A healthy strand of hair has an equal balance of protein and moisture. Protein provides strength to the hair strand whereas moisture provides hydration. Protein overload occurs when the hair has more protein than moisture. The imbalance then results in dryness and breakage. My hair was severely protein overloaded from a salon visit gone wrong, thus I needed a quick fix to reverse protein overload. This article will focus on just that — how to correct protein overload in hair with salt.
— My Protein Overload Experience —
I arrived to the salon for my regular scheduled 12 week touch up and the fun began. The stylist used the normal protein product – Dudley’s DRC 28. She set the timer and placed me under the dryer. The timer dings but the stylist keeps working on the client sitting in her salon chair — the stylist was applying relaxer to the client’s hair.
I sat patiently going through a range of emotions — *oh she’s gonna come rescue me at any moment * I know she sees me sitting over here * well, after all she’s applying a relaxer, what harm will it cause to wait for a tad bit*
I am very familiar with the power of protein treatments but felt a couple more minutes wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Wrong. My hair reached protein overload in a ridiculous manner. It resulted in extreme hair loss during detangling.
Upon my departure from the salon, my hair felt off but I didn’t have time to assess the situation while driving. Once home, I inspected my hair and it was dry, coarse, brittle and stiff. It was breaking and badly I might add. I conditioned and co-washed numerous times with the best natural products money can buy. My hair remained protein overloaded and continued to break.
— How to Correct Protein Overload in Hair with Salt —
I researched protein/moisture balance to re-familiarize myself with this topic since I haven’t been this far gone on protein in a while. I came across several hair forum threads and articles suggesting adding salt in conditioner to break the protein bonds. This scared me tremendously but my back was against the wall.
With hesitation, I mixed 1 cup TRESemme Naturals Moisturizing Conditioner, 1 tablespoon regular table salt and couple tablespoons of honey. I let it sit for 2 hours and rinsed. My hair softened instantly. Breakage calmed immediately and my hair regained bounce. What a relief.
— Salt Precautions —
Because salt has the ability to break the protein bonds way down, moisture overload is possible. I kept the treatment on my hair for 2 hours because my hair was severely protein overloaded. I gave my hair a slight tug several times during the 2 hour period to make sure it wasn’t feeling gummy or mushy which are signs of over moisturized hair. Over moisturized hair is the exact opposite of protein overload hair. It’s when you have too much moisture in the hair and not enough protein. Just use good judgment when determining how long to keep on the treatment. Using salt to correct protein overload is not a treatment that is widely talked about or documented. Therefore, the lasting impacts to using this method is unknown. Please use with caution as your mileage may vary. I advise using this method only when nothing else is working and you feel this is the only option to restore balance to your hair.
I saw an old thread on LHCF about adding salt to conditioner. I kept wondering how and why that worked…so it breaks the protein bonds(thread was too long to finish reading. lol). I considered trying it out a few times. Several ladies that tried it seemed to get amazing results. I may give it a try next time my hair is giving me some issues. I don’t think I’m protein sensitive, but I’m not sure. I don’t think my old stylist EVER gave me a protein treatment except maybe when I got a relaxer (I never asked questions though I should have). This is a very good post.
Oh yes, those threads can be quite long. Indeed the salt breaks down the protein bond. It is simply magic, so much that I actually ended up using a bit of protein on my hair a few weeks later. I felt the bonds were broken so far down that I needed a little protein pick me up. Everything worked out great and I’d definitely do it again if ever protein overloaded. My stylist always uses protein after every touch up. This time my hair rejected it more than ever. Do keep this little tip in mind if you hair ever requires it. However, my hope is, you’ll never need it. 🙂
Also – thanks for stopping by, Andrea.
hmmm, I’ve been getting a little extra breakage the last week and I’m quite sure it’s because I’m tilting on the protein side. next wash I’m definitely going to try using salt. thanks for the post!
http://pocahontas-secrets.blogspot.com/
Oh yes, try the salt! You will not be disappointed. I was so nervous the entire time while having it sit on my hair but upon rinsing, I instantly felt a difference and the breakage halted. TY you for visiting. Yahya is a beautiful name.
Is it sure that adding salt to the conditioner will reduce hair fall? Because now only hearing that adding salt to the conditioners.
Salt helps break down protein bonds when hair is protein overloaded. It worked for me.
What conditioner(s) do you recommend from your website that are moisture based — my hair is protein sensitive.
OMG Thank you so so much this is magic My hair got protein overload due to coconut oil and milk
and i tried every thing nothing work than i came a cross your method and know my hair is so much better
just after one treatment THANK YOU <3
i have a question though can i do it twice a month or how often can i do it ?
YOU’RE SO WELCOME!!! Muah!!!
Hello, I think I may have protein overload because nothing is working for me. Do you use iodized salt or the salt that does not have iodine? Also, do you do this to hair that is washed or before shampooing? If you do it before shampooing, do you wet your hair before and then add the mixture? Thank you.
Hi Kay, I apologize for the delay. I’ve been away taking care of my husband that’s undergoing cancer treatment. I truly hope your hair is doing better by now. But to answer your questions – I used iodized salt although I’m not really sure that it matters. I also did it on hair that was freshly shampooed.
Thank you for this article! I am going to try this tonight. My hair got overloaded with protein as a result of previously heavy use coconut oil. I have not been able to get it back to normal state for the past 5 months. While my hair has improved since I stopped using products with protein, it still fills somewhat brittle and dry-ish. Really hoping this works!
Please let me know if it does or doesn’t work. Also, have you tried clarifying and chelating your hair just to make sure you’re not dealing with product buildup? Using salt to counter protein overload is like a last resort type treatment because salt breaks down the protein bonds in the hair. You can actually become moisture overload from it if you’re not careful. Do report back.
I don’t have product build up so do I still need to clarify first?
Hello Erica, do you feel that you have protein overload?