Low Porosity Support Thread

[Evolving78]

interesting article one moisturizing low porosity hair
http://www.natreview.com/2012/04/18/the-other-path-to-moisture-technically-speaking-moisturizing-low-porosity-hair/#comment-8039

"Tip

Adding small amounts of surfactant to your deep conditioner will lower the overall surface energy of the system and drive hydration.

Super Tip

Adding a tiny amount of Castile soap to your deep condish regimen will drive hydration for several reasons. The first is that it will lower the overall surface energy of the water system. The second is that the castile soap tends to have a higher pH and it will also open the hair cuticle (more on this later)."

Very interesting...

i might give this a go next time! thanks!

 

[divachyk]

I definitely want to try this. I may wait until my hair is a little longer though so I can bun it. divachyk, what do you put on your hair prior to rollersetting?

faithVA - most times I simply apply my rollerset leave ins -- pureology, foam wrap and serum. If deep in a stretch, I apply a SSI CoCo Cream before my rollerset leave ins to help with detangling.

 

[virtuenow]

Well, I posted this in the high porosity thread, but I was told I sound more like low porosity. What do you all think? Here's my post:

Describe your hair? thick strands, densely spread

Relaxed, natural, texturized, texlaxed? Natural 4b

what are your hair's indicators of high porosity? Hair never gets wet, water beads on my hair, conditioners and water will not penetrate or stay, hair will not hold moisture; relaxers never took to my hair-- think thats a low porosity indidcator though(?) ETA: hair dries within minutes after wash/conditioning. I can run my fingers down the last few inches of my hair and its so rough.

what methods/products have you tried that really work for your hair?
Weekly protein-moisture balanced DC--> Aubrey Organics GPB; oil rinses w/castor oil; lo-poo (diluted shampoos on scalp only); and pre-poo treatments (w/aloe vera juice & coconut oil)

what have you tried that did NOT work for your hair/what do you avoid? everything else, ACV rinses (epic fail, ultra dry breakage), glycerin, shea butter, Nexus Humectress, Nioxin, Aveda producsts, Cholestorol, Aussie Moist, Trader Joes, Shea Moisture, Curls, the list goes on.

how has having high porosity hair affected your hair care & growth journey? Hair always breaks off once it reaches a decent length (APL). The strands have suffered for as long as they can take it in complete dryness, hay hair status; then they just break and start over again

 

[faithVA]

Well, I posted this in the high porosity thread, but I was told I sound more like low porosity. What do you all think? Here's my post:

Describe your hair? thick strands, densely spread

Relaxed, natural, texturized, texlaxed? Natural 4b

what are your hair's indicators of high porosity? Hair never gets wet, water beads on my hair, conditioners and water will not penetrate or stay, hair will not hold moisture; relaxers never took to my hair-- think thats a low porosity indidcator though(?) ETA: hair dries within minutes after wash/conditioning. I can run my fingers down the last few inches of my hair and its so rough.

what methods/products have you tried that really work for your hair?
Weekly protein-moisture balanced DC--> Aubrey Organics GPB; oil rinses w/castor oil; lo-poo (diluted shampoos on scalp only); and pre-poo treatments (w/aloe vera juice & coconut oil)

what have you tried that did NOT work for your hair/what do you avoid? everything else, ACV rinses (epic fail, ultra dry breakage), glycerin, shea butter, Nexus Humectress, Nioxin, Aveda producsts, Cholestorol, Aussie Moist, Trader Joes, Shea Moisture, Curls, the list goes on.

how has having high porosity hair affected your hair care & growth journey? Hair always breaks off once it reaches a decent length (APL). The strands have suffered for as long as they can take it in complete dryness, hay hair status; then they just break and start over again

virtuenow, Yes you do sound more like a lo po lady. Although this is a new thread, there is a lot of great sharing and great tips already.

 

[faithVA]

blackeyes31626[/USER];15766087]interesting article one moisturizing low porosity hair
http://www.natreview.com/2012/04/18...-moisturizing-low-porosity-hair/#comment-8039

"Tip

Adding small amounts of surfactant to your deep conditioner will lower the overall surface energy of the system and drive hydration.

Super Tip

Adding a tiny amount of Castile soap to your deep condish regimen will drive hydration for several reasons. The first is that it will lower the overall surface energy of the water system. The second is that the castile soap tends to have a higher pH and it will also open the hair cuticle (more on this later)."

Very interesting...

Thanks for the article. I read it too late last night to really take it all in. But will definitely read it again.

 

[faithVA]

PracticallyMe[/USER];15766425]--Share your hair background


--What questions do you have?

Product suggestion to help with moisture.

My answers are in bold above.

Please share with us your regimen for your daughter both technique and products used prewash, wash, condition, moisturizing, etc.

For our hair it is going to be a combination of technique and products.

 

[faithVA]

My wash day went well, although its not completely finished.
I oiled my scalp with castor oil blend and mixed water and my castor oil blend and coated my hair. I sat under my heat cap for 20 minutes and then went to bed.

This afternoon I mixed Natures Gate Chamomile conditioner, AVG and sunflower oil. I misted my hair with water, applied the conditioner mix and detangled. It was very easy. I rinsed. It didn't feel that great but I didn't have to detangle again.

I washed with my Terressentials mudwash. I mixed the lavender and lemon and rinsed.

I then DCd with AO White Camellia. It went on so easy that I had too much left over and my hair will really white and foamy . I twisted my hair up and went out without rinsing. I came home and misted my hair with water, and the conditioner reactivated . I applied another layer of conditioner on each section, misted my whole head, baggied and am not sitting under my heat cap.

It's too late to rinse now. I hate sleeping with a wet head but will do so tonight and rinse in the morning.

In the article it said that conditioner longer would help. I have never had any success DCing for long periods of time but I will give this a shot.

 

[virtuenow]

@virtuenow, Yes you do sound more like a lo po lady. Although this is a new thread, there is a lot of great sharing and great tips already.

Yes, but why is this low and not high. I just didn't think kinky hard hair could be associated w/low porosity. If anything it sounds like highly porous hair.

 

[mg1979]

Well, I posted this in the high porosity thread, but I was told I sound more like low porosity. What do you all think? Here's my post:

Describe your hair? thick strands, densely spread

Relaxed, natural, texturized, texlaxed? Natural 4b

what are your hair's indicators of high porosity? Hair never gets wet, water beads on my hair, conditioners and water will not penetrate or stay, hair will not hold moisture; relaxers never took to my hair-- think thats a low porosity indidcator though(?) ETA: hair dries within minutes after wash/conditioning. I can run my fingers down the last few inches of my hair and its so rough.

what methods/products have you tried that really work for your hair?
Weekly protein-moisture balanced DC--> Aubrey Organics GPB; oil rinses w/castor oil; lo-poo (diluted shampoos on scalp only); and pre-poo treatments (w/aloe vera juice & coconut oil)

what have you tried that did NOT work for your hair/what do you avoid? everything else, ACV rinses (epic fail, ultra dry breakage), glycerin, shea butter, Nexus Humectress, Nioxin, Aveda producsts, Cholestorol, Aussie Moist, Trader Joes, Shea Moisture, Curls, the list goes on.

how has having high porosity hair affected your hair care & growth journey? Hair always breaks off once it reaches a decent length (APL). The strands have suffered for as long as they can take it in complete dryness, hay hair status; then they just break and start over again

Yes, but why is this low and not high. I just didn't think kinky hard hair could be associated w/low porosity. If anything it sounds like highly porous hair.

I read so much conflicting stuff about porosity that I paid for the Live Curly Live Free/Curl Wizard hair analysis to be sure. I don't know enough about high porosity to say why your description would not be high porosity, but it sounds like low porosity to me because of the underlined parts above. Basically the hair is so tightly compact that nothing is getting in: water, moisturizer, conditioner, relaxer. When I was relaxed, my scalp burned before the relaxer ever took.

One thing I noticed inconsistent characteristics regarding low porosity is on whether or not the hair dries fast or takes forever to dry. This is what I noticed and may be why people say different things. If I have product in my hair, it takes FOREVER TO DRY. But if there is no product in my hair, it dries WAY TOO FAST.

 

[faithVA]

Yes, but why is this low and not high. I just didn't think kinky hard hair could be associated w/low porosity. If anything it sounds like highly porous hair.

If you read the descriptions of why hair is high porosity it is usually associated with damage of the cuticles associated with chemicals and heat. Not saying that it is always the case but those are often causes. I am not aware that there are any associated causes of low porosity. It is just the natural state of the hair. So I would be more prone to associate kinky hair with low porosity vs high porosity.

 

[PracticallyMe]

Please share with us your regimen for your daughter both technique and products used prewash, wash, condition, moisturizing, etc.

For our hair it is going to be a combination of technique and products.

Ok, with her last wash this is what I did:

1) Washed her hair while it was still in individual twists
2) First wash was with castille soap (soap and oil mixture)
3) Second wash was with V05 conditioner
4) Pat dried her hair with a towel, which left her hair slightly damp (water does not penetrate her strands well at all)
5) Put Sheamoisture conditioner and an oil blend on her hair for conditioning
6) Covered her hair with a plastic bag and a larger plastic heating cap cover (but did not attach a dryer to the heating cap)
7) Left the conditioner on for 45 min under the bags before I started combing her hair

The conditioning treatment made her hair maybe 5-10% more moisturized than without it. It was better to have used it than not, but it didn't help that much.

I sprayed her hair with my conditioner water (conditoner, oil, a bit of glycerin) to soften/detangle her hair as I combed it and used Aloe Butter as a moisturizer.

The Aloe Butter seems to help, but I need something to open her cuticles so the moisture from it can better penetrate the strands. On the next wash, I will try the baking soda.

To moisturize daily, I am using Wave Nouveau spray mist (has glycerin) and based on recs here, some Aloe Vera Gel. It is providing some moisture to her hair. It probabaly increases the moisture by about 15-20%. But by the end of the day, it's dry and hard again, so the products may not be soaking in very well.

I remember I used to have some luck with Luster's Pink Oil and another Castor Oil pink lotion, but I stopped using them. I think I will try the Pink Oil again on one of the twists tonight, to see how her hair responds. I know her hair likes the creamy moisturizers better, but I need to figure out which one is best.

The oils/butters (besides the Aloe Butter), don't do well with her hair. I've had some penetration with Castor Oil, so I may need to make a mixture of some products to come up with the best moisturizer for her hair.

I have three heads of hair I work on, and the products that work best for each of us are seemingly different, so I end up with lots of products and I forget what works for whom. And the fact that I'm a product junkie does not help either. I plan on documenting my results for her hair this go round because her hair stresses me out the most, since she is extremely tender-headed.

 

[Evolving78]

i shampooed and now i am dc'ing with suave almond and shea with a little jojoba oil. this is my second time using it and i like it so far. i had to go back to washing, then dc'ing to make sure my hair gets as much moisture as possible.

 

[faithVA]

PracticallyMe[/USER];15791533]Ok, with her last wash this is what I did:

2) First wash was with castille soap (soap and oil mixture)

3) Second wash was with V05 conditioner
4) Pat dried her hair with a towel, which left her hair slightly damp (water does not penetrate her strands well at all)
5) Put Sheamoisture conditioner and an oil blend on her hair for conditioning
6) Covered her hair with a plastic bag and a larger plastic heating cap cover (but did not attach a dryer to the heating cap)
7) Left the conditioner on for 45 min under the bags before I started combing her hair

The conditioning treatment made her hair maybe 5-10% more moisturized than without it. It was better to have used it than not, but it didn't help that much.

I sprayed her hair with my conditioner water (conditoner, oil, a bit of glycerin) to soften/detangle her hair as I combed it and used Aloe Butter as a moisturizer.

The Aloe Butter seems to help, but I need something to open her cuticles so the moisture from it can better penetrate the strands. On the next wash, I will try the baking soda.

To moisturize daily, I am using Wave Nouveau spray mist (has glycerin) and based on recs here, some Aloe Vera Gel. It is providing some moisture to her hair. It probabaly increases the moisture by about 15-20%. But by the end of the day, it's dry and hard again, so the products may not be soaking in very well.

I remember I used to have some luck with Luster's Pink Oil and another Castor Oil pink lotion, but I stopped using them. I think I will try the Pink Oil again on one of the twists tonight, to see how her hair responds. I know her hair likes the creamy moisturizers better, but I need to figure out which one is best.

The oils/butters (besides the Aloe Butter), don't do well with her hair. I've had some penetration with Castor Oil, so I may need to make a mixture of some products to come up with the best moisturizer for her hair.

I have three heads of hair I work on, and the products that work best for each of us are seemingly different, so I end up with lots of products and I forget what works for whom. And the fact that I'm a product junkie does not help either. I plan on documenting my results for her hair this go round because her hair stresses me out the most, since she is extremely tender-headed.

1. Castille soap for every wash may be too much. It opens the cuticles nicely but for every wash may possible damage the cuticle over the long run.

2. Not sure why you washed with the V05. Perhaps if you get a different shampoo you can skip the cowash. Or get a better conditioner and just cowash.

3. Skip the towel for drying. Use either a t-shirt or a paper towel if you feel you need to get some of the water out.

4. I don't have any comments on the conditioner. Haven't heard rave reviews but haven't heard anything bad about it. The one thing I do know about shea butter and lo porosity hair is typically they are You may want to try a lighter deep conditioner. Heavy conditioners sit on the strands. They feel great going on but don't leave much after being rinsed out.

5. You do want heat with your DC because it will open the cuticle. Some steam. I use a heat cap which works wonderfully.

I would skip butters. Anything heavy is going to sit on her hair. If I use a butter I have to mix it with equal parts of oil to have it even remotely work. You may want to find a lighter oil like sunflower or grapeseed for her hair. Heavy oils usually aren't any better than butters.

Castor oil works for some lo porosity and not for others. You just have to monitor it.

Because you used the castille soap first, her cuticles are probably still opened enough. You actually made need to close them. When I tried castille soap it felt wonderful after the wash but my hair felt rough all week.

I think you need to focus first on your shampoo and conditioner so everything else is building up on that.

Maybe some of the other ladies will share what shampoo and conditioner they use and you can start from there. I would wait to switch up on your moisturizers. If you are going to use a butter to seal, then add a layer of a light oil before it.

I am mostly an all natural product girl so my list may not be helpful.

I know that's a lot so ask away.

 

[fasika]

The first time I used Roux Porosity control (years ago back when I was natural), my tangles just melted away. I can't even describe it -they literally melted without me detangling with my fingers or comb. It was just mindblowing.
Now that I'm relaxed, I never feel any difference. In fact it feels like my hair is a little "harder" while the conditioner is on and when I rinse it. I don't know what the deal is.

 

[divachyk]

The first time I used Roux Porosity control (years ago back when I was natural), my tangles just melted away. I can't even describe it -they literally melted without me detangling with my fingers or comb. It was just mindblowing.
Now that I'm relaxed, I never feel any difference. In fact it feels like my hair is a little "harder" while the conditioner is on and when I rinse it. I don't know what the deal is.

fasika, Roux is not for low porosity heads which might be why you're experiencing issues.

 

[mg1979]

fasika: I agree with divachyk. I think Roux closes the cuticle, so I would think your further closing an already tight cuticle and moisture really couldn't get in. Although it might be good after using Castile soap or baking soda to close the cuticle back...I don't know though because I've never tried alkaline treatment to open the cuticle...it scares me.

 

[PracticallyMe]

1. Castille soap for every wash may be too much. It opens the cuticles nicely but for every wash may possible damage the cuticle over the long run.

2. Not sure why you washed with the V05. Perhaps if you get a different shampoo you can skip the cowash. Or get a better conditioner and just cowash.

3. Skip the towel for drying. Use either a t-shirt or a paper towel if you feel you need to get some of the water out.

4. I don't have any comments on the conditioner. Haven't heard rave reviews but haven't heard anything bad about it. The one thing I do know about shea butter and lo porosity hair is typically they are You may want to try a lighter deep conditioner. Heavy conditioners sit on the strands. They feel great going on but don't leave much after being rinsed out.

5. You do want heat with your DC because it will open the cuticle. Some steam. I use a heat cap which works wonderfully.

I would skip butters. Anything heavy is going to sit on her hair. If I use a butter I have to mix it with equal parts of oil to have it even remotely work. You may want to find a lighter oil like sunflower or grapeseed for her hair. Heavy oils usually aren't any better than butters.

Castor oil works for some lo porosity and not for others. You just have to monitor it.

Because you used the castille soap first, her cuticles are probably still opened enough. You actually made need to close them. When I tried castille soap it felt wonderful after the wash but my hair felt rough all week.

I think you need to focus first on your shampoo and conditioner so everything else is building up on that.

Maybe some of the other ladies will share what shampoo and conditioner they use and you can start from there. I would wait to switch up on your moisturizers. If you are going to use a butter to seal, then add a layer of a light oil before it.

I am mostly an all natural product girl so my list may not be helpful.

I know that's a lot so ask away.

Thanks faithVA for your response.

I don't usually use the Castille Soap on her hair. I just did on this wash to remove some of the buildup on her hair. I haven't used Castille Soap on her hair since last summer. I usually just conditioner wash w/ V05.

I haven't used shampoo for years because I don't like how it strips our hair. The V05 is a pretty good conditioner for conditioning washing. It cleans the hair and scalp really well without stripping it. That's one product that works well for washing for all our heads.

I will look for a better leave-in conditioner for her though. I was thinking of trying WEN to see if it would make her hair more manageable, but I'll see what others suggest before I make any decisions.

I use all types of products, so suggest away.

I definitely will try the other tips on the list. Thanks for your help.

 

[faithVA]

My girl tashboog sent me a care package so I get to try some new stuff. I finally rinsed out the DC from Saturday And I DCd with the Shea Moisture Yucca conditioner and sat under my heat cap. It didn't feel like anything went I took off the heat cap. Forgot to let my hair cool off before rinsing. Happens when I do my hair too late. But my hair felt pretty good when I rinsed. I put on the Shea Moisture Yucca leave-in and am now sitting under my heat cap for 10 minutes. Will reapply the leave-in.

I will probably apply some sunflower oil to my ends. Not going to put anything else on my hair because I want to see how this product works so need to let my hair dry. Not sure how I'm going to style it. Needs to be something quick.

 

[fasika]

fasika, Roux is not for low porosity heads which might be why you're experiencing issues.

fasika: I agree with divachyk. I think Roux closes the cuticle, so I would think your further closing an already tight cuticle and moisture really couldn't get in. Although it might be good after using Castile soap or baking soda to close the cuticle back...I don't know though because I've never tried alkaline treatment to open the cuticle...it scares me.

So relaxing my hair changed the porosity of my hair? Relaxed hair is less porous than natural hair? I would have thought it would be the opposite for some reason! Thanks

 

[divachyk]

fasika, I'm relaxed with low porosity

 

[faithVA]

@fasika, I'm relaxed with low porosity

fasika,

I'm natural now, but when I was relaxed and I still had low porosity. If you have low porosity, it doesn't matter whether you are relaxed or natural.

If you have normal porosity and you relax and incur some type of damage you may end up with high porosity which can be corrected. I am not sure there is a correction for low porosity hair. I think it just needs to be managed.

 

[divachyk]

fasika,

I'm natural now, but when I was relaxed and I still had low porosity. If you have low porosity, it doesn't matter whether you are relaxed or natural.

If you have normal porosity and you relax and incur some type of damage you may end up with high porosity which can be corrected. I am not sure there is a correction for low porosity hair. I think it just needs to be managed.

faithVA fasika I have researched plenty but have not found a fix for low porosity.

 

[mamaore]

For those willing to rollerset, my hair does much better and I rarely have moisture issues when using heat (rollersettng). My hair takes a bit much to hydrate when air drying. I try to rollerset more often than air drying.

divachyk, do you ahev any favorite Youtube tutorial on learning how to rollerset. I tried last wash day to ponytail set, but I gave up when I found it diffcult to comb my hair and smooth it on the rollers.

I bought a hooded dryer because of it and I haven't used it once to rollerset.

 

[divachyk]

@mamaore, no I don't have a favorite. I just watched a bunch of vids and came up with a method that worked for me. Check it out --

 

[GreenEyedJen]

Hi ladies!

I've never thought that much about my porosity. I actually just assumed I had high porosity because my hair was "weird" (when I was relaxed), and then after I dyed (bleached) my hair last year it got even worse. However, now that I have grown out a majority of the dye and have mostly virgin hair on my head again, I'm thinking I might be low porosity.

I'm sure that there are a few posts in this thread that explain low pororsity further but I haven't had the chance to read the entire thread yet. Anyway, last paragraph I said my hair was "weird" when it was relaxed. I say it was weird because it's super fine, and it never got bone straight. It would break off before it got straight. I just thought relaxers were too harsh for my hair (and they are) but could it be a porosity issue that made my hair fall out before it got straight?

Also, my hair used to STAY dry. It didn't matter what I did (DC's under a dryer or a steamer, constant moisture and oils) sections of my hair would never get moisturized. However, once I figured out how to moisturize my hair, it stays moisturized. Can this be a "symptom" (for lack of a better word) of low porosity hair too? I'm figuring if it's hard to get in, it's hard to get out. So once the hair IS moisturized, it keeps it moisture longer than most folks hair. Am I thinking correctly?

 

[mg1979]

Hi ladies!

I've never thought that much about my porosity. I actually just assumed I had high porosity because my hair was "weird" (when I was relaxed), and then after I dyed (bleached) my hair last year it got even worse. However, now that I have grown out a majority of the dye and have mostly virgin hair on my head again, I'm thinking I might be low porosity.

I'm sure that there are a few posts in this thread that explain low pororsity further but I haven't had the chance to read the entire thread yet. Anyway, last paragraph I said my hair was "weird" when it was relaxed. I say it was weird because it's super fine, and it never got bone straight. It would break off before it got straight. I just thought relaxers were to harsh for my hair (and they are) but could it be a porosity issue that made my hair fall out before it got straight?

Also, my hair used to STAY dry. It didn't matter what I did (DC's under a dryer or a steamer, constant moisture and oils) sections of my hair would never get moisturized. However, once I figured out how to moisturize my hair, it stays moisturized. Can this be a "symptom" (for lack of a better word) of low porosity hair too? I'm figuring if it's hard to get in, it's hard to get out. So once the hair IS moisturized, it keeps it moisture longer than most folks hair. Am I thinking correctly?

Sounds accurate to me. I always thought relaxers were too harsh for my hair too. I would try sensitive, gentle, kiddie relaxers...same thing...my scalp was so damaged but my hair would hardly get straight.

And it's my understanding that once you get the moisture in, it is hard to get out-which would be great if we could all just get the moisture in!

 

[suns4i6e]

That is exactly how my hair is. Once i fully allow products to absorb, it will hold moisture between washes.

 

[GreenEyedJen]

Oh, okay. So maybe I'm LoPo? Subscribing!

I wish I could help with moisturizing ideas, but honestly, what helped me the most was moving to a super humid climate. I almost tricked myself into believing my hair had changed, but when I went back up north for the cold, dry winter, my hair started back to its old ways :/

 

[faithVA]

GreenEyedJen[/USER];15825051]Oh, okay. So maybe I'm LoPo? Subscribing!

I wish I could help with moisturizing ideas, but honestly, what helped me the most was moving to a super humid climate. I almost tricked myself into believing my hair had changed, but when I went back up north for the cold, dry winter, my hair started back to its old ways :/

Girl you had me all excited I thought you were going to share some secrets.

 

[havilland]

i have been cowashing only for the last two weeks. twice a week or so....co wash.

i deep condish on dry hair with heat and plastic cap. then instead of washing my hair, i just rinse out the condish, apply a very mild cleansing cream just to my hairline to remove any gel buildup. then oil rinse. next, i put my hair in a bun to air dry with my *triple seal moisture. so far i am seeing a difference for the better.

*(triple seal with shea raw moisture mist, olive oil or jojoba, and castor oil unpetroleum jelly)