Part of having healthy curly hair means finding a good balance between moisture and protein. The Curly Girl Method focuses a lot on moisture, but you really need both to have gorgeous curls.
One reason I think the CGM focuses more on moisture than on protein is that curly girls typically lacking more moisture than protein.
However, if you neglect your hair’s protein, you may find that your hair is suddenly less awesome than it used to be.
That’s what happened to me a few months ago. I was moving along with my curly hair routine then one day, my hair didn’t seem to be curling as well as it had been in the past.
I tried adding more conditioner and deep conditioning more frequently, but it didn’t seem to help the problem.
My search for a solution led me down a rabbit hole of information on protein and curly hair. This post is a culmination of everything I learned.
Today we’ll look at why hair needs protein, how you can tell when your hair needs protein, how to add some to your hair, signs your hair may have too much protein, and how to fix it if that problem arises.
Side note: This page does contain affiliate links, which means if you purchase something using the product links on this page, I may get a small commission. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps keep this site running. Thank you!
Why does hair need protein?
Science has never been my strong suit, so I’ll spare you the scientific break down of why your hair needs protein to be healthy. Instead, I’ll give you the more simplified version.
Your hair needs protein to be healthy just like the rest of your body needs protein to be healthy. Protein is what helps your body grow and get strong.
Your hair works in a similar fashion. Protein helps your hair grow. It also makes your hair stronger and healthier, so it’s less prone to breakage. It will also typically result in a better curl.
How to tell when your hair needs protein
The easiest way to tell that your hair needs protein is your curls are particularly limp and lifeless.
You also may find (like I did) that adding extra conditioner does nothing to fix the problem–in fact, it will likely make the problem worse.
That’s because limp, lifeless curls are a sign that your protein/moisture balance is out of whack and in this case, you have too much moisture. Adding protein will help restore that balance.
It’s as if the extra moisture is weighing your curls down and your hair needs more strength (in the form of protein) to be able to support the added hydration. (This is not a scientific explanation, it’s just how I like to think of things.)
How to give your hair protein
The easiest way to give your hair protein is to use a protein treatment!
Two that I’ve used and loved are Mielle Organic Babassu Oil And Mint Deep Conditioner (this stuff melts into my hair) and Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Yogurt Hydrate + Repair Protein-Strong Treatment. You can also do a DIY rice water rinse.
Giving your hair regular protein treatments will help your hair keep a good moisture/protein balance. However, what “regular” means will vary from person to person. It may mean weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly depending on your hair.
It’s possible (and easy) to add too much protein to your hair, so you may want to start with monthly treatments and modify from there.
Alternatively, you’ll probably have the best results if you do what you can to pay attention and listen to your hair. When your hair starts to get limp and lifeless, do a protein treatment.
If your hair was lacking protein, you may find that you need more frequent protein treatments in the beginning when you first notice the problem than you will long term.
If you keep up with the same routine as when you hair was protein deprived, you may end up overcorrecting and end up with too much protein.
Should you find that your hair has a hard time maintaining a good protein/moisture balance, you may want your daily products and conditioners to have more protein in them.
Here is a list of protein ingredients you may find in hair products. The closer to the top of the ingredient list the ingredient is, the more that ingredient was used in the product.
How long it takes to correct your protein/moisture balance will depend on how much extra moisture your hair is carrying.
If you’re doing regular protein treatments and find that your hair is still lifeless, you may want to reach out to a hair professional.
Signs your hair has too much protein
Like I mentioned, it’s easy to add too much protein to your hair and skew your moisture/protein balance in the direction of too much protein.
This may happen because you unknowingly used products with a lot of protein, overcorrected over moisturized hair, or because your hair is more sensitive to protein than others.
Some signs that you have too much protein in your hair is if your hair has gotten very dry and brittle, you notice increased breakage, and/or your hair feels stiff. You may even notice more shedding and tangles.
How to fix protein overload
If you find that your hair has too much protein, you’ll want to add moisture to help correct that balance.
You can do this by deep conditioning once or twice a week until the balance corrects itself, adding more daily conditioner to your routine, or adding more hydrating creams and products to your styling.
However, you’ll likely want to back off the conditioning once your hair rediscovers its balance, just like when you add protein.
Looking for more guidance on your curly hair journey?
For beginners
If you’re new to curly hair care and looking for some help, you should check out the No-Stress Guide to Curly Hair Care!
After spending two years learning and caring for my curly hair, I wanted to create my own, in-depth guide to help fellow curlies create incredible curls in the easiest way possible.
It took me a while, but I eventually found an approach that helped me create a curly hair routine that fits into my life in the simplest way possible. And now I want to help you do the same!
For more intermediate/advanced guidance
If you’ve been on your curly hair journey for a while but still have some struggles, check out Curly Hair Problems!
After spending hours scouring the internet looking for solutions to my own curly hair problems, I found myself wishing for an easier, more comprehensive guide to the most common problems.
So that’s what I created!
Curly Hair Problems offers you 78 total solutions to the five most common curly hair care problems, including frizz, curl clumps, limp curls, product issues, and scalp issues.
Sound off: What’s been your experience with protein and curly hair? Were you able to find a good balance? Tell us about it in the comments! And be sure to tell us a little about your hair type.
I need some help here please, I’m cg for about 4 months and lately, I’ve noticed that co washing is not lasting as used to (4-5 days), lately the next day after co wash my roots have built up already. I have more frizz than before. Even clarifying more frequently than before (once every two weeks) the problem doesn’t get better. I’m 3a-3b high porosity, I cowash with strawberries & cream and a silicon brush, deep condition w/ Jamaican Castor oil shea and stile with banana & cream and orange marmalade. Plop with cotton t shirt and diffuse 70% , my roots are oily and my hair is very thin. Perhaps my hair doesn’t like VO5 anymore. Or may it be the summer that requires me changing my products ? Would you help me please ?
The frizz could very well be related to summer–especially if you noticed your frizz problem started around the same time the season changed over. You may want to try a heavier cream and/or a harder hold gel. As for your roots, is it possible that you’re not fully rinsing your scalp after you cowash and deep condition? One problem I had a few months in was that I wasn’t getting my scalp totally clean and I had a lot of conditioner and shea butter build up on my scalp. I have a dry scalp, so my roots never got oily, but it’s possible that the build up you’re seeing is preventing your natural oils from working their way down your hair like it’s supposed to. I found it helpful to use a shampoo brush to rinse the conditioner completely out of my hair with my head upside down. Then I add a little extra condition to the length of my hair as a leave in.
If you think you’re rinsing everything out fine, maybe try using a sulfate free shampoo more regularly. Some curly girls just need a little more than strictly co-washing. It might be that your hair is getting healthier, particularly at the roots, so it’s not absorbing as much of the product, which is leading to the build-up you’re seeing. If you want to give a sulfate free shampoo a shot, here are 25 CG approved options to try! Most of these are more mild than a clarifying shampoo so you should be able to use them more often.
I hope this is some help! Good luck! 🙂
I put 1.5 Tbsp of Ion Protein Filler into an 8 oz mister bottle and use it to refresh in the mornings. My hair LOVES protein, so I give it in low doses routinely.
That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I just started using the Curly Girl approved products and I may be getting ahead of myself but it bought Shea Moisture Hibiscus curl smoothe, the same brand of conditioner and styling milk. I notice that they all say they contain Silk protein. Is this going to be too much protein for my hair? I’m new at this and could use some advise.
Honestly, protein is something that tends to be unique to each person. Some people are really protein sensitive, some don’t do well with protein treatments, but are good to have it in day-to-day products, and some need regular protein treatments. My best advice would be to start with the products you have. They’re pretty standard starter products and plenty of other curly girls use all three. If you notice increased breakage, stiff dry hair, and find your hair is tangling really easily, add a little extra moisture and swap out one or two of your products. Since you’re not doing a full blown protein treatment, it’s unlikely that things will get too out of hand. I hope this helps some!
I think figuring out the protein thing is as hard for as figuring out my hair porosity! I’m at a loss! My hair seem to have both fine hair AND coarse hair ( the coarse is usually greys). So with those hair types I get thrown off a lot. Doesn’t fine and coarse hair have different needs? Maybe not?
Honestly, I’ve never had a strong enough grasp of fine vs coarse hair to give advice on it, but I don’t think you’re the only person who has a mix of both! Protein tends to be an area that takes some trial and error, just be sure to listen to your hair as you try new things. 🙂
What deep conditioner do you recommend without protein?
It’s hard for me to recommend a deep conditioner without protein because by hair likes a little protein, so I don’t really look for conditioners without it. Right now I’m using Pacifica’s Pineapple Hydrate, which has some protein in it, but not enough to be considered a protein treatment. In the past, I’ve used Garnier Fructis’s Avacado Extract Smoothing Treat, which I’m pretty sure doesn’t have protein. It did a good job hydrating my hair, but I get better overall results with the Pineapple Hydrate. However, I do have a list of 25 Deep Conditioners with varying degrees of protein (including some that are protein-free). Hopefully, that will help you out!
I struggle with protein overload – as much as my hair needs it, is seems to hate it too, and it builds up really quickly! My favourite protein-free deep conditioner is Curl Rehab from Curl Junkie. I’ve had very good results with it! The Gardenia/Coconut fragrance is my fave 🙂
Hi I’m just starting the curly girl method!at the minute my hair is just one ball of fluff! What I want to know is when I wake up after the pineapple way whst to do I do with my hair before I go to work as I don’t have much time to be washing drying styling et ??? X
At this point, I refresh my hair most mornings, which I’ve written about here. It took me a while to find the right products and routine that work for me, but it’s made my mornings a lot easier! However, I definitely found early in the curly girl method that My hair was pretty frizzy if I didn’t wet and condition it regularly. If you’re having this problem and have more time in the evenings, you might want to try washing at night early enough so your hair has time to get most of the way dry, and sleep in the gel crunch, which you can break up in the morning. You can read more about that in this post. I hope this is some help!
My hair is fine- normal,high density, high porosity 2b-2c waves/curls and I am 5 months into my transition. When my hair needs protein it definitely lacks definition and seems drier. Doing a protein rich pre wash treatment does the trick… and I try to use styling products with protein also.
Hi got a major question! Been doing the cgm for about 2 months.im struggling with plopping! When I take hair out of the tshirt my hair needs going through with my fingers as it’s all scrunched up at the back of my neck.but the cgm says not to touch it but I have to! Also after product application my hair is dripping literally is this right? I must say my hair is getting curlier and I’m obsessed with reading your posts!x
Hey! I’m so glad you love the blog! Unfortunately, I’m not going to be too much help here because I don’t plop. I found when I did it pulled too much moisture out of my hair and it always ended up frizzier than when I didn’t plop.
I don’t know if you’ve come across my routine posts, but I have one from when I was earlier in the curly girl method where I use my hands to brush and scrunch out as much extra water as possible, then apply products. In my more updated routine, I scrunch twice with a t-shirt, then apply products (but sometimes I still go back to my older method if my hair seems drier). In both cases, my hair is very wet, but not dripping by the time I’m finished.
Personally, I think the biggest thing I’ve learned over the years is that the only hard and fast “rules” to the curly girl method are to avoid sulfates, silicones, drying alcohols, and heat. Everything else is just a guide that you can use, modify, or ditch based on how your hair responds. So if plopping works for you, but you need to gently and briefly touch your hair right after the t-shirt, I say, try and see what happens. If you can’t get results you like, maybe try a different drying technique.
I hope this is some help! ❤️
Hi Meghan!
I NEED help here. I am new to CG and I cant tell if my hair needs moisture or protein.
I have loose waves (I think i’m 2a or 2b) and my hair is thick, fine, and high porosity. I have a hard time getting my waves to stay, but I cant tell if that is because I need protein or if all of the new CG products i’m using are just weighing down my fine hair. When my hair is wet, I get beautiful curl families and the curls are well defined, once dry however, I am just a frizzy mess with little wave definition…..is this because my hair is dry and fine, or in need protein? Also can you give me any advise to keep my curl families together? Right now I plop until about 80% dry and then air dry the remaining time. I don’t really touch my hair when its drying, but as soon as I SOTC, my curls just lose all definition and frizz out.
I hope you are able to help me!
Hey Kari! It sounds like you and I have very different hair types, so I don’t know how helpful this will be, but typically, frizz is a sign that you need more moisture. And this would also make sense to me since you said you’re new to the curly girl method. Typically, moisture is also what’s going to help curls and waves clump. And the fact that you’re saying you have high porosity hair also means your hair loses moisture pretty easily. I don’t know if you’re using a hard hold gel, but if you’re not, that may help lock in more moisture. If you’re not using a leave in conditioner, or some other hydrating styling product, that also might help.
It’s also possible that your hair is just really dehydrated and it’s just going to take some time to get it fully hydrated. Here’s a post on moisture and the curly girl method that maybe some help. And you also may want to check out YouTuber Alison from real life+curly girl. She has wavy hair and follows the curly girl method and my wavy friends have found her really helpful.
I hope this is some help!
Hi, I’ve been following CG method now for 7 months so I’m fairly new at this, but in all the research I’ve done I have finally figured out that my 2c, high porosity hair loves protein. My curls were limp and stringy and I have tried so many different product for curly hair (I’m embarrassed to say that I have a cabinet full of various product I’ve bought hoping to hit upon the perfect product for my hair). I guess that’s why they call it a journey! Anyway, I just this week tried a protein treatment that has made all the difference in the world….I can’t brag loud enough about this treatment! It the aphogee 2 step protein treatment. I was nervous at first, but I jumped in there and gave it a try. When I was finished, what a change! It was like magic! My hair is now bouncy and soft and beautiful curls, many curls. Even the hair at the nape of my neck that always looked stringy is now curly and not frizzy strings. I am truly awed at the affect! I’m just saying, if you think you need protein, this is a winner! It says to only use every 4 to 6 weeks, so I’ve marked my calendar and will doing the treatment again when its time. I understand that the second time you get even greater results. I shall see! You can buy these products at Sallys, but a got a better price off amazon. You can buy the single packets at Sallys for like $4 which is what I did to make sure I liked the product before I bought the full size bottles. You do the treatment first and then you use their balanced moisture conditioner, that’s why its called a 2 step treatment.
That’s awesome! Thanks so much for sharing this!
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