By Audrey Sivasothy, author of The Science of Black Hair: A Comprehensive Guide to Textured Hair Care
Interestingly, overconditioning is not so much a problem among newbies, but rather among those who’ve been around hair care much longer. Now before I get into the meat of the discussion, let me preface my statements by giving the mandatory “what works for some, may not work for all” speech. Obviously overconditioning, and the product usage patterns that tend to encourage it, vary from person to person. There are no official normative standards here, and as with all things hair– the only hard fast rule is that there are no hard fast rules. “Too much” for one head may be “too little” for another, etc. Therefore, all suggestions and advice, including this article, should be taken with a grain of salt and weighed and evaluated against your unique situation. With that said, let’s talk overconditioning!
Out in the “real world” overconditioning, or “tipping too far” on the moisture side of the protein/moisture balance, is virtually rare. Most ladies who aren’t particularly into hair care rarely use true moisturizing hair products, and when they do-it’s often sparingly. When hair breakage problems arise, this group tends to reach for heavy protein reconstructors that clearly state that they are formulated to prevent breakage. Because most moisturizing products do not tout their breakage reduction or strengthening capabilities on their bottles and packaging, these ladies tend to skip them over when breakage problems arise. Later, when these ladies find their way onto hair forums around the web, they are typically instructed to reduce their use of proteins and increase their moisture levels. 99.9% of the time, this infusion of moisture and increase in washing and deep conditioning frequency stops the breakage and gets their hair growing and healthy.
The problem of overconditioning seems to arise once the individual has been indoctrinated into all things hair. By now, she has figured out which products are protein-based and which are more moisture leaning-and here, the tendency to over moisturize tends to develop. She develops an aversion to protein and throws all of her resources into achieving a perpetual “moisture high.” The proliferation of true “protein overload” stories may have gotten her to this point! She knows that there is a gentle, often tricky balance to maintain but she puts all of her eggs in her moisturizing basket just to be safe. She may even realize that different proteins have different properties, and some actually improve the hair’s elasticity rather than toughen the strands-but she’s not taking any chances with protein period. This aversion causes her to moisturize and overcondition her hair until the cows come home often through:
- overzealous “baggying”
- back-to-back conditioner washes that don’t allow the hair to ever dry
- regular lengthy/ overnight deep conditionings
- keeping the hair wet in general (water or oil) for extended periods of time without a break
- the complete elimination of protein products altogether.
She may have taken my “err on the side of moisture” advice to heart just a little too much! Yes, protein overload is problematic-and it can take a while to correct, but overconditioning also has its own set of issues.
great article this is me all day, I can not seem to find any balance to my hair and it’s a long term problem so now I feel my hair is very damaged and yes I’m all natural LOL even natural folks can have damaged hair
Giovanni Smooth as Silk
Does anyone know a good protein based conditioner? (a cheap one as i’m a student)
Queene Helene’s Cholesterol Deep Conditioner works well and it’s only about $3.00 for a 15oz. jar.
Sofn’free GroHealthy – Milk Protein and Olive Oil Daily Growth Lotion
Namaste has a great protein deep treatment! Bought a 32oz bottle for about 10 bucks… at a hair show tho. May be a lil more than that.
I also love Astelance repair cream… but that is more expensive and more of a in salon brand. But sooo worth the money!
Another one I just started using was paul mitchell keratin triplex awapuhi treatment. So far so wondrous!
I like the Shea Moisture Yucca conditioner.
Thank you guys!!! :)
I’ve been certainly guilty of doing this, lol. whenever I don’t wear my hair in twists, just my TWA, my hair becomes SUPER dry and it’s extremely difficult to lock in the moisture.
I notice I’m going overboard when I have to keep spritzing my hair with water/leave-in conditioners every 2-3 hours. At that point, it’s time to deep condition and put my twists back in for the week :)
It’s a bit frustrating because everyone swears by effectively moisturizing your hair consistently, but then the problem of “over-moisturzing” occurrs…ugh. I guess it’s about finding that happy medium/balance with our hair.
I can relate to having dry hair with a TWA. Now that my hair is a lot longer, it still doesn’t appreciate afros and even ponytails or buns on loose hair. Exposing my loose hair to the elements just doesn’t work for my hair,regardless of what I put in it. I don’t even bother with these styles anymore. If my strands are clumped together in a braid/twist-out or twists and braids, they’re able to retain moisture very well.
I agree i just put my hair in two strand twist because my hair was too dry when it was loose. I’ll be keeping these in throughout the winter!
this is true…i had the same problem till i started drinking more water, eating healthier and discovered qhemet…aww yeahh….i thank God because I’m way to lazy to put twists in my hair.
I’m hoping my longer hair will be fine with being pinned up and away. I will still be learning to do flat twists though when I want to completely cover my hair though
Right now I condition my hair with mayonaise, honey, and olive oil. Is this a protein conditioner or moisture??
Moisture. :)
I think the eggs in the mayo add a shot of protein…..
I agree protein has me scared. I am a 4a natural with no color or other treatments. I am addicted to the soft hair I get from my DC, leave-in, and other products I use. I dislike the way my hair feels after a 100% pure protein conditioner. I really like the idea of mixing two products together and allowing the protein and moisturizing conditioners to work together. Thanks!
I didnt even thnk that was possible but that wud explain why my hair is dry. Glad i brot that protein the other day
I used to overcondition in my product junkie phase, slathering one thing on top of another. Over conditioning is taxing on time, money, and hair. My hair barely grew and usually became even more damaged after all the build up and maniupulation. Now, I just ‘listen’ to my hair. If its a bit on the dry side, I just use whatever’s in my bathroom, and keep it moving.
I don’t think slathering on too many products has anything to do with being a product junkie.
I tend to use conditioner only as a pre-poo to rehydrate and/or detangle my hair before washing. I apply the conditioner to my dry hair and leave it on with a shower cap for no more than 30 minutes. For me, leaving conditioner on for any longer and/or wetting the hair before applying the conditioner just makes my hair too elastic and more likely to snap when being handled. In between washes, I keep my hair moisturized by spritzing with water and sealing with an oil or butter mix at night just before putting a silk scarf on. Now that it’s winter where I live, I do this just about every night but if my hair doesn’t feel dry and thirsty to the touch, I don’t bother with this routine. Just about the only time that I use conditioner after shampooing is when I use a protein conditioner(such as Aphoghee’s 2 min Keratin) or after a henna treatment (which can be a little drying). Other than that, I usually rely on water and butters moisture. If my hair ever feels really parched between washes or I want to restyle my hair without washing, I may use a creamy moisturizer such as Oyin’s Hair Dew.
In my opinion, in most cases the condition after-shampoo step can be skipped altogether for most naturals unless it’s being used to detangle the hair because most naturals apply a cream or hair butter to freshly washed hair. If you really think about it, the condion after-shampoo step was created for people who add little to no additional moisturizer to the hair.
“In my opinion, in most cases the condition after-shampoo step can be skipped altogether for most naturals unless it’s being used to detangle the hair because most naturals apply a cream or hair butter to freshly washed hair. If you really think about it, the condion after-shampoo step was created for people who add little to no additional moisturizer to the hair.”
I agree. I skip after-shampoo conditioning because I detangle and pre-poo with oil, an oil/aloe vera gel mix or conditioner before shampooing.
+1
I learned the hard way that my fine, porous strands need regular light protein treatments.
My hair was breaking terribly, I kept deep conditioning, moisturising, co-washing until one day last year I had a eureka moment. Whilst I was standing in front of the mirror I looked at my strands and realised they were weak and fragile and needed strengthening not the moisture I had been overdosing on. Out came the aphogee 2 step my hair breathed a sigh of relief henceforth I now incorporate protein into my regimen regularly and try to keep my hair balanced.
I beleive some naturals tend to be very heavy handed with their products. Also, over zealous with routines in general. I use Paul Mitchell Emergencee it is a little costly but it WORKS! I used it pre and post relaxer and I only use it maybe 4x a year. It is an intense treatment and I ususally use it after my very infrequent straight looks or if the weather has been extremely hot or cold for a spell. A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY! The small bottle that you get for nearly $20 last me for a year. I have never done the baggy method, nor do I walk around with a spray bottle. I mean if you live in desert like temps Arizon put your hands up lol.. then I could understand.. Also too many “natural products” mixtures could be looked at as over zealous as well. I mean really why would you do a protein treatment weekly.. that alone is damaging. A DC weekly ok from :30- 1hr understood. DC for hours or over night o_O. We all want to have and maintain healthy hair.. but be mindful nothing happens over night nor recover (heal) over night xoxo
I definitely over-moisturized after looking at my first Youtube videos and other Internet tutorials where people said to moisturize every day. My hair definitely does not like that regimen and now that I just do it once a week, my hair is fine and thriving.
This is an interesting article. However, I wonder if it is ok to focus on moisturizing your hair in the winter. I ask this because I have read on several sites that people should put down the protein treatments in the winter and focus on moisture rich products.
SO, I have never done a protien treatment. I may have used a conditioner with protien, but it was unknowingly. Now I feel like I may need to. BTW, been natural for 3 years (last BC about a year ago) Can I throw an egg in my hair mask mixture (usually Avacado honey and some essential oils) and get protien that way??
No… check out the naural haven’s blogspot about egg proteins for hair. By the way doesn’t the avocado AND honey have a combined drying effect on your hair. It certainly did mine so I’ll never trod that way again.
I do a regular medium protein treatment 1x a month and that works for my medium-coarse, low porosity hair. I could probably get away with doing protein treatments less frequently if my regimen was different. I work out a lot so I need to rinse out my scalp. I co-wash almost every day so I incorporate protein 1x a month to keep my hair at the right balance. I will co-wash with a cheapie conditioner that contains protein once or so a week as well. I squeeze out excess water before putting products on my hair so it is usually no longer wet in a few hours.
I have been fortunate this winter. I have not experienced dry, crunchy hair; I don’t know why, but my hair has been very good to me.
I take this article with a grain of salt. Everyones hair has different needs or issues, I dc and henna frequent, I bagged my hair and I have seen a lot of growth, so it really varies.
I moisturize everyday,I’m a cowash girl.
Everyday I cowash with Aussie Moist conditioner. Then I get out of the shower and, by sections, apply Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing smoothie,then Garnier Fructis conditioner (not the leave in) into my hair, then seal with EVOO. Then shake shake shake. Super soft, non dry hair that is thriving. I have fine 4a pen spring and s curls.
I do this every single day. Wash weekly with Suave Coconut Naturals…so with sulfates). When I do wash, I use Mane and Tail–which is a protein rich conditioner.. Then the V05 strawberries and cream with soy milk protein.
I just think its about balance. I’m still tweaking my moisture intake (I can get way too heavy handed especially since I double up with the SMCES and GF).
Once in a blue moon, when I wet my hair, it feels mushy. It is then when I immediately apply a protein condish then am easy on the post shower moisturizing. The next day I would prob wash then protien the SH%T out of it and its back to normal.
Wow… didn’t mean to write my whole life story. Long story short… balance. I’d rather be over moisturized… its correctable… then dry and breaking.
Well, I’m not sure if I’m over moisturizing or what, but:
When I do weekly twist/braid-outs, I have a nightly routine of section by section applying oil, detangling, spritzing on a very small amount of water (to seal), and applying a small amount of cream/butter. In the morning my hair is shiny and soft. On my lazy days when I bun my hair to go to sleep, my hair is kinda dry… does this mean I’m over moisturizing or not moisturizing enough?
I think my hair is 4b, but I’m not sure. The method seems to work, but I want to know if it’s damaging…
Thanks!
Yes I’ve experienced over moisturizing my hair a couple of times. The first was from doing a deep moisturizing treatment weekly that eventually made my hair start feeling limp. The second was when I tried the overnight baggying method with an oil; that was terrible. My hair became real limp, soggy, and gummy it was gross. It took weeks and a few applications of aphogee protein treatments for it to return to normal. I still don’t really understand how to do the protein / moister balance deal with my hair but my hair feels and looks very healthy so I only do a deep moisturizing treatment every month or two. I guess I’m supposed to do a protein treatment now and then also but I don’t. I don’t even know what to use and my hair seems to be fine without it…knock on wood.
WHAT IF YOU’RE PROTEIN SENSITIVE? GET BREAKAGE WITH PROTEIN BASED PRODUCTS. GET CRUNCHY HARD HAIR AFTER YOUR PROTEIN TREATMENT, NO MATTER HOW YOU MOISTURIZE IT? ALSO RECEIVE ITCHY SCALP AFTER PROTEIN IS APPLYED
SUGGESTIONS?
From 1st paragraph:
“Now before I get into the meat of the discussion, let me preface my statements by giving the mandatory “what works for some, may not work for all” speech. Obviously overconditioning, and the product usage patterns that tend to encourage it, vary from person to person. There are no official normative standards here, and as with all things hair– the only hard fast rule is that there are no hard fast rules. “Too much” for one head may be “too little” for another, etc. Therefore, all suggestions and advice, including this article, should be taken with a grain of salt and weighed and evaluated against your unique situation”
Are your BLIND as well as deaf?
Wow, you are so unnecessarily rude.
I am newbie, just learning how to take care of my hair…but i’m confuae about protein treatment, why does our hair need it and when can we use it?