Want to elevate your haircare and skincare products? Hydrolysed proteins are exactly what you need!
You may have heard of proteins like keratin or wheat protein. But how do we use them?
In this post we’ll talk you through what proteins are, why we use them and exactly how to use them!
Contents
- What Are Hydrolysed Proteins?
- Why Use Hydrolysed Proteins?
- What Hair Types Are Hydrolysed Proteins Good For?
- How Do You Use Hydrolysed Proteins?
What Are Hydrolysed Proteins?
They are proteins that have been broken down with hydrolysis. Hydrolysis involves breaking down the proteins into smaller peptides and amino acids.
Proteins are very useful in cosmetics as they provide a range of benefits, such as increasing moisture levels, improving elasticity, and enhancing skin and hair shine.
We sell a range of hydrolysed proteins that each have their own skin or hair benefits.
What Do We Sell?
Hydrolysed Wheat Protein
Hydrolysed wheat protein is derived from wheat germ that has been modified to be soluble in water. It is mostly made up of amino acids, peptides, and protein molecules.
Hydrolysed Keratin
Our keratin is extracted from wool and the protein molecule is broken down into smaller molecules, resulting in a reduced molecular weight. This is not a vegan product, however we do have a vegan alternative.
Hydrolysed Rice Protein
Hydrolysed rice protein is derived from rice bran that has been modified to be soluble in water. It contains both cationic and anionic amino acids.
Hydrolysed Silk
Hydrolysed silk protein is derived from the leftover cocoons made by silkworms, so it is not a vegan product. The cocoons are hydrolysed to make it soluble in water so it can be used in cosmetic formulations.
Hydrolysed Oat Protein
Hydrolysed oat protein is derived from whole oats. Oat protein is processed by grinding oats into a fine powder and extracting the protein using a solvent. This is then hydrolysed to make it soluble in water.
Hydrolysed Vegan Keratin
Vegan keratin is hydrolysed from plant proteins sourced from pea, soy, wheat, or corn. This is designed as a vegan alternative that matches as closely as possible to natural keratin.
Why Use Hydrolysed Proteins?
From moisturisation and softness to improving elasticity and texture, proteins provide a wide range of benefits for both skin and hair.
Hydrolysed proteins offer a different way of moisturising skin and hair as they form a protective layer to lock the moisture in.
Some proteins can be used in both haircare and skincare products like wheat protein, oat protein, silk and rice protein. Others are more suited to hair care like keratin and vegan keratin, and we think they are the best opinion for all round hair benefits!
Hydrolysed proteins are most popular in shampoos, conditioners, hair masks and hair treatments. In skincare, they are often found in nourishing moisturisers, serums, creams and lotions.
What Do Hydrolysed Proteins Do For Hair?
- Retain moisture - All of the hydrolysed proteins are amazing when it comes to rationing moisture in hair!
- Strengthen - Hydrolysed wheat protein, hydrolysed rice protein, hydrolysed keratin and vegan keratin have the best strengthening properties for hair.
- Smooth and shiny - The best proteins that leave hair with a shiny and smooth appearance are keratin, vegan keratin, rice protein and wheat protein.
- Reduce damage - Hydrolysed keratin and vegan keratin are amazing at reducing damage and breakage in hair.
- Prevent damage - To prevent damage, split ends and breakage, you can use hydrolysed silk and wheat protein.
What Do Hydrolysed Proteins Do For Skin?
- Reduce moisture loss - Hydrolysed silk, oat protein, wheat protein and rice protein are great at reducing moisture loss in skin.
- Protect skin - Oat protein and wheat protein provide a protective layer over the skin.
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Smooth and soften - To leave your skin feeling smooth and extra soft, you can use oat protein and hydrolysed silk.
What Hair Types Are Hydrolysed Proteins Good For?
All of the proteins are suitable for all hair types and are pretty interchangeable.
However, there are some that are especially good for certain hair types:
- Hydrolysed oat protein - It is great for dryer hair types due to its amazing moisturising properties.
- Hydrolysed silk - It can be used for damaged hair, weakened hair and hair that has been chemically treated.
- Hydrolysed rice protein - This is most suitable for dry and damaged hair types.
- Hydrolysed keratin - It is suitable for dry and damaged hair due to its amazing moisturising and renewing properties.
- Hydrolysed vegan keratin - This is great for damaged hair, dry hair and frizzy hair. It is also great at repairing heat damage and chemically treated hair.
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Hydrolysed wheat protein - This can be used for thin hair, damaged hair and chemically treated hair.
How Do You Use Hydrolysed Proteins?
Hydrolysed proteins should be included in a recipe for cosmetic products. All of our hydrolysed proteins are water soluble and can be added to the water phase or the cool down phase of your recipe.
The usage rates for the hydrolysed proteins are:
Want to see how they are used in a recipe? Check out our hair mask recipe and conditioner recipe!
To use them in skincare recipes, you can try adding them to the intermediate body butter recipe. Simply add 1% - 2% of the protein to the ingredients and take that amount off the water. (We recommend adding the protein to the cool down phase of this recipe)
We often get asked, can I add this to my shampoo? The truthful answer is, you can try adding it to a pre-made cosmetic base or cosmetic product but it could affect the preservatives, pH and stability of the product.
If you choose to do this, we recommend doing it in small batches and you will need to do a stability and preservative test.
While hydrolysed proteins may not cause harm if applied directly to the skin or hair, we do not recommend this as they are best used within a recipe.
Continue Reading
Now you know how to use hydrolysed proteins, why not continue reading?
- Want to try some hair recipes? Try our leave-in conditioner recipe!
- Try a skincare recipe with our hyaluronic acid serum recipe!
- Learn about the benefits of lavender essential oil with this blog!
Let us know your thoughts on our hydrolysed proteins in the comments below!
