Can I ask a DUMB question

Claps for me for FINALLY getting a profile picture up on here! :newbie::yay:lol thanks yall.

ETA: Hold on...why is it not showing up?? :wallbash:
 
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What does it mean when hair takes a long time to dry. I finished washing my hair at 10:30 am and at 2:00 pm it was still damp.

Or that normal?
 
tmhuggiebear said:
What does it mean when hair takes a long time to dry. I finished washing my hair at 10:30 am and at 2:00 pm it was still damp.

Or that normal?
Click to expand...

Not 100 percent sure but I want to say that I've read something about the "porosity" or whatever being off. My hair is now taking a long time to dry so I am going to do an ACV rinse or use some Porosity Control to see if that helps.

Hopefully some of real hair pros will come in to help out :)
 
MRJ1972 and tmhuggiebear Hair taking a long time to dry could mean low porosity which is not a bad thing. It only poses a problem because it may be hard to moisturize but once you moisturize the hair, low porosity hair holds onto moisture well because the hair cuticle is closed.

Porosity Control I believe is for people with high porosity as that hair dries up very fast and also loses moisture very fast due to having open cuticles or missing cuticles. Roux PC is used to help overly porous hair hold onto moisture better, so if you have low porosity and you're concerned about how long it takes for the hair to dry and then you use PC, you will probably find it takes even longer to dry.

IMO, hair taking longer to dry is only a problem if you're in cold weather, otherwise it's a blessing. Perhaps getting used to wearing your hair in twists or braids during the time your hair is drying and for a couple of days will allow you to appreciate your hair more when you see how good it feels when you do a twist-out or braid-out. If moisturizing is a problem due to low porosity, I think baggying can help.
 
MRJ1972 and tmhuggiebear The word "porous" should bring to mind something hol(e)y. This is a porous stone:

porous-stone-thumb15074843.jpg


So the higher the porosity, the more holy/holey something is and more quickly moisture can get in as well as get out. Like if you were to wet that stone then put it out to dry, it'd be dry in no time.

This stone below has low porosity. It's hard to get it wet but if you soaked it long enough for it to get wet, it'd take a long time to dry:

fhb191wd104-04_med.jpg


Normal porosity falls somewhere in between. In that float test, porous/high porosity hair will sink immediately as water goes through it and makes it heavy while low porosity hair will float as it buoyed by the water which doesn't have an easy time soaking into the hair. Normal porosity hair may do both: float first then slowly sink. But I don't think it's something we need to sweat over. It should only help you solve a moisturizing problem...not consume your life.
 
Nonie
AHA! This is why my hair dries extremely quick and ALSO doesn't not stay moisturized for long. So, while we're on the subject, is the Porosity Control my only option?
 
Incognitus said:
Nonie
AHA! This is why my hair dries extremely quick and ALSO doesn't not stay moisturized for long. So, while we're on the subject, is the Porosity Control my only option?
Click to expand...

Incognitus, I think any product that is acidic can help because cuticles close in an acidic environment. So rather than use very harsh shampoos, seek products whose pH is under 7 and closer to 5. (some examples here). An ACV rinse at the end of the wash can help too just be sure to dilute the vinegar well as using too much can tear down your hair protein. I always say that since pure water has pH 7, then even a drop of ACV makes the water acidic so better to err on the side of caution by going too dilute than by not diluting enough.

Hair whose cuticle is missing may also appear porous due to gaps in its strands' outer layer so I think protein and ceramides can help with that.
 
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Nonie thanks so much for this thorough explanation and the photos. I finally understand porosity! Atleast, I know my long dry time is actually a good thing. Although, I was kind of hoping that it would provide some insight into my split end problems.
 
tmhuggiebear said:
@Nonie thanks so much for this thorough explanation and the photos. I finally understand porosity! Atleast, I know my long dry time is actually a good thing. Although, I was kind of hoping that it would provide some insight into my split end problems.
Click to expand...

@tmhuggiebear I don't know what you mean by your split end problems but everyone has them. If someone says they don't, that's wishful thinking IMO. Splits start at such a microscopic scale that this ugly thing you see here:
chem_damaged_hair.jpg

...can fit inside a space this wide --> -

In other words, you'd have to be able to look at your hair closely enough to see your ends at that level to be able to swear you have no split ends. Otherwise, they will happen whether you like it or not. The trick is to get a regular dusting schedule so you can keep them from tearing your strands away. Folks who go too long w/o trimming usually end up seeing their splits because they are far gone. Usually what they see is what's left behind after splits tear away, namely: skinny, see-through ends.

Besides regular dusting, moisturizing and sealing your ends and then protective styling (meaning hiding them away from the drying elements and friction from clothes) is another way to help keep splits to a minimum.
 
@MRJ1972 and @tmhuggiebear

@Nonie's explaination is excellent.

I consider myself to have low porosity. My hair takes a very long time to get wet and is quick to dry. Check out my brief posting in this thread. Another thread that you might find helpful. There are plenty other porosity articles out there to further assist but the point is, only use Roux if you know that you have high porosity. Product has a hard enough time penetrating my hair. Roux made it harder for product to penetrate my hair. Stopping Roux was the best, immdediate thing I could have done.
 
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I think I have low porosity but I bun and my hair takes about 36 hours to dry in a bun. This is fine with me.

The problem is with moisturizing. My hair feels fine until about day 4 or day 5 depending on which conditioner I use. Then it just feels like the dessert and won't stay moisturized.

Should I wash my hair more frequently? Or moisturize more frequently? I usually wash my hair every 6 - 7 days by the way.
 
alundra said:
I think I have low porosity but I bun and my hair takes about 36 hours to dry in a bun. This is fine with me.

The problem is with moisturizing. My hair feels fine until about day 4 or day 5 depending on which conditioner I use. Then it just feels like the dessert and won't stay moisturized.

Should I wash my hair more frequently? Or moisturize more frequently? I usually wash my hair every 6 - 7 days by the way.
Click to expand...

alundra If I'm to go by what I learned from Brenda (www.blackwomenrejoice.com), when your hair feels dry, it's time to wash it, so I vote wash it. Even more so because even hair that is moisturized often gets to the point where buildup becomes so thick that no additional moisture can get to the hair. Also conditioners tend to leave a coating on hair to protect it...so it could be that with dirt added on, you have heavily coated hair that is impossible to moisturize until you wash. Most people will clarify their hair when it isn't acting right, and that usually solves the problem for them. So I say, when in doubt, wash your hair.
 
.:Eden:. said:
Would using an anti-humectant over a product like Scurl or Hawaiian Silky 14 in 1 be counter productive?
Click to expand...

.:Eden:. If you're using an anti-humectant, you're basically trying to keep moisture from getting to your hair (like if you've straightened it)...so I think it'd be counter productive to use a product full of moisture which also has a tendency to draw moisture into itself.

I haven't thought this through but my first thought is, you're basically setting the burglar alarm to the home after you've held the door for the burglar to go in and told him to help himself to whatever. Put another way, first you apply the humectant, then the anti-humectant (anti = against/not friend of).:spinning:
 
 
Re: Snap-on Magnetic Rollers

I just recently purchased 4 packages of the large black rollers. The cover do not sit well. They keep on falling of because they are too loose. When I inspected the covers, I realized that they were not curved in the expected "C" shape for the to fit properly. What can I do to fix this?

I was thinking of tying the covers (w/o rollers) with string and putting them in a pot of hot water (to perhaps reshape them). Any ideas ladies?
 
Nana707 said:
How do you determine the density of your hair? Also how do you determine if you have fine, medium, or thick hair?
Click to expand...

Nana707 Hair strands could range from 0.00067 inch in diameter to 0.0071 inch, so fine strands will be near the lower end and thick/coarse strands near the upper end. Now since we can't measure this easily without a pair of calipers you just have your eyes to see. The same way you can look at someone and call her skinny and another and call her obese, you look at very thin strands and know they are fine...and very thick ones and know they are coarse/thick.

Sianna posted an image of a fine strand vs one that isn't so fine:

100_1979.jpg


(Source)

EllePixie has coarse strands so maybe she can post an image of her strands at that scale beside this one so you can see.

Asians have coarse strands, as is a lot of the human hair we use for weaves and wigs and braids, so if you look at that, you can sort of get an idea of what coarse strands look like.

Normal falls somewhere in between, but because this is a perception thing...and there could be variation in thickness, coarse vs thick is all I focus on. Because what may be considered normal by one may appear thick to the fine-haired chick or fine to the coarse-haired chick.
 
Incognitus said:
Re: Snap-on Magnetic Rollers

I just recently purchased 4 packages of the large black rollers. The cover do not sit well. They keep on falling of because they are too loose. When I inspected the covers, I realized that they were not curved in the expected "C" shape for the to fit properly. What can I do to fix this?

I was thinking of tying the covers (w/o rollers) with string and putting them in a pot of hot water (to perhaps reshape them). Any ideas ladies?
Click to expand...

squeeze them inside the roller and let it sit for a few days this should help tighten them
 
Nonie said:
Myjourney2009, how do you mean? It's the outside plastic covers that go around the inside thingy that Incognitus says are loose. So squeeze them inside what rollers? :confused:
Click to expand...

she says she purchased rollers with snap on covers that are not tight.

I suggested she squeeze them inside the roller so they will tighten. This is what I do after I use my rollers because after a while they hold so well.
 
@Myjourney2009

OK, maybe I'm not following, so please bear with me. I don't know if these are the rollers she got but I pictured something similar.
100_63_csupload_14773877.png

So my understanding is she's saying the part to the left (the outer part--"the cover") is too open so that the part to the right (the inner part) doesn't fit inside them properly (Or maybe her hair is too fine for the "cover" to the left to hold on well).

So using the images, explain again what she should do, pretty please? You can call the part to the left (the outer part) "A" and that to the right (the inner part) "B".
 
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@Myjourney2009

Oh wait... I think I got it. Do you mean roll the outer part (cover) tighter like a scroll and insert it inside the inner part through the open end and leave it enclosed in there?

Hair_rollers_Snap_on_Magnetic_Rollers_hair.jpg
 
i think that she's saying to push the inner part (A) through the outer part (B) to make them tighter. force them inside and let them sit for a minute to reshape it.

NVM
 
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I want to flat iron my hair. I dc'd, rollerset with light JC wrapping foam & a leave-in, and then air dried. I just removed the rollers. Now, do I:

A) Add a leave in THEN heat protectant
or
B) Just apply a heat protectant before I flat iron?

Also, whatever I decide to apply, do I let it dry before beginning to flat iron?
 
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