protein treatments a few times. It makes my hair big and frizzy. Maybe I should go back to using them. I miss my big, frizzy hair days!

[redcelticcurls]

I wonder if it didn't work for people with healthy hair because the cuticle isn't roughed up enough to let the protein in. My hair is very porous from chemical treatments and flat ironing, and it seems to like products with protein. I wonder if porous hair is more able to use it but on healthy hair it builds up and causes crunchiness. Just a thought.

I wondered that too. But, I color treat and use a diffuser to blowdry and still cannot use protein. Weird.

[Shermie Girl]

My hair loooves protein. Always has. Slurps it up and begs for more. I always use protein with moisture and get wonderful results.

Protein, like anything else hair related is very YMMV. Perhaps that website and others like it need to remember that.