The Key To Healthy Gorgeous Hair: Amino Acids

Do you ever wonder why some hair products work (or as our team says “perform”) and some just don’t?  

You can use a whole handful of one product on your hair with no impact, while using a very small amount of another product garners results that amaze. The old adage of “what you put into it, is what you get out of it” applies to hair products as well. It’s all in the magic of the ingredients, how they are formulated, and how they are combined that impacts the improvements made to your hair.

Healthy, gorgeous, shiny hair with healthy growth is all about amino acids – perhaps not the most sexy sounding name, but what they can do for your hair is nothing short of spectacular!

What are amino acids?

Our bodies need 20 different amino acids to function on a daily basis - they are the building blocks of proteins and necessary for many of the structures and functions of our bodies, including building our muscles, bones, hair, and nails. Our bodies produce 11 out of the 20 amino acids we need, the other 9 named “essential amino acids” must be consumed through food, supplements, or via products.

The essential amino acids are: Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine.

Why are amino acids so good for your hair?

Say for example, that you color or bleach your hair, use hot tools, live in a windy city, spend a lot of time out in the sun, etc. – you may not realize it, but there is damage happening to your hair, either little by little or in one fell swoop from a hot flat iron left on a bit too long. At one time or another, we are all experiencing one or all of these - life simply affects, and can hurt, your hair.  

Vitamin C is all the rage in skincare right now due to its reparative and protective nature. Well, amino acids are similar in that they can repair damage, and also build up protection to the elements by providing your hair with moisture and strength. Amino acids' added benefits are that they build body and add shine, leaving hair looking smooth and feeling silky.

How do amino acids boost hair growth?

Amino acids make keratin, the building block of hair, and can also play a big role in creating red blood cells. The more red blood cells you have in your body, the better. Your whole body uses them, but for hair growth in particular - red blood cells deliver nutrients to your hair follicles to stimulate growth. There are over 20 different amino acids, but there are four amino acids that are considered the best when it comes to producing keratin: cysteine, lysine, arginine, and methionine.

Most doctors agree that cysteine is the most important amino acid for hair growth. Of all the amino acids, it makes up the biggest component of keratin and is great for improving hair strength. It provides sulfur to hair cells, which can improve hair’s texture, elasticity, and strength. Stronger hair grows longer, faster, and your hair growth becomes much more noticeable as cysteine gets to work.

This amino acid can be found in lots of foods like chicken, broccoli, wheat germ, Brussels sprouts, and dairy products like milk and yogurt. It’s an essential amino acid, meaning that your body doesn’t produce it - so you'll want to make sure that your diet includes some of these. In fact, if you’re noticing any thinning hair or your hair not feeling as full as it normally does - eat more amino acid rich foods (meat, dairy, nuts).

Where do I find amino acids for my hair?

The good news is that hair products that add amino acids to their formulation help damaged hair regain moisture and strength by filling in the gaps in the cuticle that result from color, bleach, weather, and heat damage. In addition to added strength, amino acids moisturize hair because of their water-attracting nature.  

You may have heard that amino acids simply rinse away when they are included in a shampoo or conditioner, but this is not the case when they are combined with the right partner ingredients.

EVOLVh conditioners have a cumulative positive impact on hair health and condition - the more and longer you use them, the more improved your hair will become. For simplicity's sake, let's describe hair damage, no matter what type, as developing broken bonds in your hair. You start with 15 broken bonds in your hair initially, then use an EVOLVh conditioner which contains amino and essential fatty acids that build and repair hair, yet maintain pliability (thanks to essential fatty acids), and boom... you now only have 12 broken bonds. Use EVOLVh conditioner again, and now you decrease to 8 broken bonds, and so on. Our approach to inside-out formulation ensures that the conditioner is absorbed into your hair. Combine that with the high amino and fatty acid content and you have a miracle in a bottle.

Check out our conditioners for everyday health and repair >

What about serious repair?

If your hair is dry and/or compromised, color treated, bleached, lifeless, or dull - you probably need a restorative treatment like UltraRepair Reconstructing Masque. Formulated to have 5X the amino acid concentration of anything on the market, this product delivers real visible results.

Pro Tip: when looking at a product label - the first 25% of any ingredient list does the heavy lifting.

With UltraRepair, the amino acid concentration together with the high EFA (essential fatty acids) content provides repair for all hair types and those with serious damage, plus the combination of these two superpowers results in strength, hydration, and pliability that the damage has depleted.  

The little known secret to this product is the tyrosine composition.

Changing your hair color can enhance your appearance, and it can be fun to try something new, but color is the most rigorous process that you can perform on your hair. Not only does UltraRepair take care of the damaging aspect of color and bleach, but when used as a pre-treatment prior to coloring and bleaching, the color will bond to the tyrosine, resulting in vibrant, healthy, long-lasting color with smooth and silky texture.

In summation, if you're looking for magical hair performance - look no further than products containing a high concentration of amino acids.