I know the natural hair care journey can be by time very frustrating, finding the right products, regimen, watching tons of youtube videos and still not understanding why this product or this technique doesn't work for you? And all you hear from naturalista is hair porosity this, hair porosity that. Here a little helps to make you understand a bit more about hair porosity:
Hair porosity is the ability or inability to absorb water or chemicals into the hair. It is mostly determined by genetics.
There is 3 types of hair porosity:
-Low porosity, Medium porosity and lastly high porosity (check out our blog how to know if you have low, medium and high porosity).
Today, we will give a few tips to our low porosity sisters!!!
First foremost, what you have to know is that low porosity, hair structure does not easily absorb moisture and also resists chemical treatment.
We won’t go too deep into the structure and the function of hair, this is a topic for another day :).
To make it simple for you to understand, the hair is divided into 3 layers:
So if you have low porosity hair, the cuticles tend to overlap and be very tight. Since they are firmly closed and have no space between them, it is more difficult for water, chemicals as well as products, to be absorbed into the hair shaft.
You asked yourself how to know if I have low porosity?
You can know if you have low porosity by doing the glass test or simply pay attention to how your hair behaves?
The glass test:
- Wash your hair with shampoo to remove dirt and product buildup
- Dry your hair
- Take a few strands of hair and drop it to a glass of water
- Watch your hair strand for a few minutes to see if it floats.
Result for low porosity: Hair strands must float to the top of the glass
So some characteristics check to see if you have low porosity hair:
The goal for low porosity hair is to absorb and retain moisture, with the perfect products and techniques it is possible to take care of it.
How to care for low porosity hair?
- Shampooing your hair
As low porosity has a hard time absorbing the product, it is very important to make sure that you shampoo your hair on a regular basis to remove dirt, oils, and to avoid product buildup. You can incorporate a clarifying shampoo once a month to deeply clean your hair. Using warm water during your shampoo will help to raise up your cuticle for the next step of your wash routine.
- Use heat while deep conditioning
Since the products does not sink into hair with low porosity, using heat
will help raise out the cuticle in order for the hair to absorb the moisture from the deep conditioner. Apply your deep conditioner on wet hair followed with a shower cap and sit under a hooded hair dryer, steamer or a heat cap.
- Use lightweight oils and products
Low porosity hair people may be tempted to apply a larger quantity of products in the effort to saturate your hair. But remember that your cuticles are firmly closed, so not a lot of products will penetrate the shaft, no matter how much you apply. That's why it's important to use lightweight products and/or oils that can get past the cuticle and nourish the hair. Also, it is important to seal the moisture in with oil. You should also stay away from heavy products and butter.
Loof for water-based products as they are typically lightweight and penetrate easily the tightly cuticle of hair. Our Fenugreek & Lavender oil is a great lightweight oil that helps to lock the moisture in and strengthen the hair. It’s great to grow your low porosity hair
Other good oils for low porosity: almond oil, argan oil, grapeseed oil.
- Avoid protein
You have to know that low porosity hair is sensitive to protein due to the tightly packed cuticles. Applying additional protein to your hair care regimen when you have low porosity instead of strengthening your hair will make it stiff and brittle which will end up breaking it.
- Cover your hair at night
Wrap your hair at night with satin or silk bonnet or scarf will prevent losing moisture. Since low porosity hair does not absorb moisture easily, you surely don’t want to lose the moisture absorbed by sleeping on a cotton sheet or pillowcase. Cotton draws out moisture from your hair.
- Keep an eye on your ends:
As your hair does not absorb moisture easily and your ends are farther from your scalp they tend to be even drier and brittle faster. Make sure to get trim on a schedule and moisture them more often to avoid split ends and breakage.
- Prepoo your hair:
Using a pre-shampoo treatment can drastically help your hair and make the process of you wash day easier. The pre-poo will bring moisture to your hair and prevent it from breaking when you wash them. You can prepoo the day before you wash the day with your favorite oil. Just spray your hair with warm water and apply your favorite oil and cover with a shower cap, the heat from your head will allow your cuticle to rise up. You can also warm your oil by letting it sit in a jar with hot water.
When you are more aware of the products and techniques that suit your hair, trust and believe you will see significant results. Give your hair the love they deserve!!!