The one time when protein overload may be a good thing

For the past week or so, I got a little lazy with my moisturizing routine.  In an effort to save time, I skipped a few steps. Instead of applying liquid, then moisturizer then oil, I only did two steps.  First I misted my hair with Evian Facial Mist spray then finished up with coconut oil.  This routine was pretty much repeated daily since I traveled all week.

While all of this was happening, I wasn't thinking about the eventual outcome of using coconut oil every day.  As you might recall, coconut oil is said to have the power to provide the hair strand with protein.  Each day my hair was essentially absorbing protein. By the time the week was over, my hair was feeling stiff and didn't absorb moisture as well.

On Sunday I decided to touch up my roots (p.s. my last touch up was about 3 months ago. Normally I like to wait 4 months but I experienced quite a bit of growth from taking bamboo tea regularly during the late summer months) .  At the start of the relaxer process, I put a little coconut oil on my hair to help protect the hair from the relaxer run-off.  It wasn't until half way through the relaxer process that it dawned on me that the stiffness I was experiencing was probably a result of all that layering of coconut oil.  But here's the thing.  By the time I rinsed the relaxer out, I realized just how great my hair felt.  The stiffness went away but my hair still felt strong and resilient.

Then I thought, perhaps the additional protein within my strands added another layer of protection during the chemical process.  Typically, after a touch up, I go through this rebuilding phase where I pamper my hair with protein rich products to put strength back into my hair.  This time was different.  I should mention that I still did the responsible thing by adding a little pure protein + silk amino acids to my relaxer mix.  Everything worked together to create a wonderful symphony of strength.  Heck, I didn't need to break out my Tiger Reconstructor spray. 

I will definitely pay close attention to my protein levels prior to relaxing in the future.  One thing I'll do differently next time will be to provide as much protein lovin' to my roots as to the rest of my length.  After all, that's the hair closest to the line of fire. A day or so has passed and everything is just peachy keen.  Now that my hair feels pretty balanced, I'll go back to my regularly scheduled moisturizing routine.  At least now I have a strategy for when next wash day comes around.