There is a huge difference between moisture and protein, but your hair needs both. It’s up to you to know the difference, so that you can know how to best care for your hair, especially in the summer heat.
A balance between protein and moisture is the remedy for healthy hair. When there’s no balance, you can cause damage to your hair. Owner and creative director for Flourish Curls Salon and Texture Academy, Sess Cannon is passionate about healthy Black hair. Growing up biracial, Cannon shared that her mother’s hair was nothing like hers.
“I never felt good about my relationship with my hair because I didn’t understand it, and I always felt defeated by it,” she told 21Ninety. “I always left salons feeling like I didn’t know anything more about my hair than when I walked in.”
Today, through her work at Flourish, Cannon focuses on educating stylists and clients on natural hair and helping Black women feel heard and celebrated in their relationship with their hair. A large part of that is helping women understand moisture and protein as the building blocks to healthy, natural hair.
Here’s the difference between protein and moisture, according to Cannon, and how to make sure your hair has enough of both.
Moisture: The Key to Hydrated Hair
When it comes to moisture, think water. Hair is a porous surface, like a sponge, and moisture is essentially hydration. Moisturization is a state of the hair, not a feel of the hair. Hydrated hair absorbs water, holds product, and curls well.
“Flexibility is the moisture level of your hair,” Cannon said. “If your hair is dry, unwilling to bend, and breaks into small pieces when you comb through it, then you are struggling with a moisture issue.”
Cannon warned that piling on products won’t make your hair more moisturized. Women who lack moisture can’t retain length or see hair growth because their hair is breaking as fast as it’s growing. They also often have no idea what their true texture looks like. This is because they haven’t ever seen their hair properly hydrated, which causes them to try a bunch of products to moisturize their hair. The critical element they are missing is moisture, which happens during the shampoo process.
To address a lack of moisture, women should first identify what is causing hair dehydration. After that, it’s all about following a shampoo and conditioning process using quality products that are meant for hydration and moisture. If you are struggling with moisture, start with a hydrating shampoo. Look for shampoos that say hydrating, smoothing, detangling, or clarifying. Shampoo your hair consistently. Cleanse the palette so that water can get into your hair.
Protein: The Maker of Strong Hair
Protein is the building block of the hair, meaning it is what the hair is made of. It helps capture your curl pattern, and it will enhance your hair’s texture and elasticity. Protein-deficient hair will be limp and weak. Cannon explained that clients who come in struggling with protein typically have limp curls due to damage from color, chemical/heat services, over-manipulation, or even over-conditioning.
“Loss of protein stops the hair from achieving certain styles and retaining that style for any significant period,” she explained. “If your hair is slinky and bouncy and the curl pattern of your ends matches your roots, then that’s what it should do.”
Similar to how you drink protein shakes after a workout, protein makes the hair strong. Protein will fill in the cuticle of the hair. Once you cut down on processes that are breaking down protein, then find out if you need a protein regimen for maintenance or for repair.
A protein-maintenance consists of using a protein-rich shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in before your style. A protein-repair routine might mean using a treatment consistently until the damaged hair is gone.
The Difference Between Moisture and Protein
Cannon emphasizes to her clients the importance of understanding moisture and protein as the building blocks to healthy natural hair.
“If we are pursuing hair health first, the styling part becomes so much easier,” she said. “Understanding that moisture provides your hair with softness and flexibility while protein provides hair with strength and elasticity, creates a recipe for healthy hair.”
Ultimately, this helps retain hair length and absorb products better, as well as become significantly more manageable and look great in any style.
“Learning how to care for our natural hair is necessary if that is how we decide to show up,” Cannon said. “But, learning to care for our hair first, versus just focusing on achieving a certain style can be an adjustment for so many of us.”