It’s amazing the confidence boost that a good hair day can give you! When you know you have luscious locks, it’s difficult not to keep a smile on your face throughout the day. Once you’ve relished the feeling of great hair, you’ll probably work hard from then on to keep your hair in good shape, just so you can wake up with a gorgeous mane every day.
Whether it be deep conditioning treatments, monthly trims, or spending serious dough on finding the best products, once you’ve entered the world of serious hair care, there’s really no turning back. If you’ve been in the game for a while, you may know of the more intensive side of hair care, and that is a good treatment.
There are tons of hair treatments to choose from, each of them addressing different types of hair concerns. Whether you want your hair silkier, less frizzy, more voluminous, or clean and clear, if you have a problem with your locks, odds are there’s a treatment to correct it.
But what’s an amino acid treatment for hair? An amino acid treatment restores the health of your locks while eliminating frizz, adding shine, and fighting hair loss. It does all of this by replenishing your hair of amino acids (aka protein), and can solve a wide range of hair concerns.
That’s it in a nutshell, but make sure you read on while we further break down the amino acid treatment. From what amino acids are, to all the benefits you’ll reap from receiving a treatment, consider this article your complete guide.
What Are Amino Acids?
Amino acids are compounds that are the structural foundation of proteins. You’re probably familiar with proteins in your diet – food like meat, eggs, etc. When you digest protein, your body breaks it down into amino acids that help restore and produce more tissue, and that means you end up with healthier hair.
There are 3 main groups of amino acids: essential, non-essential, and conditional. Essential amino acids cannot be naturally produced in the body. All this means is that you need to be receiving them through your diet or supplements.
Non-essential amino acids are organically made in your body and can be synthesized through the consumption of essential aminos. Lastly are conditional amino acids; these only become essential during times of physical or mental stress.
Most people know that hair is made up of a protein called keratin. But do you know what keratin itself is made up of?
Keratin is actually a coagulation of more than 15 different variations of amino acids, meaning your locks could seriously benefit from an amino rich diet. Amino acids are absolutely necessary in the formula for beautiful strands.
Who Can Benefit From An Amino Acid Treatment?
Truth be told, just about everyone can benefit from one. The only time we would warn you to stray away from amino acids is if your hair is in protein overload. This can happen if you’re using too many protein-rich products for your locks, and not taking the time to moisturize your hair in between treatments.
The telltale signs of protein overload are suddenly brittle or fragile strands, and finding more split ends and hair fallout than usual. Unfortunately, if you have processed or over-washed hair, you may have these symptoms as well.
If that’s the case, make sure you look through all of your regularly used haircare and see if you find “keratin” as an active ingredient in them.
If you’ve fallen victim to protein overload, skip out on the amino acid treatment for now. Instead, give your hair a moment to relax. Use a clarifying shampoo and conditioner to strip your hair of excess protein. Once you’re squeaky clean, apply a moisturizing hair oil to replenish your ends.
After you’ve spent some time using this routine, your hair should heal up enough for you to be able to benefit from an amino acid treatment!
Do you find your hair to be super frizzy? You’ll love how silky smooth your hair will feel after a treatment. Amino acids fill the gaps in your cuticle, locking in moisture and shine, making it highly unlikely that frizziness will rear its head again.
Are you trying to grow your hair out to Rapunzel lengths? You’ll know that preserving your hair’s health is a difficult task, so if you want some extra assistance in maintaining the moisture and softness of your hair (especially the ends), a good amino acid treatment should be the next thing you ask your stylist about.
Do you have natural hair, and find that your coils just aren’t keeping moisture? Are you looking to relax your curls? An amino-acid treatment is a great alternative to a straightening perm or other harsh chemical relaxing options.
If you have 2A or 2B hair, you could leave the salon with completely straightened locks. If you have a tighter curl, and are around the 3A to 4C, you’ll find your curl up to 60% more relaxed than your natural hair.
If you have no hair woes, and are just looking to strengthen your mane, look no further. A good amino acid treatment penetrates deep into the hair shaft, basically transforming your hair from the inside out.
You’ll find your hair to be a lot stronger, ultimately preventing breakage and hair falling out. This also makes this treatment a fantastic option for more mature hair that’s prone to breaking.
Fallen victim to the dreaded dry scalp? Amino acids are incredible at not only restoring the health of your strands, but the health of your scalp as well. An amino acid treatment will moisturize your scalp and reduce dandruff, and it even has antifungal properties!
That means that whether your flaky scalp is caused by dryness, or by an excess of fungal production, amino acids will aid in getting your scalp back to the best shape it’s ever been in!
This treatment is also beneficial if you want your hair to be easier to style. Since it doesn’t alter your hair bonds to the point where the natural shape of your hair is compromised, it actually makes hair easier to work with!
You won’t lose any volume, your hair won’t be weighed down, and your texture (specifically super curly!) won’t be straightened to the point of being unmanageable.
If you’d like to see how it’s done and what kind of results you can expect, we’ve found this great video from SalonCabelo on YouTube explaining the whole process and its benefits in further detail.
Natural Treatment
One of the most unique parts of an amino acid treatment is that, as far as other hair procedures go, this one is a lot less harsh! The main ingredients of this treatment are amino acids (obviously), and white clay!
The aminos naturally restore hair health, while white clay works to calm an angry scalp, balance the oil production (so goodbye to quickly greasy hair), and bond damaged locks. Can you believe you get all that goodness without the use of chemicals?
Tons of hair treatments, especially relaxing ones, use an array of harsh chemicals that irreversibly damage the hair shaft. Getting these done every so often is okay, but if you’re constantly going to the salon to get these done, you’re actually doing more harm to your hair than good!
If you’ve gotten keratin treatments done in the past, you’re probably aware of how abrasive the process can be. The smell of chemicals is evident, so you and your stylist were most likely wearing masks and/or eye gear so you could sit through the session without hurting your airways.
This is because keratin treatments typically have formaldehyde as an active ingredient. In normal doses, this preservative can bond the fibers in your hair, but if you’re inhaling it throughout the session, it might not be the healthiest.
Do you frequent the salon for a keratin treatment? If you do, see if they offer an amino acid treatment during your next session. You’ll get the same moisture retention and relaxing effects as a keratin treatment, but without exposure to cancer-causing chemicals.
Amino acid treatments have a very low pH balance (around 1.5), especially compared to other hair products like permanent hair dye and other chemical treatments. This makes it a lot gentler on your hair, so you can get sessions done more regularly and not find your hair breaking like you would if you chose a more abrasive treatment.
In the hair care world, sometimes it’s okay to be a commitment-phobe. Thankfully, the chemicals (or lack thereof) in an amino acid treatment are so gentle that the disulfide bonds in your hair will bend but not break, so the relaxing effect it has on your hair isn’t permanent, but it will last around 6-8 weeks, giving you ample time to decide if you want the treatment done again.
Get The Amino Treatment At Home
If you’re interested in an amino acid treatment, but aren’t sure if you want to drop the money for one in the salon, there is a way to get some aminos into your hair at home!
While you won’t find it to have the same relaxing effects as a treatment you would get done professionally, you’ll definitely find your hair to be more moisturized! The not-so-secret ingredient? Aminos!
Bragg Liquid Aminos is a vegan liquid seasoning, often used as a sauce substitute by the vegetarian and vegan communities. Because of its strong scent, we’d recommend doing this treatment before wash day.
All you need to do is mix about 2 tablespoons, or more depending on length and thickness of hair, with your favorite hair mask (or even your favorite conditioner!).
Another great choice to mix the aminos with is yogurt. Once you’ve mixed up your hair mask, apply it to your hair in even sections. Make sure all of your strands are entirely saturated and leave on for 30 minutes.
In the salon, you’ll use heat to set this mixture and let it do it’s magic. In this DIY method, heat is optional. Yes, the results will be more pronounced if you do use it, but we only recommend you do that if you have an overhead heater – using a hairdryer in lieu of one will produce patchy results. If you have an overhead heater, only use low to medium heat.
For maximum results, rinse this mask out with diluted apple cider vinegar! But, you can just hop in the shower and shampoo and condition as usual.
How To Preserve Your Results
Whether you got your hair professionally treated, or you saved some money with the DIY version, you’ll be fighting hard to preserve your transformed locks.
To increase the longevity of your silky smooth ‘do, you might have to switch up your hair care routine a bit.
Use professional quality shampoo and conditioner. If you need ideas, ask your stylist what they recommend after your treatment. You never want to skimp out on the quality of your hair care products, so make sure you do your research before taking your pick!
After you’ve gotten an amino acid treatment done, you may find that your scalp is a bit more sensitive than usual. If that’s the case, try and find a gentle shampoo and conditioner that’s free of parabens, sulfates, and other chemicals that may be too irritating on your head.
If you use other hair care products such as mousses and creams, make sure that they are alcohol-free. You should be using alcohol free products to begin with, but alcohol has especially drying results when mixed with amino acid treatments. It will entirely strip your follicles of any hydration, making it impossible for the treatment do its job.
When you shampoo, do it sparingly. Don’t squeeze out more product than you need. Instead, start with a quarter size amount, emulsify it in your hands, and then run it through your hair. If you find that’s not enough, use another quarter size amount and add on as you feel necessary. You don’t want to strip your hair of natural oils, and you definitely don’t want to strip out the treatment.
Speaking of shampoo, try and train your hair so that you don’t need to wash it more than twice a week. It may be hard at first, but eventually your hair will regulate how much oil it produces so that it stays cleaner for longer.
As for styling with heat, make sure you use protectant! Amino acids work to restore your hair of hydration, moisture, and nutrients. Regular heat styling can take these things away from your hair after just a couple of uses, so make sure you take the precautions necessary to not even give it a chance.
Related Questions
Do amino acids grow hair?
While an amino acid treatment isn’t everyone’s first choice when it comes to growing your hair back, it can give you a thickening result.
Amino acids will increase the health of your hair significantly, facilitating hair growth. However, this won’t work on significant hair loss that has already resulted in bald spots, or hair loss caused by aging.
What hair types benefit the most from amino acid treatment?
Natural hair undoubtedly gets the most benefits from this treatment. Since this hair type needs more protection, and requires more assistance with strength and moisture retention than the average hair type, you’ll see this treatment offered at most salons specializing in natural hair.
However, if you have hair that struggles with frizziness in humidity, or curls that have become unruly due to improper curl care or other outside aggressors, this technique can work wonders for you as well.
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