Need a Hair Protein Treatment? (4 Ways to Promote Healthy Hair Growth)

For the longest time, I assumed that the only way to prevent my hair from breaking was to smother it in moisture.

When I was younger, I suffered from breakage. No matter what I did, my hair would always break, and my split ends would be ridiculous.

I tried everything from hot oil treatments to hair conditioning masks, but nothing seemed to work except for some protective styles like wigs. What I didn’t know or understand was that my hair was severely lacking the proper protein levels.

It wasn’t until I had gotten a little older that I figured out the importance of protein and how it could help my hair. When I did my first ever protein treatment, there was a massive difference in my hair.

My ends weren’t as split, and the overall look of my hair was much bouncier. 🤩

After the protein treatment, my hair stayed moisturized for much longer than usual.

I found that I only had to moisturize every so often during the week, but nothing more than that.

After discovering protein treatments, I realized the importance of protein when it comes to keeping hair healthy, balanced, and nourished.

We’re going to talk all about hair protein treatments and why they’re so important.

What Is a Protein Treatment?

Protein is essential when it comes to hair, nails, and skin.

Protein is used to build tissue cells that help keep your hair healthy and growing.

Typically, your hair is made up of 80-85% of a protein called keratin.

When your hair doesn’t have the proper keratin, it can become brittle and fall out.

Your hair will suffer from breakage without an adequate amount of keratin. There are plenty of protein treatments available to use.

Some of them need to be done by a professional, and others can be done from home.

A protein treatment works by nourishing the outside of hair and strengthening strands externally to help prevent breakage.

Protein treatments are made to add more protein to your hair, but they can only do so much. A protein treatment works best when it is combined with healthy eating habits and great dietary protein supplements.

Protein treatments usually vary depending on the damage to your hair. We’ll talk more about which degree of protein treatment is necessary for which kind of damage like hair heat damage.

It’s important to choose wisely based on your level of damage and your hair type.

Your hair type is going to be different from others, and you won’t want to follow just any kind of regimen.

Do You Need a Protein Treatment?

There are plenty of different reasons to get a protein treatment.

Some people get treatment because they want to, and others get a protein treatment because it is necessary.

A protein treatment isn’t required when your hair is relatively healthy and undamaged.

In a scenario such as this one, you would only get a protein treatment every few months. Doing this would keep your hair healthy, but since it’s not damaged, you don’t want to overdo it.

It’s important to know your hair type and the kind of hair damage that you’re suffering from before actually choosing to get a protein treatment.

A professional may be able to help you, but if you don’t have time to visit one, then you can easily find all the information that you need to get started.

Doing the proper research is necessary so that you don’t damage your hair even further by getting a protein treatment that you don’t need or that your hair can’t handle.

Let’s talk about the ways to check to see if you need a protein treatment to promote hair growth.

And you can always go with some bundles with frontals to protect your hair throughout bad phases and damage.

Consult with a Hairstylist

Consulting with a hairstylist or a professional is always my first go-to option when I’m attempting to figure out the best treatment for my hair.

The hairstylist that you choose should be someone that you trust. Sometimes, selecting a hairstylist can be difficult because you want to make sure you are leaving the health of your hair in the right hands.

In most situations, a hairstylist will provide a free consultation where they will assess your damage and let you know what the best course is moving forward.

When you meet with your hairstylist, let them know that you’re interested in getting a hair protein treatment.

Ask them about anything that you’re unsure of. Let them know that you’re particularly interested in knowing what your hair type is and how badly damaged your hair is.

Your hairstylist should let you know what kind of protein treatment you should get and how often you should get them.

Consulting with a professional has been the best decision for my hair because there was so much that I didn’t know, especially about hair treatments like protein and rice water and how they could help me.

Assess Your Hair Damage

Before you can give yourself the proper treatment, you’ll need to assess the damage to your hair.

As mentioned before, it’s vital that you know what your hair type is and how badly your hair damage.

There are a few ways to do the proper assessment for your hair type. There are two generic ways to test the damage to your hair. One way is a strand test. A strand test is relatively straightforward.

To do a strand test, you’ll take a strand of your hair, wet it with water, and stretch it. If it bounces right back after you pull it, then your hair is likely healthy and balanced.

If pieces of your hair come out after stretching, then your hair is likely damaged and needs treatment.

Usually, if your hair is weak, easily tangled, limp, or stringy, then you do need treatment.

Symptoms like this indicate that your hair needs protein and more moisture. The general ways of checking for damage are for people with only lightly damaged hair. Hair that is moderately to severely damaged will look very different.

Somewhat to severely damaged hair will show up as split ends. This kind of damage will also make your hair look super dry, rough, and dull. Also, your hair will be reasonably difficult to comb through.

Your hair is considered severely damaged when the natural pattern of your hair is almost entirely lost, even when your hair is wet.

It is essential to know what kind of damage you’re dealing with so that you can choose the right product.

After figuring out what kind of damage you’re suffering from, you can take a look at this list of tips and products that’ll help you get your protein back to normal.

Change Your Dietary Routine

Your dietary habits affect your hair in ways that can be overlooked, but what you consume can significantly affect the health of your hair.

The different things that you eat can create dryness, dullness, and brittle ends. If you’re willing to change your habits, you should try incorporating foods that have nourishing vitamins like vitamin E.

Also, it is important to incorporate more protein into your diet. Foods such as eggs, meats, and nuts can help both the health of your hair and the health of your body.

The most significant natural tool you can utilize is water. Incorporating more water into your diet can drastically improve the health of your hair.

When your hair is lacking protein, it leads to your hair lacking moisture. What better way to add moisture than drinking and enjoying more water?

A combination of water and a healthy, balanced diet should assist you tremendously with bringing your hair more protein.

Take Supplements

Hair supplements are a great way to increase protein in your hair.

There are plenty of different supplements on the market, but it’s crucial that you be careful about the ones that you choose.

Hair supplements can often have adverse effects, so you should choose the most natural and organic brands. There are a variety of different supplement types that can help. My favorite kind of supplement is the Whey brand.

Whey makes a protein powder that helps with skin, hair, and overall health. Be careful of brands that state they have biotin.

Biotin is fantastic for hair, nails, and skin, but too much of it can have adverse effects, especially when it is often taken.

Products that contain keratin can be extremely beneficial as well, but be mindful since your body already produces keratin.

Overall, hair supplements can be helpful for the protein in your hair.

Some Great Protein Treatment Products

No, it’s important to be mindful of the fact that most protein products can be pricey.

However, the benefit is that protein products, such as masks for hair, aren’t meant to be used often.

They typically last a while before running out. Products that can help with the lack of protein in your hair care are products such as hair masks, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, or a shampoo and conditioner combo.

One of the most popular brands is the “Bee Mine” moisturizing deep conditioner. It retails at $19 and is a miracle in a bottle.

This product is made of mostly organic ingredients such as shea butter, organic coconut oil, and cupuaçu butter.

However, even with all this packed in it, it doesn’t weigh on the strands. Another amazing brand is the “Carol’s Daughter” softening hair mask. It absorbs excess oil while also conditioning the strands of your hair.

The product costs about $16 and can be found at most local drugstores. It also smells amazing. Tresemmé also has a fantastic hair mask that replenishes the hair by infusing coconut milk and aloe vera to soften up your brittle strands.

Shea Moisture also has some amazing hair products, but they’ve been critiqued for the heaviness of their products.

There are so many brands out there, so choose what you feel is best for you and your hair journey.

DIY Protein Treatments

The fantastic thing about incorporating more protein into your hair care is that you can make an amazing protein mask at home.

By using the ingredients right in your own home, you can take the first step to healing your damaged hair.

There are so many DIY options, but I’ll tell you my top three. The egg hair mask is one of the oldest hair care rituals. To do an egg mask, you take the egg, whip it up, and apply it to your hair and scalp.

Let it sit for half an hour, and then wash it off with a mild shampoo. It is simple, comfortable, and cost-effective.

Eggs are rich in fat and protein and good for moisturizing the scalp. Another favorite of mine is a coconut oil and almond milk hair mask.

For this man, you’ll mix coconut oil, almond milk, and some egg white to create a lightweight hair mash.

Keep it on for about an hour and wash it off with cold to lukewarm water. My third favorite is the milk and honey mask, which is an infamous mask that helps both the hair and the skin.

These ingredients mixed work a miracle on brittle and damaged hair. You’ll apply this one much like the other ones.

Let it sit for about 15 minutes, and then wash it off. All of the masks mentioned above work wonders on damaged hair and are extremely cost-effective.

If you need more information on DIY masks, you can easily find everything you need online or through tutorial videos.

Remember This!

Your hair already creates the necessary protein for your hair to be healthy.

However, sometimes, our hair can lack protein, which causes brittleness, dullness, and breakage. It’s important to assess your damage before choosing to do a protein treatment.

Consult with a physician if you can and ask them the necessary questions to get your healthy hair journey started.

You can buy products that can build your protein, or you can create a DIY product.

Both ways can help you with the amount of protein in your hair. 👍🏿

You don’t want to use too much protein because it can be damaging to your hair and cause your hair to become hard.

The best thing to do is make sure you know how badly damaged your hair is, choose the right products, and test them on your hair.

After the first treatment, you should see a noticeable difference in your hair!

You can also go with Braided Wigs to protect your style or change your hair color with Burgundy Body Wave Bundles.