product suggestions for low porosity hair?

Zay-neey

Zay-neey

New Member
my hair is low porosity and im suffering from extremee dryness. nothing i do moisturizes my hair.

can anyone who also has low porosity hair, or has knowledge of it

suggest a deep conditioner, and moisturizer?
 
My suggestion would be after your shampoo, use a baking soda solution to rinse your hair. DILUTE please!!! Then DC with whatever. I also recommend baggying nightly.

The issue with low porosity hair is the cuticle is tightly shut so product doesn't penetrate strands easily. So you need to put your hair in an alkaline environment (hence the baking soda) so that the cuticle opens up to receive the conditioning treatment.

Baggying IMO is like smothering your hair in moisture for a night and in time even low porosity hair has no choice but to accept the moisture. After all, it's not that low porosity hair can't be moisturized. It just takes longer to be...so why not bully it into accepting moisture by baggying for the night?
 
i was actually just researching low porosity i did the strand test friday and my hair was still floating today.

I read this article and she mentioned the cherry lola treatment which is what nonie mentioned with the banking soda rinse:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=155557867794243

After researching the cherry lola treatment i ran into a blog by lhcf very own DenimPixie:
http://questfortheperfectcurl.wordpress.com/2009/08/31/the-cherry-lola-treatment/

after a bit more research on natural humectants i figure honey is my best go to product and i already had great success with the caramel treatment before it really softened up my hair so my plan is to just include honey in all my dc's and to do a caramel treatment in-between braiding my hair.


i also read that Giovanni 50/50 conditioner was a good and i do like the ingredients also Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose

ETA: i was closing out a few tabs when i noticed some information on emollients that i forgot to add:

http://precious-curls.blogspot.com/2011/03/emollients.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-emollients.htm

i also have been mixing up a few of my own products and i fount these ingredient list that were useful in finding natural humectants and emollients and some i already have so i plan on experimenting when i get these braids out.

http://www.cibuinternational.com/glossary.htm

http://www.aubrey-organics.com/custom.aspx?id=61#h
 
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To cleanse
Baking Soda treatments, or wash
Diluted Castile Soap
Always Clarify before you DC, you wanna make sure nothing will block moisture from making it's way in...
Bentonite Clay


To infuse moisture

Steaming....

DCing for no less than 2 hrs and more, or overnight...


To moisturize


Moisturize your hair while its damp NOT wet...
Water based moisturizer first, something as simple as aloe vera juice, then a cream...


Cassia Obovata has given my hair the ability to absorb moisture better

 
Nonie said:
My suggestion would be after your shampoo, use a baking soda solution to rinse your hair. DILUTE please!!! Then DC with whatever. I also recommend baggying nightly.

The issue with low porosity hair is the cuticle is tightly shut so product doesn't penetrate strands easily. So you need to put your hair in an alkaline environment (hence the baking soda) so that the cuticle opens up to receive the conditioning treatment.

Baggying IMO is like smothering your hair in moisture for a night and in time even low porosity hair has no choice but to accept the moisture. After all, it's not that low porosity hair can't be moisturized. It just takes longer to be...so why not bully it into accepting moisture by baggying for the night?
Click to expand...
Nonie
Do you think I have to rinse my hair after the baking soda rinse or I can put my product treatment directly on top?

Baggying.. I think that's why my hair loves overnight treatment ! :lick:
 
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What are some good cream moisturizers to use?
Is it still good to "lock" in moisture with oil?

Now that I'm 7 months post relaxer, my stylist has commented that my cuticles are very tight... water just sits on my hair. We always do a steam treatment, but I need to figure out what to do at home.
 
Krystle~Hime said:
@Nonie
Do you think I have to rinse my hair after the baking soda rinse or I can put my product treatment directly on top?

Baggying.. I think that's why my hair loves overnight treatment ! :lick:
Click to expand...

I'm sorry Krystle~Hime, I never got this mention alert. :wallbash:

I would rinse the baking soda out. I have never been a fan of mixing products. So rinse off then go on with your treatment.
 
Nonie oooh no sorry it's me, don't worry i've received your pm, i've just not had time to reply to it!!! sorry me !!
i'm a lil hesitating, because I want to experimentate more about DC on dry hair. so if I rinse my hair prior to deep treatment, it will be against this "will".
so I thought why not adding a teaspoon of baking soda IN deep treatment mixture.

by the way Nonie, I don't know if you remind when you said that baggying must be a great thing for low porosity hair cause "it will smother hair in moisture so low porosity hair will have no choice but to accept moisture)

This week, every other day, so 3x this week, instead of my simple moisturize and seal and go for the day, I did it at night : moisturize and seal, then put a plastic cap. I was feeling like doing a deep treatment, but I know it was just for forcing help to receive this moisture of the day ! and seriously, my hair hasn't been so soft for so long !!
I'm gonna do this for all august and will see if there is an long term improvement !

but things I've retained is :
-trying to use an alkaline product/rinse before deep treatment for lifting hair cuticles,
and -baggying for forcing hair to received moisture !!
:spinning:
 
Krystle~Hime, I don't think mixing baking soda in your treatment is a good idea. I think you should use it separately which is why I said rinse first. If you mix them, they may react and create some weird product.

If you want to try DCing on dry (which is great BTW) how about using the baking soda and then rinsing and braiding your hair and letting it airdry or towel drying to help it dry faster. Then once dry try the DC? Your cuticle should still be open since the last product you used was alkaline, and if you baggy as you DC, the treatment should still be received.
 
I'm still trying to understand if my hair is low porosity (it does float forever) and recovering from a protein overload among other things, and one thing I noticed is:
deep conditioning on dry hair with heat works, it is the only way my hair is accepting moisture right now (otherwise it laughs at anything in any quantity now that it's kind of shocked).
I apply the deep conditioner on dry hair, plastic cap (or kitchen foil then plastic cap), then I apply heat for 15 minutes, walk around for another 45 minutes, and rinse.

About 15 years ago a hairstylist taught me to apply the deep conditioner upwards, lifting the cuticles with your fingers section by section, and then downwards. It did work wonders that time (I had a relaxer + highlights disaster going on) but I am cautious about that kind of manipulation today, haven't repeated it since then. Maybe heat and baking soda are more gentle in lifting the cuticles.

Applying the leave in on towel dried instead of wet hair seems to make a difference as well. When my hair is ok it works anyway, but right now it only works like this.
 
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Nonie said:
Krystle~Hime, I don't think mixing baking soda in your treatment is a good idea. I think you should use it separately which is why I said rinse first. If you mix them, they may react and create some weird product.

If you want to try DCing on dry (which is great BTW) how about using the baking soda and then rinsing and braiding your hair and letting it airdry or towel drying to help it dry faster. Then once dry try the DC? Your cuticle should still be open since the last product you used was alkaline, and if you baggy as you DC, the treatment should still be received.
Click to expand...
wow! shampooing my hair and letting it air drying without conditioning it afterwards ? my 4b fine hair? no I can not :ohwell:


i think Amoreofcurls do that.
but it seems risky(breakage) doesn't it ?

ETA : okay i've just read Curlykale post, and it makes me think, so as we said previously, smothering hair and creates steam helps to be forcing hair to accept treatment. so maybe just doing the dc on dry hair AND overnight, can be my key ? cause I can't imagine my hair let alone with no leave in applied LOL !
 
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Curlykale said:
I'm still trying to understand if my hair is low porosity (it does float forever) and recovering from a protein overload among other things, and one thing I noticed is:
deep conditioning on dry hair with heat works, it is the only way my hair is accepting moisture right now (otherwise it laughs at anything in any quantity now that it's kind of shocked).
I apply the deep conditioner on dry hair, plastic cap (or kitchen foil then plastic cap), then I apply heat for 15 minutes, walk around for another 45 minutes, and rinse.

About 15 years ago a hairstylist taught me to apply the deep conditioner upwards, lifting the cuticles with your fingers section by section, and then downwards. It did work wonders that time (I had a relaxer + highlights disaster going on) but I am cautious about that kind of manipulation today, haven't repeated it since then. Maybe heat and baking soda are more gentle in lifting the cuticles.

Applying the leave in on towel dried instead of wet hair seems to make a difference as well. When my hair is ok it works anyway, but right now it only works like this.
Click to expand...


My hair starting thriving once I figured this out.
 
Kinda OT, but would cleansing with bentonite clay twice a month (so basically every two weeks) be too often? Or even once a week? I just used bentonite clay for the first time this week and my hair felt amazing! I deep conditioned afterward and my hair was finally feeling better (had been feeling terrible for like 2 weeks following a dc with a new conditioner :/)


any thoughts?
 
Krystle~Hime said:
wow! shampooing my hair and letting it air drying without conditioning it afterwards ? my 4b fine hair? no I can not :ohwell:


i think Amoreofcurls do that.
but it seems risky(breakage) doesn't it ?

ETA : okay i've just read Curlykale post, and it makes me think, so as we said previously, smothering hair and creates steam helps to be forcing hair to accept treatment. so maybe just doing the dc on dry hair AND overnight, can be my key ? cause I can't imagine my hair let alone with no leave in applied LOL !
Click to expand...


If while shampooing you are smoothing your hair in a downwards motion, then twisting as you rinse it out,it should not tangle back up, and no it would not cause breakage, I mean it shouldnt...Before you apply the DC,your hair doesn't have to be totally dry...atleast 80% dry...the goal is to have nothing blocking your DC's ability to infuse itself into your strands, that "nothing" being water, which low porosity hair has a tendency to hold on to for dear life :lol:
 
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I have low porosity hair and my regi does not consist of many steps. I shampoo twice to ensure my hair absorbs enough water. I always DC with heat. I steam about 95% of the time and the other 5% I will use a conditioning cap. I moisturize 1x daily. Seal periodically on an as-needed basis. I baggy my ends nightly only because to keep them nicely moisturized. My hair dislikes Roux PC, AVJ, and Glycerin (even when used in appropriate weather conditions). ETA: Using quality products has helped me to manage my porosity issue. Beforehand, I felt like I was always at war with my hair but I no longer look at my low porosity as a burden since incorporating quality products.
 
05girl said:
What are some good cream moisturizers to use?
Is it still good to "lock" in moisture with oil?

Now that I'm 7 months post relaxer, my stylist has commented that my cuticles are very tight... water just sits on my hair. We always do a steam treatment, but I need to figure out what to do at home.
Click to expand...
05girl - I've had great luck with Bee Mine Luscious Balanced Cream Moisturizer. Now that I'm using quality products I don't feel the need to seal as often. I truly feel that my hair is responding better to quality products vs. lower end products that require a bunch of mixologist type work.
 
Krystle~Hime said:
so maybe just doing the dc on dry hair AND overnight, can be my key ?
Click to expand...

It should work well, although I find that using a hot blow dryer on top of the plastic cap for at least 5 minutes makes it penetrate completely, I noticed a difference... maybe for max benefits one could go to sleep right after the blow dryer, so it's dc + heat (the good kind) + baggying + overnight. I guess one could apply this process to a leave in as well.

Amoreofcurls said:

Before you apply the DC,your hair doesn't have to be totally dry...atleast 80% dry...
Click to expand...
I agree, I find that lightly spraying each section with water makes applying my dc easier and it sort of helps. Any more water than that and it is not functional anymore.
 
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This routine has done wonders for my dry hair during these smoldering temps:
  1. DC
  2. Roux porosity control in sections for 30 seconds each section
  3. leave-in mixed with oil
  4. wet bun
  5. baggy every night
  6. cowash as needed
 
@Nonie
According to the reading below, I have normal porosity hair. In these higher temps it seems to be highly porous so now I'm unsure.

Low Porosity
Low porosity is when the cuticle of the hair shaft is too compact and does not permit moisture to enter or leave the hair shaft. Hair with low porosity is much more difficult to process, is resistant to chemical services, and has a tendency to repel product rather than absorb it.

Normal Porosity
With normal porosity, the cuticle is compact and inhibits moisture from leaving or entering the hair shaft; however, it allows for normal processing when a chemical service is performed and will readily absorb and retain product properly formulated for this hair type.

High Porosity
Hair with high porosity, also known as “overly porous” hair, has an open cuticle that both absorbs and releases moisture easily. Overly porous hair processes very quickly and can be easily damaged if extreme care is not taken when a chemical service is performed. Although overly porous hair absorbs product quickly, it is often dry as the open cuticle does not allow for product retention within the hair shaft.
 
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SherylsTresses That makes sense then why Roux PC would work for you. I don't think it'd work well for low porosity. I think it'd make moisturizing the hair even harder to do.
 
SherylsTresses - have you done the strand test? My hair floats indefinitely. It actually floats for days. I didn't believe it at first and did the test again with the same result. I haven't tested lately but based on day to day occurrence, I'd venture to say I'm still low porosity.
 
Great thread. I'm doing the porosity test as well. It's been a couple of hours and my hair is still floating and doesn't look like it's going to sink anytime soon.
 
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