Yes, Your Hair Needs Protein—Here's How to Get It

When our hair is in desperate need of some TLC, our natural instinct is to reach for the deepest and most nourishing protein treatment to soak our strands in, say a quick prayer to the beauty gods, and wait until we feel the dry ends and brittleness start to fade away.

Protein, after all, as board-certified dermatologist Hope Mitchell , MD, puts it, is “the building block of hair.” Because our hair is mostly made of keratin (which is a protein), Dr. Mitchell says treatments and products that are protein-based will help reinforce its structure.

Marisa Garshick , MD, board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology, agrees and says that its main purpose for our haircare needs is to repair and reduce hair breakage . It can also create a barrier around each strand to help retain mo