Protein deep conditioners

I was in a Trade Secrets salon last week looking at their products and thinking of trying some new ones. I got into a conversation with a woman who works there and she told me that you can use too much protein conditioning on your hair and it can get brittle from too much deep conditioning. I purchased a set of Joice K-Pac and Joico moisturizing conditioner ( can't remeber the exact name ). I am using Artec Moisture Pac about once every 2 weeks. I condition after every shampoo and leave it on about 5 minutes and then rinse. Then I use either Aveda Elixer or Sebastian Potion #9 as a leave in. Maybe I am doing too much. Is that possible? Also I am using jojoba oil at night 2-3 times per week. My ends do seem kind of brittle and fragile. I was thinking that I was repairing or at least not damaging my ends by doing all this. I have partially color treated hair and am growing out layers so these are probably factors in brittle ends too. Does anyone have any advice or have any info on how much protein conditioning is good and is there such a thing as too much? I am the queen of if a little is good then more must be better! ThanksCarolyn B

Hi Carolyn,From my experience, there is no such thing as too much protein conditioning...as long as you switch off with a moisturizing conditioner once in a while. Protein is good, but moisture is essential. So it's not the protein that might cause brittleness, it's the lack of moisture.I have a little trick that I do when I wash my hair. I coat my hair with a thin layer of oil (to moisturize), and then after shampooing my scalp, I condition with a protein conditioner. The protein coats the hair and seals in the moisture from the oil, leaving my hair both moisturized AND strengthened. A leave-in conditioner is also a good way to seal in moisture.From what you wrote, it doesn't seem like you're doing "too much". But only you can really tell if your hair is getting the right treatment. If it feels moisturized, you're doing fine. If it feels brittle, then you're not adding enough moisture. Trust your sences. They will tell you if you're doing something wrong.Oh yea. One more thing. If you feel that the jojoba oil isn't moisturizing enough (you said you ends were brittle?) then try switching to olive oil or coconut oil. But remember that these oils are heavier than jojoba.Take care,PD> I was in a Trade Secrets salon last week looking at> their products and thinking of trying some new ones. I> got into a conversation with a woman who works there> and she told me that you can use too much protein> conditioning on your hair and it can get brittle from> too much deep conditioning. I purchased a set of Joice> K-Pac and Joico moisturizing conditioner ( can't> remeber the exact name ). I am using Artec Moisture> Pac about once every 2 weeks. I condition after every> shampoo and leave it on about 5 minutes and then> rinse. Then I use either Aveda Elixer or Sebastian> Potion #9 as a leave in. Maybe I am doing too much. Is> that possible? Also I am using jojoba oil at night 2-3> times per week. My ends do seem kind of brittle and> fragile. I was thinking that I was repairing or at> least not damaging my ends by doing all this. I have> partially color treated hair and am growing out layers> so these are probably factors in brittle ends too.> Does anyone have any advice or have any info on how> much protein conditioning is good and is there such a> thing as too much? I am the queen of if a little is> good then more must be better! Thanks> Carolyn B

Thanks for the advice,I used the Joico KPac the night before getting my hair colored and trimmed. I think it helped minimize damage. I am trying to get my hair back to as near my natural color as possible and I hope that then I will be able to just have my gray on the top and sides colored. I will try to concentrate on using moisturizing products. I got the KPAc with a Joico moisturizing conditioner. I have been using a protein conditioner every 1-2 weeks. I do have a problem with split ends so I think I need to be religious in conditioning. I am trying to be a lot more careful with my hair. I am using a boar's hair brush now and being more gentle. I am growing out layers and growing the whole length longer too.Carolyn