Retaining your pure curls, waves, or coils wholesome requires cautious consideration, and your hair can simply be broken by stressors like warmth instruments, chemical remedies, or over-brushing.
Bond restore remedies and protein-rich merchandise are two kinds of hair remedy used to restore hair harm and strengthen strands. They’re each in style with curly ladies, however which is healthier: protein or bond-repairing merchandise?
Understanding the distinction between the merchandise is step one while you’re choosing the right sort of remedy to your tresses.
On this information, I’ll clarify the distinction between bond builders and protein remedies and assist you to select the perfect remedy to your pure hair. I’ve additionally picked out among the hottest bond repairers and protein-rich merchandise for curly hair that will help you make your determination.
However let’s begin by why protein performs an important position within the well being and look of hair.

Hair Anatomy 101
To begin with, it’s essential to know the anatomy of your hair strands. Your hair is especially manufactured from a protein referred to as keratin, and the construction of the hair strand has as much as three layers1.
The cuticle is the outer layer of the hair shaft, and it’s made up of overlapping scales that assist shield the within of the hair. On a wholesome hair fiber, these scales can confide in enable moisture into the strand and near maintain the moisture locked in. Nonetheless, they’re simply broken by issues like scorching styling instruments or coloration remedies.
The cortex lies contained in the hair, simply beneath the cuticle. This layer of the hair construction makes up most of every strand and provides your hair its coloration and power.
The medulla lies on the heart of thicker hair strands, and has a spongy texture manufactured from air-filled cells. Fantastic hair strands and naturally blonde hairs don’t typically have a medulla.
With out the safety of a wholesome cuticle layer, the softer layers beneath can simply be broken, and protein may be misplaced from the strands. Utilizing protein-rich hair merchandise or bond restore remedies will help you substitute misplaced protein, enhance the well being and power of your hair and cut back the danger of additional harm.
What Are Protein-Wealthy Merchandise For Hair?
Protein remedies comprise protein-rich elements that may assist give your hair power and stop future harm or breakage.
A few of the hottest protein-rich elements in curly hair merchandise embody:
- Keratin
- Collagen
- Wheat protein
- Silk protein
- Rice protein
- Amino acids
- Something with “hydrolyzed” in its title
You’ll typically discover protein added to deep conditioners and hair masks that assist make your hair really feel softer and extra hydrated. Protein can also be utilized in styling merchandise like lotions and gels, as it may assist your hair feel and appear smoother.

How Do Protein Merchandise Work?
Protein remedies and merchandise deposit protein onto the hair’s floor to quickly enhance its power and situation.
The proteins type a movie on the hair shaft that acts as a protecting barrier to make the hair stronger and assist it retain extra moisture. It could actually additionally make your curls look tighter or extra springy.
These results are fairly short-lived, because the protein is just utilized to the outer floor of the hair strands. You may want to make use of protein remedies extra typically than bond repairing remedies, normally each 4 to 6 weeks and even each two weeks for badly broken locks.
The quantity of protein in hair merchandise varies, and you may simply overload your hair with a lot protein. It’s important to observe your hair for indicators of protein overload, akin to boring, brittle strands that break simply. These destructive results usually tend to happen on coarse hair, low-porosity hair, and hair that hasn’t skilled a lot harm.
In case your hair begins to really feel brittle or breaks simply, it’s possible you’ll want to change to protein-free merchandise for some time or alternate between the 2 kinds of product.
What Are Bond Restore Remedies?
The keratin proteins in your hair strands are held collectively by three kinds of bonds: hydrogen bonds, ionic/salt bonds, and covalent or disulfide bonds. These bonds may be damaged when your hair is affected by warmth harm, chemical processes, environmental stressors like UV from daylight, or mechanical harm from tough brushing.
Bond restore remedies work on the molecular degree. They’re designed to restore these damaged hair bonds by bridging gaps within the strands’ keratin construction. The very best bond protectors will goal all three kinds of bonds, enhancing your hair’s power and well being.
How Do Bond Restore Merchandise Work?
Bond builders work by penetrating deep into your hair strands and repairing the damaged bonds, serving to to provide your curls extra power and bounce. This offers a longer-lasting impact than protein remedies that solely work on the hair’s floor, they usually’re additionally much less more likely to trigger product buildup and brittleness.
Bond-building remedies may assist enhance your hair’s total well being by enhancing moisture retention and taming frizz.
Nonetheless, these results aren’t everlasting, so that you’ll want to make use of bond restore remedies repeatedly to maintain your strands sturdy and wholesome.

Which Is Greatest: Protein Or Bond-Repairing Merchandise?
These remedies are each nice for strengthening your hair and stopping future breakage.
Protein-rich merchandise are higher in case you want a brief repair or your hair has solely acquired gentle harm. Bond restore remedies are higher for hair that has skilled extra critical harm or if you’d like a longer-lasting resolution.
Nonetheless, in case your hair is severely broken to the purpose that your cuticle is destroyed, reducing out the harm and rising your hair out once more is the one resolution.
Protein-rich merchandise additionally carry the danger of inflicting protein buildup in your strands. When you’ve got coarse, low-porosity, or virgin hair, there will probably be extra threat of this taking place.
Lastly, bond-repairing merchandise don’t typically situation your hair. If you happen to resolve to go down that route, keep in mind to provide your hair loads of moisture by means of deep conditioner remedies and hair masks.
Relying in your hair’s harm degree, you possibly can add each merchandise to your hair care routine. You may like to make use of film-forming protein remedies extra typically to melt and shield your tresses, then sometimes add a bond-repairing remedy for a lift of longer-lasting power.

Really useful Curly Hair Merchandise With Protein
Deep conditioning remedies are a well-liked means so as to add protein to your hair. These additionally comprise moisturizing elements to make your hair really feel mushy and powerful. You’ll additionally discover protein in a variety of hair styling merchandise designed to assist clean your hair and provides your curls higher construction.
Listed here are just some of the perfect protein merchandise for curly hair. Keep in mind that it’s important to pick out merchandise that fit your hair porosity, hair density, and curl sort.
Undecided which hair sort you could have? Take a look at our Fast Curl Kind Quiz to find the reply!
Ouidad Superior Local weather Management Warmth & Humidity Stronger Maintain Gel
This gel accommodates wheat amino acids and hydrolyzed wheat protein. It offers long-lasting sturdy maintain for higher curl definition and locks out humidity to assist struggle frizz.
Prime Decide
Curlsmith Feather-light Protein Hair Cream
This hair cream combines the maintain of gel with the moisturizing impact of a cream, serving to your curls really feel bouncy once more. It’s fortified with a hemp seed and rice protein advanced that gives a plant-based different to keratin.
Arvazallia Fortifying Protein Hair Masks
This deep conditioning remedy accommodates hydrolyzed wheat protein for power alongside moisturizing elements like aloe vera, argan oil, and macadamia oil. It revives boring curls, improves elasticity, and makes your mane really feel extra manageable.
Shea Moisture Remedy Masque For Dry Hair
This wealthy hair masks accommodates hydrolyzed vegetable protein alongside conditioning elements like Jamaican Black Caster Oil and shea butter. It’s very best for coarse, dry hair, particularly curly and coily Kind 3 or 4 hair.
Briogeo Don’t Despair, Restore!™ Hair Masks
This deep conditioning masks is enriched with corn, wheat, and soy protein, in addition to algae extract amino acids. It leaves dry, brittle strands feeling mushy, hydrated, and nourished and helps maintain frizz below management.
Prime Decide
Really useful Bond Restore Merchandise for Curly Hair
You’ll find bond-repairing elements in devoted remedies and specialist bond-building shampoos and conditioners.
Listed here are among the finest bond restore remedies for curly hair.
Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector Repairing Hair Remedy
Olaplex might be the best-known and hottest bonding remedy for pure hair. It’s utilized to damp hair earlier than shampoo and conditioner, form of like a pre-poo, and can restore harm to the damaged disulfide bonds in your hair strands.
You should use Olaplex No. 3 by itself or alongside Olaplex 1 and a couple of remedies administered by your hair stylist. Many curly ladies discover an Olaplex remedy improves curl definition, softness, and shine.
Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve
Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve is a well-liked different to Olaplex No. 3. Nonetheless, the Curlsmith remedy accommodates each protein and bond repairers, which is particularly helpful you probably have excessive porosity hair.
Like Olaplex, this remedy is utilized to moist hair earlier than shampooing. Observe up with a deep conditioner to stop your hair from feeling stiff and dry.
Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve
In case your hair wants a lift of protein with out numerous moisture, it is a nice pre shampoo remedy. It is also a bond constructing remedy that strengthens and repairs hair type the within out.
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Residing Proof Triple Bond Advanced
This bond-repairing remedy builds all three kinds of bonds, promising stronger, smoother hair after only one utility.
Residing Proof Triple Bond Advanced helps cut back the seen indicators of hair harm, together with break up ends. It additionally helps forestall future harm and breakage, and even acts as a warmth protectant as much as 450°F.
Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds Mixing Drops
Bond restore elements may be present in specialised merchandise like Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds Bond Constructing shampoo and conditioner that you simply use as a substitute of your traditional hair care merchandise.
You can too add Ouidad Unbreakable Bonds Mixing Drops to your common styling merchandise to create a very customized hair care routine. They comprise collagen, rice protein, and moisturizing hyaluronic acid to assist soften and clean your hair.
FAQs
Nonetheless uncertain about utilizing protein remedies and bond builders for curly hair? These regularly requested questions may assist you to resolve.
Do I Have To Use Protein or Bond Restore Remedies?
Protein merchandise and bond restore remedies are an elective step you possibly can add to your curly hair routine. They aren’t important, particularly you probably have wholesome hair, but when your broken hair wants some TLC, they’ll present some further help.
How Usually Ought to I Use A Bond Restore Remedy For Curly Hair?
When you’ve got virgin hair that hasn’t been color-treated and is comparatively wholesome, you could possibly use a bond restore remedy each 4-6 weeks.
When you’ve got extremely porous hair or broken hair, you may need to use the remedy each 2-3 weeks to assist restore the harm to your hair’s cuticle layer.
Do All Bond Restore Remedies Comprise Protein?
Some bond restore remedies comprise protein, like Curlsmith Bond Curl Rehab Salve. Others, like Olaplex No. 3, don’t comprise any protein elements, so it’s essential to examine the ingredient record to make sure.
The Backside Line
Protein and bond restore merchandise assist strengthen your hair, forestall future breakage, and provide you with healthier-looking hair.
Whereas protein-rich merchandise give a brief repair on the hair’s floor, bond repairers can work deeper contained in the hair shaft and supply a longer-lasting increase to your hair’s power.
Selecting the best merchandise to your hair will rely on how badly it has been broken, and in case your hair is severely broken, the one treatment could also be reducing out the harm.
Nonetheless, bond restore remedies and protein remedies can each be used as a part of your curly hair care routine for stronger, more healthy hair.
