by L. Providence of PartyOverHair.com
Always wonder why it takes your hair forever and a day to dry? Or how about why it seems as if products, particularly heavy butters and creams, just sit on your hair? Chances are you may have low porosity hair. If you’re unsure, take a few strands of your freshly washed hair and place them in a cup of room temperature... how long does it take your hair to float to the bottom? Does it even float to the bottom? Yea, you have low porosity hair.
It seems as if all naturals will struggle with maintaining moisture at some point in their hair journey. Lo-po hair naturals have it no different. This Lo-po V.I.P list is compiled of products that aid in raising your tight cuticles so that products can penetrate.
Wash days + co-washing
+ When you have low porosity hair, heat needs to become your best friend as it aids in opening cuticles. The best way to heat hair and moisturize is with a steamer, such as the Huetiful Steamer. Aside from just using a steamer for your deep conditioning treatments, start using it for your pre-poos as well. A cheap alternative to steaming is placing your hair under a plastic cap and wrapping a hot towel around your head.
+ If you don’t have time to give yourself deep conditioning treatments with heat, consider heating up your conditioner before applying to your hair, as well as rinsing your hair with warm water before applying conditioner. A lot of lo-po naturalistas tend to have great experiences with Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Hair Moisturizer and made this one of their favorite conditioners to use.
+ Since baking soda is alkaline in nature, it can temporarily lift the hair’s cuticle. You can add a little baking soda to your conditioners or try the Cherry Lola Treatment, in which you mix baking soda with water and apply to your hair before rinsing out with cool water. With your cuticles raised, you’ll need to reseal with something acidic like Aloe Vera Juice.
+ When it comes to clarifying, consider using Bentonite Clay which can be used like a shampoo to trap and remove dirt, debris, buildup and other particles from your hair and scalp.
Protein Treatments
+ When it comes to protein, don’t go overboard as your hair doesn’t require much of it. If you decided to use protein, look for hydrolyzed rice, silk and wheat protein as they tend to be really good in penetrating and coating low porosity hair.
Daily Use
+ You must allow your hair some time to dry before attempting to apply products. When applying products, it’s best to start with a water based product, like Shea Moisture Enhancing Curl Smoothie, before trying to apply additional products. Look for richer conditioners with great emollients, such as jojoba oil, but sans the plethora of unnecessary oils.
+ Try finding products that contain humectants, such as Glycerin or Honey to draw out moisture. The glycerin is something you’ll have to experiment with as some people swear by it, while others loathe it. Glycerin is said to work better in climates with high humidity.
+ Some lo-po naturals tend to be extremely oil sensitive or may even choose not to use oil altogether. If you are going to use oil, avoid your heavier oils like coconut and opt for a lighter oil like Grapeseed Oil.
For those of you what low
porosity hair, have you tried any of these products to help with
dryness? What are some other products you would recommend?
17 Comments:
I find that applying a leave in to my hair while it is wet and seal with an oil is fine....butters and heavier creams come in handy for me when I will have a protective style in my hair for 5 days or more otherwise I have to dilute it with an light oil
This is so me! Thank you again, CN for stepping on my figurative toes. I have adopted your plopping method with great success; cuts my drying time significantly. And I live in a HIGH humidity climate. Glycerine is my curls best friend. My WnG usually lasts me 5-7 days when I'm consistent.
While most people only put cold water on their hair, as a low porosity natural, I usually use warm water to lift the cuticle (as the author suggested) before I condition, then cold to rinse to close the cuticle. Also, I tend to stay away from protein treatments.
is the turban heat wrap make for a good substitute for the seamer? as a college student idk if thats in my budget and has anyone ever used silk elements olive oil conditioner? its the only on i can find that has slip and i think i want to substitute for better ingredients
It's funny, I have very low porosity hair, but I have to apply products soaking wet or I get totally frizzed out. I love oil (my daily oil mix has evoo, coconut oil, castor oil, argan oil & tee tree). The curl enhancing smoothie used to be what I swore by though. I am a big fan of glycerin though. My hair loves silk protein too. Because I don't have the cash for a steamer, I wrap a heating pad around my head when I deep condition and I steam at the gym whenever I can.
I recently discovered my hair has low porosity, also. I started using bentonite clay to wash my hair, though I like rhassoul clay better. Bentonite's cheaper and a better cleanser, but rhassoul clay is a pretty good conditioner and is a lot easier to wash out out than the bentonite. I always mix them with aloe vera juice, since vinegar dries out my hair. Whenever I wet my hair, I always leave a t-shirt on for like 20 minutes or so to soak up the excess water until I'm ready to , so it dries more quickly. I started out using grapeseed oil, but now I'm mostly using jojoba oil, which works great for me. I usually stay away from protein, but I'll occasionally put yogurt in my hair.
Sisters... I believe I have been doing this all wrong! It makes much more sense now, as to why CD Khoret Amen conditioner works pretty well on my hair (hydrolyzed silk proteins) and why it feels like certain things are just sitting on my hair! While I do love the weight I get from my heavier shea butter cream, I was super confused about why my lighter version wasn't giving me moisture but just that greasy feeling! I have no idea what cream to use as that curl enhancing smoothie smells terrible to me. Ideas?
This is definitely me! I have a steamer, but I've been getting better results when I deep condition with the Hair Therapy wrap. I just experimented with a bentonite clay wash last week...4 shampoos later (and I rarely use shampoo) and I still have clay in my hair : / My hair actually really loves protein (GPB), hates glycerin (although, I will experiment with glycerin again this winter) and almond & argan oils are the only oils that don't leave my hair greasy.The modified Kimmaytube recipe (only 1tsp of almond oil) is the only leave-in/styler that seems to work for me right now.
I use a bentonite clay by Terressential. It is great! This my wash routine:
http://originalbeauty7.blogspot.com/2012/09/you-wash-your-hair-with-mud.html
I have tried the Cherry lola treatmnt and just the baking soda as well wit conditoner.. and I see more curl def after doing so..I do have low porosity and wht I have being using now is the 50.50 giovanii it feels good on my Hair..my question tho is whts wrong with a Bonnet dryer for deep cnditoning.. That steamer is some hefty dollrs.. That what I use or jus leav it in for 3hrs with plastic bag... I have yet to try the Towel .. But great article..
Glycerin is one ingredient I try my best to avoid especially in the summer or warm weather 'cause it my hair to swell and turn my hair into a hot mess!
Same here Jess. If im rocking a wash an go my hair needs to be soaking wet so I usually apply a leave in like Kinky Curly Knot today while im still in the shower and then seal with oil. if I use a heavy product my hair gets limp and kind of hard. However I do use Shea Moisture's curl enhancing smoothie for protective styling and then seal with an oil bc I find that I only need to re-moisturize fewer times throughout the week.
My hair loves the Cherry Lola Treatment. The posted formula is incorrect. This is formula that I use: 1 cup of whole milk plain yogurt + 2 tbsp of Bragg’s Amino Acids (you can find this at Whole Foods by the soy sauce)+
1 tbsp of Baking Soda. I use it as a pre poo.
I believe I am a low porosity natural. Though many people have love for the Coconut and Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie and it smells great, I find it too heavy/greasy. My hair prefer's Shea Moisture's Raw Shea Restorative Conditioner as a leave-in. The other advice in this article seems good though.
I was just wondering if the you have noticed if the baking soda loosens your curl pattern. I heard that it does. If so, was it only temporary like the author mentioned? Though I am personally not interested in loosening my curl pattern, I am just curious about that. Thanks!
I probably just use what most naturals use, it's just that it takes some time for moisture to actually penetrate the strands. I don't typically use heat when deep conditioning. I'm sure that would speed up the process but it's cool because I usually have dishes to wash or need to vacuum while my conditioner sits so a plastic cap is just fine by me.
Hmmmm.....I never heard of heating up your conditioner ever! May try one day,
Post a Comment