Beauty Q & A: Are Proteins Good?

ligirl217 over at Lucky.com posted the following comment:

I use rusk's smoother shampoo and calm conditioner. I would not buy my hair products at a drug store because they are loaded with stuff that makes you feel like your hair is silkier but it actually does nothing to solve the problem with keeping your hair in good condition. I use a deep conditioner by the brand Italy which makes hair dye and is sold at my salon...this thing is god sent because my hair is AMAZING after I use it (once a week). Here's a trick: when shopping for both shampoo and conditioner, make sure to read the ingredients and look for silk or wheat proteins...it's the key to healthy hair!


The Brains Respond:
Ligirl217: We'd love to find out exactly which "Italy" deep conditioner you're using, we're not very familiar with that brand. However, we are very familiar with conditioner formulations so here's the real scoop. First of all, from a scientific standpoint, there's nothing inherently different about drug store conditioners. It is NOT true that they use ingredients that are very different than most of the salon or department store brands. There are good and bad products in drug stores and there are good and bad products in salons. Where you buy the product doesn't tell you ANYTHING about how good it is!

Now let's address your second point about looking for silk or wheat proteins because they are the key to healthy hair. Although your hair is made of protein, protein doesn't do much when added to your hair from shampoo or conditioner. The other conditioning agents in the formula are what smooth the cute coal and protect your hair from damage.

There's nothing wrong with using expensive salon brands and looking for ingredients that you like. But just remember, there's a lot of advertising hype in this industy so be careful. The more you know the truth about your products, the better shopper you'll be!

Anybody else have any questions?