Where Are All My Type 3 Naturals?!!

[Rastafarai]

Not a HINT of sinkage even after an hr. and I tried another piece from the front of my head. No sinkage after a few minutes.
I am apparently low po. The polar opposite of what I just knew for sure I was. I thought I had about the utmost porous hair of anyone in the world lol. I'd have bet $100 I am high po
This changes everything . Idk how to wrap my mind around this even lol.
It means I have to deep condition with heat even more often now because my hair does not open up easily.

i will try the test again right after washing but even so it's clear I am not high po at all.

Welcome!!!!

We have a whole thread dedicated for us by us https://longhaircareforum.com/threads/low-porosity-support-thread.612057/

 

[Rastafarai]

Any other 3s with rat-tails in the nape area? My hair is all sorts of 3s, but my looser texture is at my nape and crown. I am convinced its 3a/3b. Because of the looser texture, my hair looks uneven in its wet and air-dried state. I refuse to cut it because its healthy hair, but man does it look out of place when I twist. When I twist my hair, I use my nape twist to twist around my other twists to make my hair look more uniformed.

 

[Rastafarai]

Do any of you find that if you use rods on your ends, it straightens them over time? I've been doing twist outs for a while, putting small perm rods on the ends since they need help curling up. I did a wash and go the other day and noticed my ends in certain sections had lost their curl and were almost straight. I haven't used heat, so that isn't the culprit. Maybe its a fine hair thing.

So I'm concerned when you say you need perm rods to help your ends curl. It may be heat damage that may have been caused a while back? Are your ends clearly a different texture from your strands? When did you first notice your ends needed rods?

I don't think the rods are the cause of the ends, but I would advise you mix up the styling and not manipulate your ends as much other than to moisturize. I would also advise you try a few things as well:

1. An ACV rinse. Add some water and ACV in a spritz bottle. Spritz hair until near soaked and just let that sit for a few until you're ready to wash. I make this suggestion because my ends were looking limp recently and I knew I had to restore my the pH balance to my hair. It worked like a charm.

2. An Olaplex treatment. I've read great things about it on here. It helps restore hair bonds that were damaged due to heat and chemical treatments. Here is one curly girl result after using Olaplex:

 

[Autumn~Tint~Of~Gold]

Lol, do the spray bottle test. (I think thats what its called) take a spray bottle and lightly mist a part of your hair, if the water looks like little beads sitting on top of your hair then you most likely have lo-po, if the water absorbs immediately, very high chance of high-po... TBH the strand test is very tricky because the results can be altered so easily.... Also, YOU know your hair better than anyone... Do products sit on top of your hair? Do you feel like your products arent working sometimes? Does your hair react better with heavy products (butters, heavy creams, thick moisturizers etc) or light products (Styling milks, Light moisturizers, etc)? Does your hair love protein or strengthing products or do those products make your hair feel a bit straw like??? When was the last time you clarified? Do you feel the need to clarify often?? Knowing those things about your hair can answer your question... And you can better determine where you stand on the porosity scale. Highly porous hair is also usually associated with damaged or over processed hair.... So how healthy is your hair as well??? I can go on all day about porosity, lol. I researched deep about porosity when I first started my journey, anywho, point is, theres a lot of different ways you can determine your porosity. You may not be highly porous, you may just be "on the high po side" and same with Low-Po...

Yes, products sit on my hair. My hair despises nearly everything it seems...
My hair hates heavy products of any kind.
Hates protein. Cannot do heavy protein or I end up with stiff dry hair.
I clarify fairly often and my hair seems to build up easily.
Does this sound like high or low po ?

I'm still shocked about my results.
What made me think I am high po is that I am extremely frizzy and fly away, my hair dries rapidly, and my hair is somewhat damaged.
I want to repeat the glass test directly after washing my hair but I doubt it will change anything because I was only about 3 days post wash with no products added except a light leave in before i flat ironed.

 

[Autumn~Tint~Of~Gold]

I've just taken hair from one of the most "porous" parts of my head ( dries super fast, feels gross, won't curl and frizzes badly) and washed the hair with Dawn a la @FlowerHair
This hair is not sinking . i still cannot believe I am low po.

I did the spray test and water beads... it absorbs and beads at the same time sort of but there's some beading action...

 

[FlowerHair]

I've just taken hair from one of the most "porous" parts of my head ( dries super fast, feels gross, won't curl and frizzes badly) and washed the hair with Dawn a la @FlowerHair
This hair is not sinking . i still cannot believe I am low po.

I did the spray test and water beads... it absorbs and beads at the same time sort of but there's some beading action...

I was surprised too, but it makes sense now. Trying to google to learn more about it.

I think my hair was normal before, but the gray hair is so different...

 

[sunnydaze]

So I'm concerned when you say you need perm rods to help your ends curl. It may be heat damage that may have been caused a while back? Are your ends clearly a different texture from your strands? When did you first notice your ends needed rods?

I don't think the rods are the cause of the ends, but I would advise you mix up the styling and not manipulate your ends as much other than to moisturize. I would also advise you try a few things as well:

1. An ACV rinse. Add some water and ACV in a spritz bottle. Spritz hair until near soaked and just let that sit for a few until you're ready to wash. I make this suggestion because my ends were looking limp recently and I knew I had to restore my the pH balance to my hair. It worked like a charm.

2. An Olaplex treatment. I've read great things about it on here. It helps restore hair bonds that were damaged due to heat and chemical treatments. Here is one curly girl result after using Olaplex:

Thanks girl, this is super helpful. I rarely use heat on my hair anymore, so it's not heat damage. It may be over manipulation like you were saying. If I leave my hair on its own the twist will simply unravel at the ends.

I am going to try the apple cider vinegar rinse and see if that helps

 

[NaturalShe94]

Yes, products sit on my hair. My hair despises nearly everything it seems...
My hair hates heavy products of any kind.
Hates protein. Cannot do heavy protein or I end up with stiff dry hair.
I clarify fairly often and my hair seems to build up easily.
Does this sound like high or low po ?

I'm still shocked about my results.
What made me think I am high po is that I am extremely frizzy and fly away, my hair dries rapidly, and my hair is somewhat damaged.
I want to repeat the glass test directly after washing my hair but I doubt it will change anything because I was only about 3 days post wash with no products added except a light leave in before i flat ironed.

Sounds like you have low- po. Low po hair actually is generally very healthy. Reason because it resists damaging products and is harder to process. Getting moisture in is the only problem. Frizz is caused from this as well. Low hydration and build up can cause the strands to seperate or lift which causes frizz in low porosity hair.... Another thing, the ends of your hair will always be more porous than the rest of your hair. You need to clarify at least once monthly and I know most people are against Shea Moisture right now, but, their low porosity protein-free line is absolutely GREAT for low-po hair. I use a protein based poo and con and one day it didnt work so great, so I got SM LowPo line. Hair felt amazinggg.
Now even though I'm medium porosity, I still jump under the dryer to DC because my cuticles may not be super tight, but its tight enough to need heat to DC. DCing under heat is NEEDED for you. Once you get your hair cuticles open and let moisture seep in, you will suddenly see much less frizz. While your hair is wet, go in with a moisturizing leave in and seal with a light oil. People say coconut oil isnt good for low-po hair, its a LIE, coconut oil contains NO PROTEINS so hot oil treat with some sort of coconut oil based product or coconut oil alone probably once a month or every two weeks as well, but wet the hair first to open the cuticle. You can also Moisturize with coconut oil but your hair has to be wet because coconut oil will sit on top of dry low-po hair and you dont want that. Your hair will thank you.

 

[Autumn~Tint~Of~Gold]

Sounds like you have low- po. Low po hair actually is generally very healthy. Reason because it resists damaging products and is harder to process. Getting moisture in is the only problem. Frizz is caused from this as well. Low hydration and build up can cause the strands to seperate or lift which causes frizz in low porosity hair.... Another thing, the ends of your hair will always be more porous than the rest of your hair. You need to clarify at least once monthly and I know most people are against Shea Moisture right now, but, their low porosity protein-free line is absolutely GREAT for low-po hair. I use a protein based poo and con and one day it didnt work so great, so I got SM LowPo line. Hair felt amazinggg.
Now even though I'm medium porosity, I still jump under the dryer to DC because my cuticles may not be super tight, but its tight enough to need heat to DC. DCing under heat is NEEDED for you. Once you get your hair cuticles open and let moisture seep in, you will suddenly see much less frizz. While your hair is wet, go in with a moisturizing leave in and seal with a light oil. People say coconut oil isnt good for low-po hair, its a LIE, coconut oil contains NO PROTEINS so hot oil treat with some sort of coconut oil based product or coconut oil alone probably once a month or every two weeks as well, but wet the hair first to open the cuticle. You can also Moisturize with coconut oil but your hair has to be wet because coconut oil will sit on top of dry low-po hair and you dont want that. Your hair will thank you.

I am actually still transitioning so it surprises me even more that i am low-po with partially relaxed hair. . But the low porosity may partly explain why my hair is relaxer resistant. I got my first relaxer in my teens and it barely took so they did it all over again about a week later !!!
My relaxers seem to revert too. The back of my hair appears 100% natural.

Thank you so much for the info. I have to re-examine my hair practices now that I'm armed with this knowledge of my porosity.
I used to never dc with heat but my hair has thrived since I began doing that. I see now that it's absolutely vital for my hair considering how much I damage it heat. I will look into the SM Low-po line. I like the idea of something geared specifically for my hair type.

This must explain why Roux Porosity Control (which is for high-po to seal cuticles) did nothing for my hair

 

[beingofserenity]

Just fyi guys, the strand test is not accurate.

http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html?m=1

http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/hair-porosity-float-test.html?m=1

 

[FlowerHair]

Just fyi guys, the strand test is not accurate.

http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html?m=1

http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/hair-porosity-float-test.html?m=1

I interpreted the last link as it can be accurate if the hair is clean and you follow her guidelines, which I did. But you have to look at other signs too.

 

[NaturalShe94]

I am actually still transitioning so it surprises me even more that i am low-po with partially relaxed hair. . But the low porosity may partly explain why my hair is relaxer resistant. I got my first relaxer in my teens and it barely took so they did it all over again about a week later !!!
My relaxers seem to revert too. The back of my hair appears 100% natural.

Thank you so much for the info. I have to re-examine my hair practices now that I'm armed with this knowledge of my porosity.
I used to never dc with heat but my hair has thrived since I began doing that. I see now that it's absolutely vital for my hair considering how much I damage it heat. I will look into the SM Low-po line. I like the idea of something geared specifically for my hair type.

This must explain why Roux Porosity Control (which is for high-po to seal cuticles) did nothing for my hair

Oh goodness no wonder your hair doesn't do right, it's mad at you! Lol.

 

[CheChe1881]

Have you tried a protein reconstructor?

Like aphogee? yes.. but it's been a little while.

@CheChe1881 and @YvetteWithJoy

I saw these at home tests for porosity...I'm going to try it out myself, because my hair reacts so differently now that I have so much gray.

http://thenopoomethod.com/porosity/
How Porous Is My Hair?
It’s super easy to test the porosity of your hair.

Method #1: The Float Test

• Fill a glass or bowl with room temperature water.
• Take a couple strands of your clean hair and put them in the water. Clean hair is important. If you have oils or products on your hair, it will alter your results.
• Watch it for 2-4 minutes.
  • If your hair sinks immediately, it has high porosity. Your hair absorbed the water quickly and sank quickly.
  • If your hair is still floating 4 minutes later, it has low porosity. I have low porosity hair (see my float test pic below).
  • If your hair is slowly sinking, you have normal porosity.

Method #2: The Slide Test

• Grab a strand of hair on your head.
• Starting from the end of your hair, slide your fingers up the hair shaft towards your scalp.
• If you have a bumpy ride, you have high porosity hair. If your hair felt smooth, you have low porosity hair.

Method #3: The Spray Bottle Test

• Take a small section of your hair and pin the rest back.
• Spray that section with a little water, just enough to mist it.
• If the water sits on top of your hair or beads up, you have low porosity hair.
• If your hair absorbs the water quickly, you have high porosity hair.
• If the water sits on your hair for several minutes then is absorbed, you have normal porosity hair.

NOTE: The “how to care” tips below are not set in stone rules. Everyone is different. For example, I have low porosity hair but my hair responds well to a coconut oil hair mask. Coconut oil is a heavy oil and does not do well on most low porosity hair in general. All of the tips below are “in general.”

Low Porosity
Traits of low porosity hair:

• Cuticles are closed, so moisture does not enter easily / resistant to moisture
• Products sit on your hair
• Does not absorb hair color or treatments easily
• Water beads up on hair
• Hair takes a long time to dry
• Looks healthy but doesn’t have much elasticity or volume

How to care for low porosity hair:

• Use heat to open the cuticles to let the moisture in (hot water, heated deep conditioners, etc.). If you aren’t opposed to the hair dryer, you can use it to heat your conditioner while it is on your hair. Or wrap a hot towel around your head (heat the towel in your clothes dryer).
• Use lighter products. Argan oil and grapeseed oil are good light oils.
• Reducing build up is key. Build up on low porosity hair makes it more difficult for the moisture to make it’s way to your hair. Washing with clay and apple cider vinegar is a good way to remove build up on low porosity hair (see the no poo methods for more info).

High Porosity
Traits of high porosity hair:

• Absorbs too much moisture, but is unable to retain it
• Looks and feels dull and dry
• Generally damaged and over processed with torn cuticles (but not always)
• Tangles easily because the cuticles get caught on each other
• Hair dries quickly
• Tends to be frizzy

How to care for high porosity hair:

• Egg washes are great for high porosity hair. The protein in the egg restores and strengthens the cuticles. But do not do it too often. Too much protein will cause your hair to become stiff and break. See more under “egg wash.”
• Aloe vera gel and coconut oil are great for high porosity hair
• Heavy products and cream work well for high porosity hair
• High porosity hair benefits well to deep conditioning products to help restore and heal the damaged cuticles

Normal Porosity
Traits of normal porosity hair:

• Absorbs and retains the perfect amount of moisture
• Shiny, healthy, lots of volume

How to care for normal porosity hair:

• Keep doing what you are doing! Your hair is healthy and happy. Unless you are transitioning to a no poo, nontoxic method. In general, your transition will be relatively quick and easy.

These videos may help determine your porosity level as well even after the strand test... This womans channel has a a few porosity videos and she explains the problems you may be having and solutions to them. Very helpful @CheChe1881 @YvetteWithJoy

Thank you ladies.. I've done the strand test before and kept getting mixed results. I'll try it again.

 

[CheChe1881]

Just fyi guys, the strand test is not accurate.

http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/01/junk-science-hair-porosity-tests-float.html?m=1

http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/hair-porosity-float-test.html?m=1

That's what I thought, due to my inconsistent results.. any other porosity test ?

 

[NaturalShe94]

That's what I thought, due to my inconsistent results.. any other porosity test ?

Plenty, you can do the spray bottle test, where you part your hair and mist it lightly with water. If it beads up and stays that way for a while, LowPo. Absorbs quickly, HighPo.

 

[CheChe1881]

Plenty, you can do the spray bottle test, where you part your hair and mist it lightly with water. If it beads up and stays that way for a while, LowPo. Absorbs quickly, HighPo.

Ahhh thank you... I'm gonna try this one. Do I have to do this to freshly washed, and bone dry hair?

 

[NaturalShe94]

Ahhh thank you... I'm gonna try this one. Do I have to do this to freshly washed, and bone dry hair?

No problem and while your hair is dry this way you can see how fast your hair absorbs the water.

 

[FlowerHair]

This low porosity thing is probably why my hair hates henna! I read that low po hair should avoid protein treatments and henna definitely acts like a protein treatment x 100.
I've been natural for almost all of my 46 years and didn't even know I was low po... LOL!
Now, I'm reading everything I can find about this.

I think my hair turned even more low po since I went gray. Gray hair is sooooooooo hard to penetrate! No hair colors take, nothing can get into it!

No wonder gray hair is extra frizzy and dry. Most people probably don't know much about this porosity thing...

The most curly I can get right now is in my avatar. It seems that my hair has lost the ability to curl up/clump. I'm going to step out with super defined curls one of these days and post a photo here.

 

[FlowerHair]

 

[sunnydaze]

That's a good chart, particularly the density pic. I think that's why the whole pineapple thing never worked for me, my hair is very dense at the scalp. You know how people who pineapple take off their scrunchie/elastic, shake and then their hair falls back into place? When I take those out of my hair, my hair stays straight up, shaking results in my hair "falling out" vs down and it looks like I was electrocuted...lol.

 

[Daina]

That's a good chart, particularly the density pic. I think that's why the whole pineapple thing never worked for me, my hair is very dense at the scalp. You know how people who pineapple take off their scrunchie/elastic, shake and then their hair falls back into place? When I take those out of my hair, my hair stays straight up, shaking results in my hair "falling out" vs down and it looks like I was electrocuted...lol.

@sunnydaze, gurlllll this is me all day!!! I never understood why with all this hair I have my pineapple looked like an onion sprout!I don't even bother to do it anymore. I typically band in big sections and it works much better.

 

[Daina]

@FlowerHair, thank you for sharing this it is really helpful! Explains a lot about my 3c hair.

 

[NaturalShe94]

This is helpful, but, I can never get my density right... Sometimes, I think I'm high dense, then other times I think I'm low... But, then I'm like I can't be low because it's not easy to see my scalp.... I just don't know.... I think I'm somewhere in between.... My hair looks like neither one of those density examples....

 

[Daina]

This is helpful, but, I can never get my density right... Sometimes, I think I'm high dense, then other times I think I'm low... But, then I'm like I can't be low because it's not easy to see my scalp.... I just don't know.... I think I'm somewhere in between.... My hair looks like neither one of those density examples....

@NaturalShe94, yeah I go back and forth on the density issue as well. I think I have normal density with coarse or thick strands.

 

[NaturalShe94]

@NaturalShe94, yeah I go back and forth on the density issue as well. I think I have normal density with coarse or thick strands.

I think I'm normal density.
My strands aren't fine at all... But, I don't know if they are thick enough to be considered "thick strands" I've gotta look into that too... Aren't thick strands the ones that doesn't snap or break that easily from manipulation?

 

[FlowerHair]

I think I found a way to get some of the curliness back into my hair. After washing, I put some gel in my hair and finished with a bit of almond oil. I did this while in the shower and blow dried my hair for 2-3 minutes afterwards. It feels soft and clean, too, which is important to me. I hate sticky, gooey hair (on me). It's definitely curlier than my avi (that photo was taken a few weeks ago).

 

[NaturalShe94]

I think I found a way to get some of the curliness back into my hair. After washing, I put some gel in my hair and finished with a bit of almond oil. I did this while in the shower and blow dried my hair for 2-3 minutes afterwards. It feels soft and clean, too, which is important to me. I hate sticky, gooey hair (on me). It's definitely curlier than my avi (that photo was taken a few weeks ago).
View attachment 397989

More definition indeed, do you use a Leave In at all?? Or is no product giving you definition?

 

[FlowerHair]

More definition indeed, do you use a Leave In at all?? Or is no product giving you definition?

I don't use any leave in conditioner, but I always rinse my hair "sloppily", I just count to ten and stop. That way, a bit of my regular conditioner is left in. Cheap trick lol!

 

[NaturalShe94]

Sheesh, I wish my day 1 hair had a little bit more volume... I had to scrunch just to get some TYPE of volume. Tried the TGIN Super Moist Leave In for the first time Sunday night, its really moisturizing, just really heavy, but, I like it.

 

[Daina]

I think I'm normal density.
My strands aren't fine at all... But, I don't know if they are thick enough to be considered "thick strands" I've gotta look into that too... Aren't thick strands the ones that doesn't snap or break that easily from manipulation?

@NaturalShe94, great question I'm not sure? I got a Komaza analysis and they told me my strands were thick.