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Hi Randy,
I was just wondering if you could weigh in from a scientific perspective on whether eggs help/harm your hair? I’m talking about the egg treatment whereby you whip up some eggs (white and yolk) and put them on dry hair for about fifteen minutes, then shampoo and condition.
I have done this a few times before and it does yield good results – silky, stronger feeling hair.
If not eggs then is there another protein treatment which would be better?
If you left the egg in your hair the protein film could make it feel different. But if you’re rinsing it out, it won’t have any residual benefit. Proteins don’t provide much benefit for hair unless their chemically modified to stick to hair through the rinsing process.
Oh okay this is interesting, thank you Randy. It just seems from photos of other peoples results and also my own results that there is a noticeable improvement in smoothness and silkiness and strength after the treatment. I don’t know if it could be psychosomatic?
Unless they’re from a controlled scientific study, other people’s photos can’t be taken as proof. Are you feeling the improvement in your hair when wet right after rinsing or after drying?
After drying.
I wonder if it could be partly down to the clarifying effect of egg, I read somewhere that the either the white or yolk (I can’t remember which) actually cleans your hair whilst the other bit strengthens and moisturises it.
I definitly notice a conditioning effect from egg and it is definitly not a clarifying effect. My hair feels completely different. It really feels like a conditioning film.
A protein film is my first thought.
Eggs also contain different lipids (cholesterol is well-known) and phospholipids, mainly lecithin.
Phospholipids like Lecithin (phosphatidyl choline) and a few other phospholipids (like phosphatidyl ethanolamin) are zwitter-ionic, but with decreasing pH more phosphate groups protonate, whereas the positive charge of the head groups remains. Admittedly, only around pH 4 all phosphate groups are protonated, but it is an interesting fact, that phosphatidyl choline has a natural quaternary ammonium group (choline). So, maybe, these phospholipids can act like other cation-active surfactants.
By the way, fresh eggs have a moderate pH of 7.6. The pH of older eggs can raise up to pH 8, sometimes even up to 9.7.Very interesting! It hadn’t occurred to me that lowering the pH could protonate some components of the egg and help them deposit on hair. Does anyone want to experiment with egg and lemon juice conditioner?
When I use egg in my home-made hair masks I add small amounts of acid (vinegar) to lower the pH. Other treatments with acids have not the same effects to my hair.
But I would not completely rule out the possiblity that adequate amounts of egg proteins deposit on hair surface to provide conditioning effects. Not without reason native proteins have been used for centuries. Deposition depends on contact time, temperature and pH level (aside from molecular weight, quantity and protein type). The deposition of modified proteins (hydrolyzed and sometimes quaternized) is only enhanced.
Egg proteins with their high molecular weight can just cover the surface of hair, so they can not influence the tensile strength of hair (make it stronger). Maybe, egg modifies the set retention of hair, which lead to the perception of stronger hair!? Egg white (without rinsing it out) is often used as a natural hair setting lotion.
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