Repair Protein Conditioner

The active is hydrolysed keratin. Keratin is the structural protein the hair shaft is made of, and a whole keratin molecule is far too large to do anything useful on the outside of a hair. Hydrolysis cuts it into short peptides and free amino acids small enough to stick to the cuticle and, where the cuticle is already lifted and porous, to settle into the gaps. That is the entire meaning of "repair" on this label. Hair is dead keratinised tissue with no blood supply and no ability to heal itself, so nothing you rinse through it rebuilds anything. The peptides fill and smooth, which lowers porosity, cuts the friction of combing and towel drying, and makes the fibre behave as though it were less damaged until a few washes take the deposit away.

Be clear about what kind of evidence sits behind that. The supporting work for hydrolysed proteins is mostly instrumental and mostly done in-house by the companies that sell the raw material: combing force, tensile strength and breakage counts measured on hair tresses in a laboratory. Those are real measurements on real hair. They are also not clinical trials on people, and much of the work was run by an interested party. So take the effect seriously at the level of how hair feels, combs and holds together, and treat it as unsupported at any level beyond that.

The conditioning base underneath the protein does more of the visible work than the protein does. It coats the shaft, lays the cuticle flat and lets a comb pass without tearing. Keratin peptides on their own would not give you a conditioner.

There is one sourcing note worth knowing. Hydrolysed keratin is normally taken from wool or feathers, so this is an animal-derived ingredient. If that matters to you, the Chebe Strengthening Conditioner is the vegan option in this range.

This is for hair that is genuinely damaged, which is a narrower group than the marketing for this category usually suggests. The test is how your hair behaves when it is dry and untreated: if it feels rough to the hand, tangles at the back of the head, splits at the ends and snaps when you comb it, protein is likely to help. Damage of that kind is often self-inflicted by a hair loss routine, and bleach gets more of the blame than it deserves. Washing daily to keep a treated scalp clean, alcohol-based topicals wicking down the shaft, and towel drying twice a day all roughen the mid-lengths, and the mid-lengths are the oldest hair on your head.

If your hair is fine and undamaged, this is the wrong bottle, because protein on hair that does not need it reads as stiff and straw-like. Fine or thinning hair is better served by the Caffeine Growth Conditioner, and hair that is smooth but frizzy by the Smoothing Conditioner. Where this one earns its place, it pairs with the Repair Protein Hair Mask, which is the same protein at a higher concentration for one longer treatment a week, and it is the sensible follow-up to the Deep Cleanse Scalp Shampoo, since a clarifying wash strips the fibre as well as the scalp. For split ends that are already there, the Nourishing Hair Oil hides them, and nothing glues them back together.

None of this touches the follicle. Regrowth in this range comes from Minoxidil Topical Solution USP, 5%, which is the only ingredient we sell with strong evidence behind it. This conditioner protects what that treatment gives you time to grow.

Use it after every shampoo, and drop back to two or three washes a week if your hair starts to feel stiff.

1. Squeeze the water out of your hair first. Conditioner applied to soaking hair is diluted before it touches anything.
2. Use a coin-sized amount, about 5 mL, for hair above the ears. Use roughly 10 mL for hair to the shoulders and 15 mL for anything longer. At that rate the 450 mL bottle covers about ninety short-hair washes or thirty long-hair ones.
3. Work it through the mid-lengths and the ends. Keep it off the roots and the scalp, where it adds weight and can leave residue that flakes.
4. Comb it through with a wide-tooth comb while it is still in. This is the moment the fibre is best protected against breakage, and it also spreads the protein evenly.
5. Leave it for two to three minutes, or up to five if your hair is badly damaged. Protein needs longer contact than a standard conditioner.
6. Rinse with cool water until your hair no longer feels slippery.

Protein has a ceiling. Using this alongside the weekly mask in the same wash, or every single day on hair that is only mildly damaged, tends to leave hair that feels hard and brittle. If that happens, drop back to twice a week and it resolves within a wash or two.

Order matters if you use a topical. Wash and condition first, dry your scalp completely, then apply the topical. Applying minoxidil and washing a few hours later throws the dose away.

The change is immediate and you will feel it on the first wash. The comb moves through without catching, the ends look less ragged and the hair feels smoother once dry. That deposit is not permanent, and most of it is gone within a handful of washes, which is why it belongs in the routine every time you shampoo.

The longer effect is about what you keep. Over six to eight weeks, less breakage through the mid-lengths should help you hold onto length, and length reads as density even though the number of hairs on your head has not changed. That is the honest whole of it. This product will not regrow hair, it will not slow or reverse pattern hair loss, and it does not make the hair you have thicker at the root.

For external use only. Avoid contact with the eyes, and rinse with water if it happens. Do not use it on a scalp that is broken, inflamed, infected or sore. Rinse thoroughly, because conditioner left sitting on the scalp can dry into flakes that are easily mistaken for dandruff.

Allergic reactions to hydrolysed proteins in cosmetics are uncommon but they are documented, so if you have reacted to a hair product before, test a small amount behind the ear and leave it a day before using it properly. Stop using it if you develop itching, redness or a rash. This product contains an animal-derived ingredient. Keep out of reach of children.