Ways to use plant protein powder — and why it isn't a topical product

Plant protein powder is formulated to be mixed into a liquid and swallowed, not applied to skin or hair — there's no plant protein product on the market tested or labeled for topical use. What it does work well for is going beyond a plain water shake: stirred into ice cream, coffee, batter or peanut butter, it adds protein to foods people already make at home.

Is plant protein powder meant to go on skin or hair?

No. A tub of plant protein is regulated and labeled as a food, not a cosmetic, and it isn't formulated, preserved or tested the way a topical product would be. Mixing a scoop with water or oil and applying it to hair or skin isn't something any plant protein manufacturer, ours included, has studied or makes a claim about. If you're looking for a "plant protein thickening spray" or a hair product built around plant protein, that's a separate cosmetic category with its own ingredient list and safety testing — a food-grade protein tub isn't a substitute for it, and using one that way hasn't been shown to do anything.

Protein does show up as an ingredient in some hair and skin products (keratin treatments and protein-based conditioners, for example), but those are cosmetic formulations designed and tested for external use, with preservatives and a delivery system built for that purpose. That's a different product category from a food protein powder meant to be consumed.

What plant protein powder is actually good for: recipes beyond a shake

The more useful question behind a lot of these searches is how to work a plant protein powder into food instead of just drinking it in water. A few formats that hold up:

• Ice cream and "nice cream": blend a scoop into frozen bananas, milk of choice, and ice in a blender or ice-cream maker for a protein-added frozen dessert. The powder's own flavor (chocolate, vanilla, etc.) does most of the work — you generally don't need added sugar on top of what's already in the tub.
• Coffee creamer: a scoop shaken or blended into hot or cold coffee with milk works like a flavored creamer, though it won't dissolve as smoothly as a liquid creamer — a frother or blender bottle gives a better texture than stirring with a spoon.
• Peanut butter or nut butter blends: mixing a scoop into peanut butter with a splash of water or milk makes a spreadable, higher-protein version of a peanut-butter-and-protein snack. Start with a small amount of liquid and add more gradually — plant proteins can thicken fast.
• Baking: replacing a portion of flour with plant protein in pancakes, muffins or baked oats adds protein, but a powder isn't a 1:1 flour substitute — swapping in more than a quarter of the flour tends to dry the batter out and change the texture.

Whatever the format, the protein, calorie and ingredient content is the same per scoop as it is in a plain shake — mixing it into ice cream or coffee changes how it's eaten, not what's in it.

What's in ours, if you're building a recipe around it

Our Plant Protein (Chocolate) is 21 g of protein per two-scoop serving (34.7 g), from fava bean protein isolate and YESTEIN™ fermented nutritional yeast protein, at 110 calories and 1 g of sugar per serving — label facts worth knowing before you build a recipe around a specific calorie or protein target. It's available at electrictigernutrition.com, as low as $54.47 on a three-bottle subscription.

Questions people ask

Can I make ice cream with plant protein powder?

Yes — blending a scoop into frozen fruit, milk and ice, or using it in an ice-cream maker, is a common way to add protein to a frozen dessert. It's a recipe technique, not something the powder is specifically formulated or tested for as a frozen-dessert ingredient.

Is there a plant protein hair thickening spray?

Not from a food protein powder. Hair-thickening sprays are cosmetic products with their own formulation and testing; a plant protein tub sold as a food supplement isn't designed, tested or labeled for that use.

Is plant protein and coconut oil good or bad for hair?

We didn't find testing of food-grade plant protein powder applied to hair, mixed with coconut oil or otherwise, so there's no evidence-based answer to give here either way. Coconut oil on its own is a separate, more commonly studied hair ingredient; a food protein powder isn't.

Can I use plant protein powder as a coffee creamer?

You can mix it into coffee, and it will add flavor and protein the way a creamer would, but it won't dissolve as smoothly as a liquid creamer — a shaker bottle or milk frother gets a better result than stirring with a spoon.

Related reading: plant protein powder: a plain guide, how to choose a good plant protein, and best time to take plant protein.