Spinoff: Anyone with low porosity hair?

[Urban]

The way I look at it is in terms of pH. The higher the pH of your hair, the more the pores open. You could try using a dilute mixture of baking soda + water to increase pH before doing a DC or applying colour (i don't know about relaxer though). That way the pores are already more/ slightly more open than they would normally be.

I know it works for me anyway. If you give it a try and let me know how it works out for you.

 

[Junebug D]

This so describes my hair. And explains a LOT. The only thing that doesn't match is that I don't get a lot of split ends. I will try the baking soda thing or try to find products with a higher pH.

 

[Neith]

I have low porosity

If I wanted a straight relaxer, my only option would be overprocessing it to within one inch of it's life, nothing gets my hair straight in the alloted time.


Low porosity girls... how many of you have red in your hair/freckles/red hair runs in your family? I dunno why, but it just feels like a correlation there.

 

[Junebug D]

I have low porosity

If I wanted a straight relaxer, my only option would be overprocessing it to within one inch of it's life, nothing gets my hair straight in the alloted time.


Low porosity girls... how many of you have red in your hair/freckles/red hair runs in your family? I dunno why, but it just feels like a correlation there.

Yup. I have freckles and spots of reddish hair. My sister has reddish hair too. That's an interesting correlation...

 

[SelfStyled]

My natural hair color is a reddish brown like a #2 hair color- you might be on to something.

 

[EllePixie]

Anyone figure out any other "remedies" for low porosity hair other than baking soda? My hair just gets on my nerves; it never absorbs anything! Bleh.

 

[Ese88]

porosity is just one thing i cant manage to get my head around after 4 years in this game . my hair dries really quickly, well the ends do but not the roots, so does that mean i have high porosity? i have porosity control but ive never been able to properly incorporate into my regimen since so many use it differently. should i add to my dc? or use after rinsing? im just lost

 

[*CherryPie*]

I've just been made aware that I have low porosity hair. Have anyone found what helps yet?

 

[Embyra]

I talked about porosity a few posts ago but as a refresher, porosity is the measure of absorption in the cuticle layer of your hair. The cuticle layer of your hair is arranged like shingles on a roof. A tight, compact shingle pattern make penetration difficult yielding low porosity.

So how do you know if you have lo-po hair? Well when you apply products, paticularly heavy creams or butters, does it feel like the product is just sitting on top of your hair rather than being absorbed? Do you have to drench and dunk your hair in water to get it wet? Does your hair tend to resist chemical treatments like coloring? If you answered yes then you may have lo-po hair. Another way is to do a porosity test by placing a clean, dry, product-free strand of hair in a bowl of water. If the hair floats at the top of the water you have low porosity.

So what is a natural with lo-po hair to do? Well below are tips from NaturallyCurly.com member Marah Mizrahi on caring for lo-po hair:

Here are a few [product] suggestions. The Kinky Curly Line is a good one. Curl Junkie is another one that has decent products for low porosity hair. Tigi Moisture Maniac Conditioner. Oyin Honey Hemp Conditioner. Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Hair Remoisturizer.

Any line that has humectants and emollients that soften the hair. Try not to go oil or protein over board. Low porosity hair doesn't need a lot of either one. Some low porosity folks find they are extremely oil sensitive and avoid mostly all oils, especially coconut oil.

I can't recommend Carol's Daughter because I don't like the line at all. I also don't recommend Miss Jessies or Mixed Chicks.

A lot of people with low porosity have to find ways to get things inside their hair shaft. Because the cuticle is tight what you try to do is raise the cuticle so the products can penetrate.

Ways to do this is use Very warm (not hot) water before your conditioner is apply. Another way is steam (some people invest in steamers or create their own). You can apply your conditioner to wet hair and put a plastic cap and sitting under a hooded dryer with conditioner on the hair which is basically a heated deep treatment. The most important thing is to get moisture in and the way to do that is raise the cuticle. Alkaline type solutions do this as well.

A controversial way to do it is to use baking soda treatments on the hair. Where you basically add a little bit into your conditioner and rinse it out. You have to make sure to rinse with cold water or use very diluted apple cider vinegar to close the cuticle back though. I say this is controversial because some people swear by it, others think it's a bad idea to use baking soda in the hair.

Try to find water based products that contain humectants. A humectant would be like glycerin, pathenol, honey, aloe, fructose, glucose, hydrolyzed silk, urea, propylene glycol, etc. Ingredients that draw moisture to the hair.

You'll have to test the glycerin because some folks feel they are glycerin sensitive. If you have very low porosity hair though as you describe..this might help you out provided you dont' live in an extremely dry climate and it's probably one of the easiest humectants to spot on the ingredient list of products.

Avoid protein laden products. Look for richer conditioners with great emollients but not a bunch of unnccessary oils. You'll probably want to avoid a lot of oily products, silicones, mineral oils, petroleum anything that can super coat the hair shaft since you already have a compact hair cuticle you don't really need to use a lot of oily ingredients to majorly coat the hair. Because you want a decent amount of moisture drawn to your curls so if you use any oils just be picky and use the least amount you can.

Some low porosity folks actually prefer to use shampoo as opposed to conditioner washing only because of the fact that it (shampoo) ingredients helps to opens the cuticle. They look for a good moisturizing shampoo that doesn't terribly strip the hair. Some are fine with sulfates,others are not. If you still want to avoid sulfates but use shampoo try to find a decent moisturizing one. Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose is a good oneso is Giovanni 50/50 Shampoo.

Thank you Marah so much for tips for the lo-po naturals. The Cherr Lola treatment is also popular for lo-po naturals, this treatment can be found in my previous notes. If you do Cherry Lola or another baking soda treatment be sure to follow with something moisturizing!




http://ko-kr.connect.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=155557867794243

 

[SelfStyled]

I talked about porosity a few posts ago but as a refresher, porosity is the measure of absorption in the cuticle layer of your hair. The cuticle layer of your hair is arranged like shingles on a roof. A tight, compact shingle pattern make penetration difficult yielding low porosity.

So how do you know if you have lo-po hair? Well when you apply products, paticularly heavy creams or butters, does it feel like the product is just sitting on top of your hair rather than being absorbed? Do you have to drench and dunk your hair in water to get it wet? Does your hair tend to resist chemical treatments like coloring? If you answered yes then you may have lo-po hair. Another way is to do a porosity test by placing a clean, dry, product-free strand of hair in a bowl of water. If the hair floats at the top of the water you have low porosity.

So what is a natural with lo-po hair to do? Well below are tips from NaturallyCurly.com member Marah Mizrahi on caring for lo-po hair:

Here are a few [product] suggestions. The Kinky Curly Line is a good one. Curl Junkie is another one that has decent products for low porosity hair. Tigi Moisture Maniac Conditioner. Oyin Honey Hemp Conditioner. Giovanni 50/50 Balanced Hair Remoisturizer.

Any line that has humectants and emollients that soften the hair. Try not to go oil or protein over board. Low porosity hair doesn't need a lot of either one. Some low porosity folks find they are extremely oil sensitive and avoid mostly all oils, especially coconut oil.

I can't recommend Carol's Daughter because I don't like the line at all. I also don't recommend Miss Jessies or Mixed Chicks.

A lot of people with low porosity have to find ways to get things inside their hair shaft. Because the cuticle is tight what you try to do is raise the cuticle so the products can penetrate.

Ways to do this is use Very warm (not hot) water before your conditioner is apply. Another way is steam (some people invest in steamers or create their own). You can apply your conditioner to wet hair and put a plastic cap and sitting under a hooded dryer with conditioner on the hair which is basically a heated deep treatment. The most important thing is to get moisture in and the way to do that is raise the cuticle. Alkaline type solutions do this as well.

A controversial way to do it is to use baking soda treatments on the hair. Where you basically add a little bit into your conditioner and rinse it out. You have to make sure to rinse with cold water or use very diluted apple cider vinegar to close the cuticle back though. I say this is controversial because some people swear by it, others think it's a bad idea to use baking soda in the hair.

Try to find water based products that contain humectants. A humectant would be like glycerin, pathenol, honey, aloe, fructose, glucose, hydrolyzed silk, urea, propylene glycol, etc. Ingredients that draw moisture to the hair.

You'll have to test the glycerin because some folks feel they are glycerin sensitive. If you have very low porosity hair though as you describe..this might help you out provided you dont' live in an extremely dry climate and it's probably one of the easiest humectants to spot on the ingredient list of products.

Avoid protein laden products. Look for richer conditioners with great emollients but not a bunch of unnccessary oils. You'll probably want to avoid a lot of oily products, silicones, mineral oils, petroleum anything that can super coat the hair shaft since you already have a compact hair cuticle you don't really need to use a lot of oily ingredients to majorly coat the hair. Because you want a decent amount of moisture drawn to your curls so if you use any oils just be picky and use the least amount you can.

Some low porosity folks actually prefer to use shampoo as opposed to conditioner washing only because of the fact that it (shampoo) ingredients helps to opens the cuticle. They look for a good moisturizing shampoo that doesn't terribly strip the hair. Some are fine with sulfates,others are not. If you still want to avoid sulfates but use shampoo try to find a decent moisturizing one. Aubrey Organics Honey Suckle Rose is a good oneso is Giovanni 50/50 Shampoo.

Thank you Marah so much for tips for the lo-po naturals. The Cherr Lola treatment is also popular for lo-po naturals, this treatment can be found in my previous notes. If you do Cherry Lola or another baking soda treatment be sure to follow with something moisturizing!




http://ko-kr.connect.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=155557867794243

This has been one of the most informative post I have read about low porosity hair. Good stuff- thx for posting. This totally explain why my hair, hates protein.

 

[Embyra]

As far as possible remedies......

One thing that helps many people open their cuticle up a little is demi-permanent color. Demi uses 10vol developer which can't lift your natural color, it just opens the cuticle up some. You can get a clear demi-color, it doesn't have to be a color persay but it will help make your hair more porous. Alot of white girls with really thick tight cuticles also do this. It will also help give you more body. Demi color is better for low porosity ladies since your cuticle will be able to hold on it longer than semi-perm which ladies like me with high porosity use to help seal the cuticle. Demi-perm color last usually around 28-30 shampoo's.

:scratchch:scratchch off to google

 

[KnottyGurl]

I've just been made aware that I have low porosity hair. Have anyone found what helps yet?

Gréât post coconut! Subscribing to this thread for that alone. What works for me is the Cherry Lola treatment with honey, drying with a t-shirt, and the number one difference: a showerhead filter. Before that, nothing would help with moisture. If I could only recommend one thing, the filter would be it

 

[Napp]

The only tghing that helped me was a demi perm and using heat on a regular basis. The demi perm was very temporary but i did have marked inprovement but it made my hair feel slightlyh weakened and the effect washed out rather quickly. Using heat really made a difference.i used it once a month but i do not even think doing it that often it necesary. I noticed right after washing out a press my hair would absorb product better which is why i kept doing it.

 

[leiah]

I don't know for sure that this has any effect on ph or the cuticle, but I find that spraying my hair with lemon juice and salt water makes it easier to work with. I also definitely need to use clarifying shampoos

My hair never took color. My hair is only 3A but relaxers never got it straight

 

[*CherryPie*]

Lemon juice won't work, it'll only make thing worse. Acidic things closes the cuticle. We need to open the cuticle because our hair's cuticle is too closed.

I don't know for sure that this has any effect on ph or the cuticle, but I find that spraying my hair with lemon juice and salt water makes it easier to work with. I also definitely need to use clarifying shampoos

My hair never took color. My hair is only 3A but relaxers never got it straight

 

[Amoreofcurls]

Meeeee!!!!!...


I used to do baking soda treatments before DCing (for no less than 2 hrs or with steam), I still do them once in a blue, but now I just clarify with Suave daily clarifying shampoo before treatments, or Dr Bronners lavender castile soap (diluted of course) which is an alkie...

 

[EllePixie]

Steaming has helped me normalize my porosity. My hair seems to absorb product better and tolerate protein MUCH better.

 

[divachyk]

BUMP - for more exchange on this topic. My ends air dry bushy all the time and my ng is constantly thirsty. I steam and that's helped but still have a few thirsty areas. ETA: I am relaxed.

 

[virtuenow]

I once had a good beautician who said hair gets conditioned really well during the relaxing process. I asked her why relaxed hair is so shiny and healthy looking right after its relaxed. She said its b/c the cuticles are open and can receive product/nourishment/moisture more readily, and then as long as you properly neutralize (i.e., close the cuticle n stop the relaxing process), then the hair should be well conditioned. She said all of this while encouraging me to go natural (mind you, but I was too hard headed at the time to consider it). What I'm saying is, maybe you need to take bigger steps towards opening your cuticle. No, I'm not saying to relax your hair, but there are other ways to raise the cuticle.

 

[Tiye]

Interesting thread. I guess I have low porosity hair. My hair floats in water - until this thread I thought all hair did that. You learn something new everyday. This is not a problem for me at all other than the fact that I know my hair is resistant to relaxers and chemical dyes but I don't use those things anymore so for me non-porosity is a non-issue.

 

[bb09]

BUMP - for more exchange on this topic. My ends air dry bushy all the time and my ng is constantly thirsty. I steam and that's helped but still have a few thirsty areas. ETA: I am relaxed.

@divachyk, how can you tell if you have low porosity hair?
I know my hair doesn't hold on to moisture.. It never Stays moisturised. Protein conditioners for me e.g. AO GPB keep my hair wet longer (good), but it doesn't Dry moisturised.

I still can't tell if my porosity is high or low really.

 

[Nonie]

@divachyk, how can you tell if you have low porosity hair?
I know my hair doesn't hold on to moisture.. It never Stays moisturised. Protein conditioners for me e.g. AO GPB keep my hair wet longer (good), but it doesn't Dry moisturised.

I still can't tell if my porosity is high or low really.

bb09 You can do the water test where you put a shed hair in a glass of water? Porous hair will sink while low porosity hair will float. Normal may float first then sink.

Your hair sounds porous to me (high porosity). Hair that is porous will not hold onto moisture. That your hair holds onto moisture when you use AO GPB tells me that protein and ceramides plug the holes that normally release moisture to the air and therefore your hair seems to hold onto moisture with that product but that fix is temporary and would have to be done regularly. Have you tried Roux? Roux is a member here and if she comes to your house your hair gets fixed. (I'm kidding. I'm really referring to Roux PC. Besides having a low pH that closes cuticles, it's also got humectants that attract and hold onto moisture.)

Low porosity hair is hard to wet but once wet or moisturized, it holds onto the moisture for a long time so is hard to dry. That's because the cuticle is closed and so moisture has a hard time getting in and getting out. I tried to explain here: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=13569783&postcount=1177

I don't know if this was mentioned but I think using baking soda or a high pH shampoo (like a clarifying shampoo) before using a moisturizing deep conditioner may help open up the cuticle of low porosity hair so that moisture from the conditioner can penetrate the hair. I think baggying is also good for low porosity hair.

 

[bb09]

@bb09 You can do the water test where you put a shed hair in a glass of water? Porous hair will sink while low porosity hair will float. Normal may float first then sink.

Your hair sounds porous to me (high porosity). Hair that is porous will not hold onto moisture. That your hair holds onto moisture when you use AO GPB tells me that protein and ceramides plug the holes that normally release moisture to the air and therefore your hair seems to hold onto moisture with that product but that fix is temporary and would have to be done regularly. Have you tried Roux? @Roux is a member here and if she comes to your house your hair gets fixed. (I'm kidding. I'm really referring to Roux PC. Besides having a low pH that closes cuticles, it's also got humectants that attract and hold onto moisture.)

Low porosity hair is hard to wet but once wet or moisturized, it holds onto the moisture for a long time so is hard to dry. That's because the cuticle is closed and so moisture has a hard time getting in and getting out. I tried to explain here: http://www.longhaircareforum.com/showpost.php?p=13569783&postcount=1177

I don't know if this was mentioned but I think using baking soda or a high pH shampoo (like a clarifying shampoo) before using a moisturizing deep conditioner may help open up the cuticle of low porosity hair so that moisture from the conditioner can penetrate the hair. I think baggying is also good for low porosity hair.

Nonie -lol! I've tried Roux (porosity control), but it makes my hair more tangled. I can't remember the user who mentioned this, but if you have hard water, it does that.

Also, when I've used abba leave-in with lactic acid and a ph of 4.5-5.5., as well as l'oreal elvive leave-in spray, my hair doesn't feel Any more moisturised. In fact, the elvive spray made my NG soo compact and tangled. It doesn't have silicones either.

Baggying really shrinks my NG making it hard to fingercomb, and my hair doesn't hold on to that moisture for long either.

 

[bb09]

Oh yeah at the bolded, using AO GPB regularly unfortunately didn't lead to moisturised hair when dry.

I'm thinking to try joico reconstructor again -which might be a foolish mistake Lol because when I used it last, the week after a yoghurt dc, I had about 1/2cm breakage on my ends (all round).

This is another thing I'm trying to understand about high vs low porosity hair. Does it like protein? Anyway, I'm about to go read your other post.

 

[ScorpioBeauty09]

Low hair porosity has to do with pH balance, where as high porosity is because of heat damage. I had very low porosity hair until I started using ACV + lavender, peppermint and rosemary oils as a post-poo/pre-con. When I started my LHHJ and started deep conditioning on every wash day I retained length for a couple months, then stopped and I couldn't find out why. Not only did my hair products seem to stop working, my hair/scalp didn't feel clean no matter how many times I washed it and I'd notice it would take me a long time to get my hair wet and it would be dry pretty quickly.

I did research and found out most hair products are alkaline-based while hair is mostly acidic. Most hair products leave build-up that clogs up the pores and prevents products from doing their jobs. I also have naturally oily hair/scalp anyways so I'm sure that made things worse. I tried ACV diluted with water mixed a few drops of lavender, peppermint and rosemary oils as a post-poo before DC-ing and the porosity returned in one wash. For the first time in months my scalp actually felt clean, I slept like a baby that night and my retention returned. I now use it on every wash day and have recommended it to my mom and sisters who love it.

I've seen a lot of posts from ladies who've tried ACV and it hasn't worked which is fine, everyone is different but it's vital to maintain your hair's natural pH balance. If not with ACV then something else acidic.

 

[Nonie]

bb09, then the only conclusion I can come up with is your hair is porous not from having a raised cuticle but from having a missing cuticle from either chemical processing or just wear and tear from regular handling.

This is a close up of a hair cuticle:

Low porosity hair has the scales tightly shut while high porosity healthy hair has the scales slightly open.

This is what a newborn baby's cuticle looks like:

The cuticle^^ is whole and strand looks smooth and there's no wear/tear damage.

Below is a hair that has minimal cuticle damage from normal wear and tear like friction between it and other strands or normal manipulation:

Below is the cuticle of chemically damaged hair. Notice the cuticle is wide open and damaged so that it doesn't really close:

That strand^^ will not hold onto moisture or stay moisturized for long. That image kinda makes me think of a melted plastic container that is no longer flexible. So that it doesn't matter what the pH of a product is, it will not close the cuticle. Also that hair is likely to tangle easily because the rough strands will catch on each other. The only way it probably can escape tangles is if coated with something heavy like a serum or a conditioner heavy in 'cones applied on wet hair so that the product creates a smooth cover on the strands.

The pics below show progressive damage of hair strands. As you can see the cuticle is missing more and more and eventually you no longer have that scaly wall that could open to allow moisture in and close to retain moisture so moisturizing and retaining moisture becomes impossible to do.

The side closest to us has been stripped of its cuticle:

The cortex is exposed and without a prayer:

Damage to the cortex and protein fibers is next:

The cortex has ruptured and this hair is at a point of no return:

(Images courtesy of P&G Beauty Grooming Science)

Now I don't know when you started your HHJ or learning how to do right by your hair. If you started it from a BC and have been kind to your hair then this may not be your story. But if you have hair from back when you didn't really have tools for good hair care, it could be that your hair is at one of those stages of damage and it will only be your new growth--or the hair you grew since you started doing right--that will reap the fruits of your good works. So it may be that you will see your hair acting right after you have trimmed/cut off the damaged hair.

Remember we talked about dusting. If that's something you haven't done in forever, it'll take a good cut in order for any dusting you start to make a difference. And that's for the same reasons explained above. Damaged hair cannot be fixed the way you can fix a break in a toy with glue. So sometimes it takes a do over to get it right. Not saying you should cut your hair but putting it out there so you can recognize when you're flogging a dead horse.

 

[curlydream]

The only tghing that helped me was a demi perm and using heat on a regular basis. The demi perm was very temporary but i did have marked inprovement but it made my hair feel slightlyh weakened and the effect washed out rather quickly. Using heat really made a difference.i used it once a month but i do not even think doing it that often it necesary. I noticed right after washing out a press my hair would absorb product better which is why i kept doing it.

I just realized I have low porosity hair when I always thought the opposite. I've been trying to avoid heat because I want to keep my hair healthy but in the back of my mind I know how much better my hair feels when it was flat ironed or pressed. I think I need to change up my routine to include more clarifying shampooing and a little more heat.

 

[divachyk]

bb09, Nonie nailed it. When I first started my HHJ, I did a water test and my hair floated for days. I didn't understand what that symbolized at the time. Truthfully, I thought I did the test wrong. Therefore, I water tested several other times at random periods with the same result. Eventually, I learned floating hair meant I have low porosity.

Another sign is that it takes a lot of water exposure to get my hair soaking wet. I actually wash my hair twice on wash day and even then, sometimes it's still not soaking wet. My hair is tricky when it comes to drying. If it's naked with no product, it will dry in a snap, partly because it wasn't soaking wet to begin with. Once my hair is finally soaking wet, it takes a while for it dry. If it's soaking wet and there is product in my hair (i.e., leave-ins), it will take a very long time for my hair to dry, especially in the winter. The summer it's not too bad because I live in FL and temps are 100+ so that helps to dry it quickly, even with the low porosity.

To manage my low porosity hair, I stopped using Roux, which made a big difference. I shampoo my hair twice on wash day and I steam my DCners.

I use to feel that my hair was always dry and never moisturized. I think I posted a few times that products always felt like they were sitting on top of my hair rather than absorbing in my hair. Now that I'm doing the items listed above, I feel that my hair accepts and retains moisture better.

 

[Roux]

lmao Nonie this reminds me I need to buy some ACV. Does anyone ever use the regular kind at the grocery store and not the cloudy kind?

 

[Nonie]

lmao Nonie this reminds me I need to buy some ACV. Does anyone ever use the regular kind at the grocery store and not the cloudy kind?

Roux I always use the regular one from the grocery store. I think the cloudy one "With the Mother" (raw organic ACV) is really better if you're drinking it because it has nutritional value. But just for changing the pH of your hair, the store kind is fine IMO.