Low Porosity Support Thread

[divachyk]

shortdub78, I think it was you that mentioned using CON Argan shampoo. Am I correct? Do you feel it removes oil and dirt buildup? I use it frequently and love how my hair feels but I just don't know if it removes weekly product buildup.

 

[Evolving78]

shortdub78, I think it was you that mentioned using CON Argan shampoo. Am I correct? Do you feel it removes oil and dirt buildup? I use it frequently and love how my hair feels but I just don't know if it removes weekly product buildup.

yes that was me! i do use a sulfate shampoo to remove buildup. i shampoo with a sulfate first, then i use the CON or i lather my scalp twice with the CON. i also use Keracare 1st lather shampoo to remove buildup as well. it doesn't have sulfates in it.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

How did I miss this thread? Great suggestions all around!

 

[gvin89]

If the AOHSR is working for you keeping using it. If it is not considering using a lighter conditioner or mixing it with a lighter conditioner so it soaks in more.

I'm not a big proponent of if you do this then tada it will work because that has never worked for me

I have found with doing the CG method for the past few weeks that the more often I wet my hair the better my hair felt. And I don't think it has to do with prepooing, DCing or cowashing as much as I am not letting it dry out so much in between. So instead of wetting my hair 1x a week and it drying out in between, now it is only drying out 3 days before I wet it again. Does that make sense.

I know that wetting my hair at least every 3 days makes a difference. But I am still playing around with this.

You may want to try staying with the shampoo every 2 weeks but DCing or cowashing more often.

Right...what works one week may not work the next. My hair is funny like that. I will try DCing weekly and cowashing twice a week.

Has anyone successfully used Jane Carter products? The stylist I frequent swears by it so I just wanted to know how it works on the lo-pos.

 

[faithVA]

Right...what works one week may not work the next. My hair is funny like that. I will try DCing weekly and cowashing twice a week.

Has anyone successfully used Jane Carter products? The stylist I frequent swears by it so I just wanted to know how it works on the lo-pos.

I haven't tried any of the Jane Carter products. I do have the Nourish and Shine but don't use it.

If you do get it though please let us know how it goes.

 

[ScorpioBeauty09]

I'm so glad I found this thread. I recently discovered my hair is low porosity and i think it's why I've been having a hard time getting my products to penetrate my hair and as a result retain. I'm stuck at APL and I think this is why.


--Share your hair background
4a natural

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?
Did the water test on my hair on my last wash day and my hair just floated. When I wash it, it takes forever to get wet. My daily moisturizer does not seem to penetrate and i feel the need to wash my hair more often. I've noticed no matter how long I DC my hair does not feel conditioned. This just started too. Thing is last year I had the opposite problem and I started spraying ACV on my hair before I conditioned to get rid of product build up. Now I just need to find a balance.

Me being low porosity would explain why it's been taking more heat than usual to straighten my hair and why my hair just loves the VO5 Balancing Shampoo and is hating Clarifying shampoos.

--What have you tried that worked?
When I wash my hair this week I'm not going to use ACV as a pre con. Ive gone without it entirely and my scalp didn't like that so I'm going to use it as a post con and see what happens.

--What have you tried that did not work?
N/a

--What questions do you have?
None ... Yet

 

[faithVA]

Welcome ScorpioBeauty09

 

[Evolving78]

the SE conditioner (mega silk tan jar, copper lid) is really working out for me. i have finally found a nice deep conditioner that doesn't have protein in it and it actually moisturizes.

 

[faithVA]

I received the results of my hair analysis yesterday and it was confirmed that my hair is low porosity. I had a phone consultation where I was able to ask more direction questions. She said that when my hair is healthy (it currently is not), I do not need protein treatments. However, I do not need to avoid products with basic proteins like wheat protein or silk amino acids.

Because of the low porosity and the cuticle laying flat my hair when healthy should look great, grow well and shine easily. However, it may be hard to moisture, products may lay on the hair and products may be hard to find. [Most of us have experienced this.]

Products that are low porosity friend tend to be liquid and translucent. Creams may be harder to absorb into the hair.

She recommend I...
---DC weekly
---Stick to using only 1 or 2 leave-in/moisturizing products at a time. And use small amounts until finding the right amount.
---Trim when my ends tell me to. On healthy hair should be about every 3 to 4 months if not using heat
---Don't detangle dry hair
---Twist/braid/wrap hair at night to minimize detangling
---Drink plenty of water because my hair needs it.

Tips for helping absorption
--Wrap damp hair with warm towel or t-shirt and steam for 3 minutes then follow with product
--use steamer or dryer with conditioning setting
--rinse with warm water

 

[Evolving78]

^^^i am glad you got your results back. i agree with using liquid products. the creamy ones just sit on my hair.

 

[faithVA]

^^^i am glad you got your results back. i agree with using liquid products. the creamy ones just sit on my hair.

Yeah, as far as the porosity it wasn't anything new. 2 years of struggle had informed me of this already But it was nice to have the confirmation.

Maybe the recommendations will help some of the new ladies.

 

[Evolving78]

Yeah, as far as the porosity it wasn't anything new. 2 years of struggle had informed me of this already But it was nice to have the confirmation.

Maybe the recommendations will help some of the new ladies.

faithVA
have you found a way to keep your hair moisturized? and why do you believe you hair is damaged, if you were told it is in a healthy state? did they see and holes, splits, cracks, thinning, etc..?

 

[faithVA]

shortdub78[/USER];16426651]@faithVA
have you found a way to keep your hair moisturized? and why do you believe you hair is damaged, if you were told it is in a healthy state? did they see and holes, splits, cracks, thinning, etc..?

shortdub78[/USER];16426651]@faithVA
have you found a way to keep your hair moisturized? and why do you believe you hair is damaged, if you were told it is in a healthy state? did they see and holes, splits, cracks, thinning, etc..?

I received the results of my hair analysis last night. She said I only have 1 to 3" of healthy hair. The rest is damaged and splitting. She sent me the pictures. I knew it was damaged that is why I have been trimming. I just didn't know how far up it went. After she explained to my how high the damage was, it explains why my last 2 trims didn't fix the problem.

She didn't say it's in a healthy state. She said when it is in its healthy state then follow those recommendations. The only recommendation she has for right now is cut it or lose it all.

She said I would no better how to moisturize it when I got it cut. She said it would be impossible to keep my hair moisturized now because of the level of protein damage to my hair.

So I will reassess moisturizing after my cut in August.

 

[candy626]

I always thought I had high porosity but am now thinking I may have low porosity.

I did the porosity test and my strands floated in the water.

I also have a tough time getting relaxers to take. When they do relax my curl, within a month my hair coils right back up.

My hair seems to favor moisture to protein.

The only thing that doesn't match up is my hair seems to take just fine to most styling products/conditioners. My hair does like ACV rinses and actually gives my hair fantastic shine when I do it before a rollerset.

The length of my hair takes wonderfully to heat based styling, though my ends do not and tend to suffer from it.

My hair does just fine with chemical processing (for the most part). My hair actually feels very soft after I color my hair or relax it.

And my hair is prone to frizziness and feeling rough and dry if it is not properly moisturized or styled properly.

Blow drying makes my hair feel like sandpaper, while roller-setting keeps it feeling MUCH smoother.

Idk..I'm still confused on the whole porosity thing.

 

[faithVA]

candy626[/USER];16466723]I always thought I had high porosity but am now thinking I may have low porosity.

I did the porosity test and my strands floated in the water.

I also have a tough time getting relaxers to take. When they do relax my curl, within a month my hair coils right back up.

My hair seems to favor moisture to protein.

The only thing that doesn't match up is my hair seems to take just fine to most styling products/conditioners. My hair does like ACV rinses and actually gives my hair fantastic shine when I do it before a rollerset.

The length of my hair takes wonderfully to heat based styling, though my ends do not and tend to suffer from it.

My hair does just fine with chemical processing (for the most part). My hair actually feels very soft after I color my hair or relax it.

And my hair is prone to frizziness and feeling rough and dry if it is not properly moisturized or styled properly.

Blow drying makes my hair feel like sandpaper, while roller-setting keeps it feeling MUCH smoother.

Idk..I'm still confused on the whole porosity thing.

I didn't read anything that sounds like high porosity.

And there is a bit of a confusion on your chemical process. 1st you say its hard for a relaxer to take but then you say your hair does fine with chemical processing.

Low porosity hair likes color, but I find my hair will hold onto the demi and permanent but will not hold onto the semi. It also does well with some types of heat because the cuticle is flat and it tends to be strong hair.

What areas are you confused about?

 

[candy626]

I didn't read anything that sounds like high porosity.

And there is a bit of a confusion on your chemical process. 1st you say its hard for a relaxer to take but then you say your hair does fine with chemical processing.

Low porosity hair likes color, but I find my hair will hold onto the demi and permanent but will not hold onto the semi. It also does well with some types of heat because the cuticle is flat and it tends to be strong hair.

What areas are you confused about?

Sorry that probably did sound confusing, lol

What I meant by my hair does fine with chemical processing is that it usually doesn't get damaged from it. My actually feels really soft after a color treatment and sometimes after a relaxer also. Relaxers don't take on my hair fully, but only loosen my curl a tidge and make my hair softer.

And I think you are right I am low porosity. I did some more reading this morning and I didn't realize how I'd been wrong all along.

 

[faithVA]

Sorry that probably did sound confusing, lol

What I meant by my hair does fine with chemical processing is that it usually doesn't get damaged from it. My actually feels really soft after a color treatment and sometimes after a relaxer also. Relaxers don't take on my hair fully, but only loosen my curl a tidge and make my hair softer.

And I think you are right I am low porosity. I did some more reading this morning and I didn't realize how I'd been wrong all along.

Thanks. I thought that was what you were saying.

My hair was the same. It took forever for my relaxer to take which ended up ruining my scalp And it wouldn't last long. Around 3 weeks you couldn't tell I ever had one. But my hair did fine growing with relaxers.

And I am back to demi and permanent colors because it opens my cuticle a bit more and my hair feels softer.

Hopefully some of the tips in the thread will help you out.

 

[candy626]

faithVA

Yes I have been reading through it periodically throughout the day. Thanks for starting this thread

 

[mocha013]

Hello!

I can't believe I am so late getting into this thread. I've been suffering from porosity issues for the last couple of months and trying to fix it, trial and error. I am so thankful for this thread!

Share your hair background:

4b/4c natural, somewhere between neck/shoulder length in back, chin length on sides and nose length in front. I am a super slow grower and have had a few self-induced setbacks since being natural (2+ years). Despite that, as a 4b/4c natural, I always humored by some of the notions that generalized 4b hair as difficult to manage, style, etc. Even though I lacked significant length, I never had a problem managing/styling my properly moisturized hair, until now.....

What symptoms is you hair exhibiting?

-No longer responds to go-to conditioners and moisturizers, puffs up and loses any definition (curl or otherwise) at the sligtest hint of moisture (I work out/run 4-5 days/week).


-I have to wash more often to remove greasy build up, where previously I could go as long as 3 weeks between washes and my hair felt great.


-Styling it is futile. The style does not last and typically turns in a mangled mess right before my eyes.

-It looks and feels dry 90% of the time.

-The only positive in all this is that my hair is not breaking and appears to be retaining some length, oddly enough.

What have you tried that has worked?
I have tried DC on dry hair with AOHR and ACV rinses, both of which have helped but not consistently. Oil rinses help some too. I suspect all the extra manipulation from washing is NOT helping though.

What have you tried that has not worked?
Having read up a little on how to treat porous hair, I've tried doing light protein treatments (Aphogee 2 min). Any type of protein SEEMS to make things worse. I say SEEMS because, truthfully, I just don't know what to do anymore or how to read the signs of what my hair needs. We used to be so in tune....

What questions do you have?
1. Are the steps for correcting low porosity the same as correcting high porosity? I'm pretty sure I'm low....

2. I've heard/read that porous hair = damaged hair. If that's true, would I be adding fuel to the fire by putting my braids in my hair for a short spell? I can braid myself and so won't worry about them being to tight or too small, etc. But just wondering if taking a break from my hair for a while with braids would be good or harmful? Opinions welcomed and again thanks Faith for starting this thread--it's right on time for me (well, kinda since I was waaaaay late getting here).

 

[faithVA]

Hello!

I can't believe I am so late getting into this thread. I've been suffering from porosity issues for the last couple of months and trying to fix it, trial and error. I am so thankful for this thread!

Share your hair background:

4b/4c natural, somewhere between neck/shoulder length in back, chin length on sides and nose length in front. I am a super slow grower and have had a few self-induced setbacks since being natural (2+ years). Despite that, as a 4b/4c natural, I always humored by some of the notions that generalized 4b hair as difficult to manage, style, etc. Even though I lacked significant length, I never had a problem managing/styling my properly moisturized hair, until now.....

What symptoms is you hair exhibiting?

-No longer responds to go-to conditioners and moisturizers, puffs up and loses any definition (curl or otherwise) at the sligtest hint of moisture (I work out/run 4-5 days/week).


-I have to wash more often to remove greasy build up, where previously I could go as long as 3 weeks between washes and my hair felt great.


-Styling it is futile. The style does not last and typically turns in a mangled mess right before my eyes.

-It looks and feels dry 90% of the time.

-The only positive in all this is that my hair is not breaking and appears to be retaining some length, oddly enough.

What have you tried that has worked?
I have tried DC on dry hair with AOHR and ACV rinses, both of which have helped but not consistently. Oil rinses help some too. I suspect all the extra manipulation from washing is NOT helping though.

What have you tried that has not worked?
Having read up a little on how to treat porous hair, I've tried doing light protein treatments (Aphogee 2 min). Any type of protein SEEMS to make things worse. I say SEEMS because, truthfully, I just don't know what to do anymore or how to read the signs of what my hair needs. We used to be so in tune....

What questions do you have?
1. Are the steps for correcting low porosity the same as correcting high porosity? I'm pretty sure I'm low....

2. I've heard/read that porous hair = damaged hair. If that's true, would I be adding fuel to the fire by putting my braids in my hair for a short spell? I can braid myself and so won't worry about them being to tight or too small, etc. But just wondering if taking a break from my hair for a while with braids would be good or harmful? Opinions welcomed and again thanks Faith for starting this thread--it's right on time for me (well, kinda since I was waaaaay late getting here).

Hi mocha013, Welcome. I am not sure you are low porosity. You may want to read the 1st 2 or 3 posts and see the symptoms of low porosity hair.

I really didn't see much in your list that related. It sounds like perhaps your hair just needs to be clarified or maybe you have heat damage?

You may want to try the strand test as well to see if your hair floats.

But to answer your questions, there is no way to correct low porosity hair because it is not damaged hair. It is the natural condition of some hair.

Porous Hair or High Porosity hair is damaged hair. It is usually caused by chemical or heat damage. That can be repaired. There is a high porosity thread as well you may want to check out.

I think you should hold off on the braids until you figure out what is going on with your hair.

Is there anything you were doing 4 to 6 months ago that could have damaged your hair?

 

[mocha013]

Hi Faith! Now I'm really confused. Let me try to answer your questions....In terms of my symptoms--seems pretty close to what I read on the first couple pages from other girls (product sits on my hair, quick build up, no penetration--dry/frizzy 90% of the time despite best efforts and difficult to moisturize.)

That being said, I have tried, and forgot to mention that chelating shampoos have helped as well. I just hesitate from using it so frequently to avoid my hair becoming even more dry. I do hear what you are saying about Porous/High Porosity hair. Aside from a straightening my hair for trimming (low heat 275--hair reverted fully pretty much next day), I can't think of anything else I've done that would have been damaging.

Thanks for your opinion on the braids.....I just feel like I need to take a break, but figuring things out first would be better.

I'll be washing today and will do the strand test to be sure, but in the meantime, I'll hop on over to the High Porosity thread. Thanks for your reply!

 

[faithVA]

mocha013[/USER];16483807]Hi Faith! Now I'm really confused. Let me try to answer your questions....In terms of my symptoms--seems pretty close to what I read on the first couple pages from other girls (product sits on my hair, quick build up, no penetration--dry/frizzy 90% of the time despite best efforts and difficult to moisturize.)

That being said, I have tried, and forgot to mention that chelating shampoos have helped as well. I just hesitate from using it so frequently to avoid my hair becoming even more dry. I do hear what you are saying about Porous/High Porosity hair. Aside from a straightening my hair for trimming (low heat 275--hair reverted fully pretty much next day), I can't think of anything else I've done that would have been damaging.

Thanks for your opinion on the braids.....I just feel like I need to take a break, but figuring things out first would be better.

I'll be washing today and will do the strand test to be sure, but in the meantime, I'll hop on over to the High Porosity thread. Thanks for your reply!

Not kicking you out but just trying to make sure you are on the right path.

It's just rare to have someone say, my hair was good before but now its low porosity. And the way you mentioned it as if it is a new problem not one you have always had. Typically low porosity heads have always had these problems but they weren't as amplified when relaxed.

 

[faithVA]

Here is an article from naturallycurly.com on determining your porosity and density.

How to Determine Hair Porosity
The simple definition of hair porosity is the ability of your hair to absorb and retain any type of moisture.

If your hair is not very porous at all, the cuticle layers, the scales of the hair shaft that overlap one another, are very close together and are tightly closed. They allow little, if any, moisture to get in or out. If your hair is like this, it is considered to have low porosity.

The further apart the cuticle layers are, and the more open they are, the more porous your hair will be. If the space between them is exactly as it should be, and they are open just as much as they should be, you have normal hair porosity. On the other hand, if you could drive a semi truck between the spaces as well as through them, your hair is considered to be overly porous.

For hair porosity, you want to feel your hair while it is wet, and the technique is the same for all hair types.

1.Squeeze or blot excess moisture from your hair so that it is not dripping, but leave it as wet as possible.
2.If it feels rough or has a “straw-like” texture, your hair is not very porous.
3. If your hair simply feels wet, you have normal hair porosity.
4.If your hair has high porosity, it will feel sticky, almost as if you had not washed all product out of your hair.

 

[mocha013]

No worries, and thanks for trying to make sure I was in the right place. I too noticed that I was the only person speaking of my issue as if it was new...

I pray its not damaged....but will take another look at the other porosity thread for some encouragement/information. Oooh and thanks for the additional resource/information!

 

[faithVA]

My hair feels wonderful when the conditioner is on. But when I rinse, man does it feel crazy and rough I always thought it was a problem. Now I see thats how my hair feels. But I do tend to lean towards conditioners that leave my hair with a smoother finish. And now I rinse the conditioner out with warm water and then follow with a cool rinse. That seems to be working out pretty well.

 

[ScorpioBeauty09]

Ugh, note to self don't fix what's not broken. I tried BS as a pre-poo and my hair LOVED it! Everything was back to normal and it even re-grew to where it was before my trim 2 months ago (1 inch to BSL in back) but I was worried about getting too dependent on BS like I did with ACV. So last night when I washed I didn't use BS and I tried VO5 Revitalizing conditioner to see how my hair would react and no go. It was essentially back to usual.

So when I take my braids down in 3 weeks, it's back to baking soda and Breakage Defense conditioners I go. I've realized my hair thrives on Breakage Defense conditioners and doesn't really take to any other type of conditioner (conditioners for hair exposed to heat tools is a possible exception.)

 

[divachyk]

Tonight I spritzed scalp with avj. I'm interested to see what hair feels like tomorrow. Normally avj is drying but I'm giving it another go since it's been a long time since I've used it. faithVA, are you still using it daily with glycerin?

 

[faithVA]

divachyk[/USER];16517637]Tonight I spritzed scalp with avj. I'm interested to see what hair feels like tomorrow. Normally avj is drying but I'm giving it another go since it's been a long time since I've used it. @faithVA, are you still using it daily with glycerin?

I'm interested in seeing how your hair feels as well

I haven't used AVG/AVJ in a while. I think I stopped when I started trying to figure out why my hair was drying out so I cut out everything but conditioner. I keep saying I'm going to do the AVJ rinse but I'm mid-wash before I remember and the AVJ is in the refrigerator.

I have been rinsing in warm and then in cool. Its great for smoothing my hair but I think my hair feels drier during the week. So this week going to skip the cool rinse to see if it stays more moisturized.

Did you ask me all that?

 

[divachyk]

faithVA, I didn't ask but you gave it. It's cool because it was good info. I'll let you know....my guess is it will be dry and crispy like before but I'm entering this with an open mind. I spritzed the scalp only, not whole head. My hair does ok with avj when it is formulated within products. I've not had the best of luck with straight avj. My scalp is feeling a bit irritated so that's what prompted me to spritz. My skin is a bit irritated to. I'm unsure what I've come in contact with to have my body irritated. It's irritating to the touch. I'm not in pain though.

 

[faithVA]

divachyk, So how did your hair turn out?