Keeping My Balance: 30 Days of Protein & Moisture

I am on a mission to mid-back length and as a result I am taking every precaution when handling my hair and being proactive rather than reactive in my hair care journey. A major part of being proactive is monitoring the condition of my hair on a weekly if not daily basis to prevent set backs before they occur. This proactive approach lead me to try something new: an elasticity test.

What is Elasticity & How Do You Test It?
For those of you who may not be familiar with an elasticity test it is simply a test conducted on a single strand of damp hair to measure the hair's ability to resume its normal shape after being stretched. Holding both ends of the hair strand I gently pulled each end; the strand stretched but resumed its normal shape without snapping or over-stretching.

Why is Elasticity Important?
Elasticity is a great way to measure the moisture/protein levels in you hair. The rate at which your hair stretches, resumes its normal shape, and whether or not it breaks when stretched will determine whether you need more moisture or protein in you hair regimen, or if you moisture-protein levels are in balance.

Interpreting the Results:

Too Much Moisture
When conducting your elasticity test if you hair stretches when pulled and remains stretched once free, not returning to its original shape, your hair has too much moisture and a protein conditioner or treatment should be added to correct the balance.

Too Much Protein
If your hair stretches when pulled and immediately snaps, or if you hair does not stretch at all during your elasticity test, you may suffer from protein overload and should use a moisturizing conditioner until the balance is restored.

Balanced
If, like mine, your hair stretches easily but returns to its normal shape without snapping or over-stretching your protein-moisture levels are balanced.

Since overcoming my bought of dryness a few weeks ago my hair has been in possibly the best shape it has been since I relaxed last November. I did an extreme search and destroy session last Friday and with the exception of one particular area I noticed only a few split ends; additionally my hair has not been breaking, snapping, or showing any common signs of unhealth. Although my hair is already balanced it is my goal to maintain this balance as long as possible (if not permanently), and as a result for the next 30 days I will use both a protein conditioner and a moisturizing conditioner with every wash. I will also use a combination of protein and moisture based leave-ins.

It is my hope that using both protein and moisturizing products will retain my hair's moisture-protein balance while strengthening my hair to prevent splits, breakage, and other damage that may cause set backs in my hair journey.

Have you tested your hair's elasticity?