In one of my previous blogs I wrote about protein vs moisture, but I didn’t dive deep into products. However, I had a lot of people ask soooooo here we go.

When it comes to your hair being healthy and making sure you have everything you need to really make it happy, we need to make sure we have a balance between moisture and protein. Now, don’t let your eyes glaze over, as I’m going to explain why. Don’t worry – I’ll keep short and to the point, but direct.

Your hair is made up of layers and if you checked it out under a microscope you’d see all the different layers (cortex, cuticle, and medulla). “What,” you may be asking yourself, “are those?” Well, the cortex is where all your nutrients, moisture, and protein is stored along with all the other good stuff. The cuticle is what protects all the makings of your hair and keeps it safe. It’s like the bodyguard! Until you stress that protective bodyguard out, causing part of the cuticle to chip away and making you lose much needed moisture and protien. The medulla isn’t important for the purposes of this blog, so we’ll skip it.

Check out my other blog that talks about all the parts of the hair.

When you lose layers of your cuticle it causes gaps between each layer that makes moisture and nutrients fall out. This causes protein chains in your hair to weaken, making your hair brittle and not very happy. That’s why I offer two great options in my salon:
B3 Bonder and Olaplex Treatments, which help replenish and repair the broken bonds, all while sealing in cuticle. You can also order Olaplex Step 3 online, which is an at-home care option.

With that being said, there are some great products out there for you to try out if you think you’re suffering from lack of protein/moisture. I specialize in Deva Curl, but I do know there are some great product lines out there that you can try – you just need to do some research.

Some ingredients you need to look for in hair products that are good for hair strands are:

• Fatty alcohol – Fatty alcohols are long-chain alcohols; some of these are natural and they can soften the hair which is great! You need to be looking for products that contain alcohols like cetyl, cetearyl, lauryl, stearyl, or myristyl alcohols. However, beware of short-chain alcohols (ethanol, ethyl, denatured, isopropyl, benzyl, etc.). These are alcohols that evaporate quickly (think if you’ve ever spilled rubbing alcohol, it evaporates very quickly) and they take moisture with them.
  
• Glycerin – It helps trap moisture, but if your hair is super dry you’re going to need to bring in reinforcements to really combat frizz.
  
• Protein – Just be careful! Too much of it can do some harm!
  
• Some oils are ok when used correctly. You don’t want to just coat your locks in pure coconut oil and expect it to be hydrated. Doesn’t work like that…

No Protein Deva Products

Cleansers

• One Conditioner Original (olive oil for softening that hair strand and other great hydrating properties)
• Low Poo OG (great for wavy hair cleanser with glycerin for added moisture)

Conditioners

• Heaven in Hair (wonderful hair mask for moisture)

Stylers

• Mister-Right (styling and refresher product)
• Frizz Free Foam (volume styler, used on wet hair)
• Set It Free (Added Moisture Lock for frizz prone hair)
• No comb Detangling (awesome detangler for tender scalps)
• Arc Angel (mid-strength gel with hydrating properties like chamomile)
• Beautiful Mess (texture pomade)
• Wave Maker (glycerin and moringa seed for added moisture)

Protein products that are safe for protein sensitive hair, but great for added moisture.

Masks

• Deep Sea Repair (has those great fatty alcohols)
• Melt Into Moisture (has more fatty alcohols)

Wash Day Products

• Wash Day Wonder (Pracaxi Oil in it, making it the best detangler in the world)
• Build Up Buster (pea protein, abyssinian seed oil and jojoba for moisture)
• Low-Poo Delight (rice protein for strenghtening, but great for wavy hair)
• One Conditioner Delight (rice protein, chia flaxseed and lotus flower for all the wavy girls)
• No-Poo Decedance (chufa milk and quinoa protein)
• One Conditioner Decedance (chufa milk and quinoa protein)
• No Poo OG (wheat proteins and glycerin)

Styling Products

• Supercream (hydrating coconut oil)
• Styling Cream (Jojoba Protein and Wheat Protein)
• Bleavin (has protein and glycerin)
• Ultra Defining Gel (wheat and soy proteins)
• The Curl Maker (sunflower, lemongrass, wheat and soy proteins)
• Light Defining Gel (Wheat and soy proteins)
• Flexible Hairspray (wheat protein and lavender)
• LeaveIn Decadence (has quinoa for added protein, Pequi Oil and Chufa Milk for hydration, leaving a weightless feel)

There you have it!

Now, go do some retail therapy and make your hair love you again with beautiful products.

P.S When doing a treatment add a cap over your hair so you can trap some natural heat in.