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KizzieNapps

KizzieNapps

New Member
Does anyone else suffer from "sponge-itis"???(If u haven't heard of it it's because I made up the term) What is it u may ask? This is the condition when your hair soaks up moisture like a sponge. Since I BC'd this condition became aware to me. I don't know if there's another thread about this because well, I didn't check but nevertheless if u suffer from sponge-itis or have suffered from it and have since cured your hair please tell about it. I found a conditioner two weeks ago that has helped my hair tremendously. It's called Syntonics Repair Therapy conditioner. This conditioner leaves my hair so soft and does not break my hair like others I have tried for my daily co-washes (There was not a lot of breakage, just a few strands each wash...but still). When I follow this up with my Cantu Shea Butter leave-in my hair feels like silk. I've also tried to be more mindful of my water intake. So please do share! Do you or have you suffered from sponge-itis and if u have conquered it, what helped you?
 
I was a previous sufferer of spongeitis. 6-9 months of intense cone-free moisture cured it for me, including some overnights on a regular basis.
 
I believe that is high porosity. does your hair dry fast also?
 
Yes it did dry quickly..since I found a good conditioner it stays damp for about 6 hours. I'm going to have to look high-porosity up. Haven't heard of it before...thank you
 
My personal favorite (love long time!) is Elasta QP IFC. I also make a homemade DC - the Caramel Treatment. Those two, along with cheapies, made a big difference.

I was thinking about the high porosity issue, too, and I wonder if a light protein treatment would help, since protein actually helps hair hold onto moisture.... :scratchch
 
I thought about trying Elasta QP but didn't think it would work for extra dry hair...maybe I will give it a whirl. I haven't done a protein tratment since going natural...i probably need to pull out the aphogee 2 min reconstructor. I've just been trying to use moisturizing conditioners that have protein in them
 
I used to have this problem and I am not sure exactly what cured it because I tried so many different things trying to find a regime. The things that my hair really likes are:

Baby food bananas, honey, and yogurt (pre-cowash)
Honey (pre-cowash, dc, leave in)
Sleeping in a shower cap
Sleeping with cnditioner in overnight
Oil rinses (this made the biggest difference for me with moisture retention and curl definition)
Eliminating cones
No shampoo
Conditioner with baking soda added (co-wash)

I was doing this sort of thing several times a week and now my hair is no longer "thirsty" all the time. I know it wasn't a porosity problem because my hair takes forever to dry (it actually dries faster with oil rinses -- I think they trap water inside the hair). I never use protein even though I texlax because my hair hates heavy proteins, but many of the moisturizing things I do have some protein in them like the banana, honey, yogurt pre poo and the ORS pack. HTH
 
Thank you, Thank you Oneya...that article was a big help. My hair has almost every symptom of high porosity. I'm still going to do the tests they recommend when I get home but at least I know what to do now
 
I have spongitis, but my hair isn't overly porous. If anything it's the opposite.

It's very coarse and very resistant to color and relaxers. It's uncommonly strong and probably just isn't capable of being relaxed straight without major damage. By uncommonly strong I mean I'm one of those people who can/has relaxed and rerelaxed again and again without losing my hair.

It feels soft and moist to the touch and has lots of body and shine, but it will SUCK DOWN some conditioner and oil. :guiness::beer:

I go through an 18 oz bottle of leave in conditioner in about a week. I'm not one of those people who can use a little teaspoon of anything. My bf is amazed that I put so much product in my hair, but it is never greasy or gunky.

My mother used to put grease in my hair as a child and the next day it was like she put nothing on it :lol:

For me, there is no cure. That's just how my hair is.


 
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my hair doesnt suck up all moisture. infact my hair usually knows when it likes something right away.
however, my hair does soak up shescentit's seyani hair butter. its a butter but on my hair it dissapears like a light oil. its not good or bad it just doesnt do anything for my hair.
 
I just recently found my cure!

shescentit.com Banana Brulee Moisturizing Deep Conditioner. I apply like a relaxer and DC with heat for 15 min, then rinse.

Then I use CON Leave-in mixed with castor oil or Redken Real Control Crema Care leave-in.

I repeat every 2 days (I'm on a personal DC every 2 days challenge).

My hair has never kept moisture like it does now.
 
OK...so I took the high porosity test and failed. My hair's porosity is low. So now I have to find some other solution. I think I will try to just keep moisture in it. It seems to be getting better, maybe it will just take a little more time and consistency.
 
It's getting a little confusing in here :spinning:

Low porosity - bad, your hair can't hold onto moisture.

High porosity is something else, isn't it? Seems like it's a lot more uncommon.

My hair holds onto moisture really well, but it's really strong and takes A LOT to actually penetrate it. I have to fight to actually get the moisture into my hair (deep conditioning with heat is a must for me) but once I get the moisture level right, it stays moisturized.

I think that's what I have... how would you go about fixing that? I've asked this question before and didn't get much back, lol.

It's not really a "problem" like my hair isn't going to break or split because of it. It just doesn't take relaxers and color well.
 
Neith said:
It's getting a little confusing in here :spinning:

Low porosity - bad, your hair can't hold onto moisture.

High porosity is something else, isn't it? Seems like it's a lot more uncommon.
Click to expand...

Low porosity just means that your hair isn't very porous, meaning it doesn't have as many 'openings' so to speak, for moisture to get in. As a sponge, there are less 'openings' for water to get in, but once it's in, moisture doesn't leak out as much. So it actually holds water better than hair that is high porosity. I don't think low porosity is as bad as high porosity....

High Porosity I think may be more common b/c it is hair that has been damaged, chemically treated, or colored, relaxed, texturized, etc. It will therefore be more porous, meaning as a sponge, it picks up more water, but it also loses it just as quickly. So high porosity is actually the hair that doesn't hold moisture (keep it locked in) well. This hair breaks more, splits more, and dries out much faster.
Neith said:
My hair holds onto moisture really well, but it's really strong and takes A LOT to actually penetrate it. I have to fight to actually get the moisture into my hair (deep conditioning with heat is a must for me) ........
I think that's what I have... how would you go about fixing that?
Click to expand...

Do you deep condition on dry or wet hair? The first thing that helped correct this problem for me was to start dc'ing on dry hair.

Think of a wet paper towel, if you were to soak it in water, then try to rub lotion in, two things would happen.
1) the lotion would be diluted by the water.
2) The paper towel would not pick up as much lotion b/c it's already saturated with water.

Your hair is the same. So I'd start by dc'ing on dry hair.

Also, you may want to think about a steamer :) Steam/hot water opens the cuticle and allows better penetration. Cold water does the exact opposite, it seals the cuticle, which is why hairstylists often run cold water over the hair after washing/conditioning to seal the cuticle and give the hair a little *sheen*.

Dry dc'ing and a magnificent gem of a conditioner called *Silk Elements* have completely changed the moisture levels of my once desert head.
 
Neith said:
I have spongitis, but my hair isn't overly porous. If anything it's the opposite.

It's very coarse and very resistant to color and relaxers. It's uncommonly strong and probably just isn't capable of being relaxed straight without major damage. By uncommonly strong I mean I'm one of those people who can/has relaxed and rerelaxed again and again without losing my hair.

It feels soft and moist to the touch and has lots of body and shine, but it will SUCK DOWN some conditioner and oil. :guiness::beer:

I go through an 18 oz bottle of leave in conditioner in about a week. I'm not one of those people who can use a little teaspoon of anything. My bf is amazed that I put so much product in my hair, but it is never greasy or gunky.

My mother used to put grease in my hair as a child and the next day it was like she put nothing on it :lol:

For me, there is no cure. That's just how my hair is.
Click to expand...

Thats how my hair is too , just THIRSTY

I dont have a problem with it, but it does take/need alot of moisture/oils/products but it works:yep:
 
I'm still a little confused but according to the article Oneya suggested you are both right...you want a balance of the two. My hair has low porosity. I took all three tests in the article and flunked all of them. So now that I know the problem I need to find a way to raise my hair's porosity level
 
I just picked up my Roux Porosity Control. I got all 3 treatments shampoo, conditioner and leave-in treatment. I will let u all know if there is a difference
 
amara11 said:

Low porosity just means that your hair isn't very porous, meaning it doesn't have as many 'openings' so to speak, for moisture to get in. As a sponge, there are less 'openings' for water to get in, but once it's in, moisture doesn't leak out as much. So it actually holds water better than hair that is high porosity. I don't think low porosity is as bad as high porosity....

High Porosity I think may be more common b/c it is hair that has been damaged, chemically treated, or colored, relaxed, texturized, etc. It will therefore be more porous, meaning as a sponge, it picks up more water, but it also loses it just as quickly. So high porosity is actually the hair that doesn't hold moisture (keep it locked in) well. This hair breaks more, splits more, and dries out much faster.



Do you deep condition on dry or wet hair? The first thing that helped correct this problem for me was to start dc'ing on dry hair.

Think of a wet paper towel, if you were to soak it in water, then try to rub lotion in, two things would happen.
1) the lotion would be diluted by the water.
2) The paper towel would not pick up as much lotion b/c it's already saturated with water.

Your hair is the same. So I'd start by dc'ing on dry hair.

Also, you may want to think about a steamer :) Steam/hot water opens the cuticle and allows better penetration. Cold water does the exact opposite, it seals the cuticle, which is why hairstylists often run cold water over the hair after washing/conditioning to seal the cuticle and give the hair a little *sheen*.

Dry dc'ing and a magnificent gem of a conditioner called *Silk Elements* have completely changed the moisture levels of my once desert head.
Click to expand...

Okay... according to your definition I have low porosity. Nothing penetrates it, not even relaxers. However, I can and do keep my hair moisturized and it stays moisturized well. It needs a lot of product to keep it feeling right, it eventually sucks down everything I put in it :lol:

My hair ISN'T dry, damaged or breaking.

It's very coarse and strong and it just doesn't accept chemical treatments well, which is very annoying. Most people say it's good and means my hair is strong, but gosh I can't even get a full relaxed look if I tried. :nono:

I don't have a steamer (can you say pricey?), but I have tried using a wet pantyhose over my hair and under my plastic cap when I deep condition. I believe it does create a steamy environment. I've also done the steamy towel thing. Of course I got some great deep conditioning out of it, but it doesn't make my hair behave any differently.

I have also Deep Conditioned on dry hair... my hair comes out soft, but again... doesn't change the way my hair actually behaves.

How else do I fix it? lol
 
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Irresistible said:
Thats how my hair is too , just THIRSTY

I dont have a problem with it, but it does take/need alot of moisture/oils/products but it works:yep:
Click to expand...

That makes me feel better... it's exactly how my hair behaves. I don't like putting too much oils in my hair, but even if I ever do over oil my hair it eventually just sucks it in after a day or two :lol:
 
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