Natural hair is so complex these days. Low porosity, high porosity, protein sensitive, over moisturizes hair and the list goes on. Who knew all of this 20 years ago? I didn’t! I just wash my hair, steam every 2 weeks, clip the ends once or so per month, oil it and comb it. Now we pre poo, wash it, condition it, deep condition it and add leave-in condition. After which we use the L: liquid, O: oil, C: crème, the LOC method which can be rearrange based on the type of hair, size, length, porosity, thickness or thinness and yet again the list goes on. The science of natural hair; I can only imagine the attendance if there was a class. Natural hair is big business.
Natural hair is hair that hasn’t been altered by chemical straighteners including relaxers, texturizers and colored treated hair. Pressed hair is still considered to be natural. The porosity of your hair is how well your hair is able to absorb and hold moisture. Over the years we have learn so much about our hair, hair types and porosity.
We have learned that the moisture in our hair is affected by the flexibility of our cuticle, which determine how easy moisture and oil passes in and out of it. Porosity of our hair can be normal, high and low. My focus today is Low porosity.
Low Porosity Hair
If you have low porosity hair, it simple means that your cuticles are closed so water and moisture doesn’t easily penetrate your hair.
How I found out I had low porosity hair?
So I tried to colour my hair black a few weeks ago, went to the store got my black dye, I was so happy about it. Got home, followed the instruction on the package to the letter, my hair turned out a hot mess, patches of black. I didn’t know what I did wrong so, I tried doing it again a few days later. Same results, hair was very resistant to the colour in some sections of my hair. I knew something was wrong with my hair but I didn’t know what. What I did next was something that was long overdue. I started to research all the weird things that happened with my hair, only to find out they were characteristics of low porosity hair.
These characteristics were
· My hair took forever to be saturated with water, you would see water beads actually sitting on my hair.
· Doesn’t absorb hair colour or treatment easily.
· The buildup of products on my hair was insane.
· Hair took an abnormally long time to dry.
· Lack of volume and elasticity.
I needed conformation, so I started to research how to test the porosity of natural hair. It was simple, all I needed was a glass of water and a clean, non-product strand of hair and drop it in the water. If it floats its low porosity.
How do I care for low porosity hair?
· Heat, heat, heat is key for the absorption of products in to low porosity hair. Heat is used to open up the cuticles to let moisture and water in. Hot towels if you don’t like hair dryers. Heat is essential.
· Reducing product build up is a must; use lighter oils and products.
· Clay washing with apple cider vinegar is a must for low porosity hair. This will allow moisture to pass through your hair as build up on your cuticle strands makes it more difficult to moisturize.
· Avocado deep conditioners are great for your hair. Low protein conditioners are even great for your hair.
· Products with humectants are great for your hair pending on where you live or the time of year. When moisture is high in the air, it’s great. When its dry season don’t you dear put products with humectants such as honey or glycerin in your hair, as this will leave your hair super dry. As the moisture in your hair will evaporate in the atmosphere.
Natural hair is so complex these days. Low porosity, high porosity, protein sensitive, over moisturizes hair and the list goes on. Who knew all of this 20 years ago? I didn’t! I just wash my hair, steam every 2 weeks, clip the ends once or so per month, oil and comb it. Now we pre poo, wash it, condition it, deep condition it and add leave-in condition. After which we use the L: liquid, O: oil, C: crème, the LOC method which can be rearrange based on the type of hair, size, length, porosity, thickness or thinness and yet again the list goes on. The science of natural hair; I can only imagine the attendance if there was a class. Natural hair is big business.
Natural hair is hair that hasn’t been altered by chemical straighteners including relaxers, texturizers and colored treated hair. Pressed hair is still considered to be natural. The porosity of your hair is how well your hair is able to absorb and hold moisture. Over the years we have learn so much about our hair, hair types and porosity.
We have learned that the moisture in our hair is affected by the flexibility of our cuticle, which determine how easy moisture and oil passes in and out of it. Porosity of our hair can be normal, high and low. My focus today is Low porosity.
Low Porosity Hair
If you have low porosity hair, it simple means that your cuticles are closed so water and moisture doesn’t easily penetrate your hair.
How I found out I had low porosity hair?
So I tried to colour my hair black a few weeks ago, went to the store got my black dye, I was so happy about it. Got home, followed the instruction on the package to the letter, my hair turned out a hot mess, patches of black. I didn’t know what I did wrong so, I tried doing it again a few days later. Same results, hair was very resistant to the colour in some sections of my hair. I knew something was wrong with my hair but I didn’t know what. What I did next was something that was long overdue. I started to research all the weird things that happened with my hair, only to find out they were characteristics of low porosity hair.
These characteristics were
· My hair took forever to be saturated with water, you would see water beads actually sitting on my hair.
· Doesn’t absorb hair colour or treatment easily.
· The buildup of products on my hair was insane.
· Hair took an abnormally long time to dry.
· Lack of volume and elasticity.
I needed conformation, so I started to research how to test the porosity of natural hair. It was simple, all I needed was a glass of water and a clean, non-product strand of hair and drop it in the water. If it floats its low porosity.
How do I care for low porosity hair?
· Heat, heat, heat is key for the absorption of products in to low porosity hair. Heat is used to open up the cuticles to let moisture and water in. Hot towels if you don’t like hair dryers. Heat is essential.
· Reducing product build up is a must; use lighter oils and products.
· Clay washing with apple cider vinegar is a must for low porosity hair. This will allow moisture to pass through your hair as build up on your cuticle strands makes it more difficult to moisturize.
· Avocado deep conditioners are great for your hair. Low protein conditioners are even great for your hair.
· Products with humectants are great for your hair pending on where you live or the time of year. When moisture is high in the air, it’s great. When its dry season don’t you dear put products with humectants such as honey or glycerin in your hair, as this will leave your hair super dry. As the moisture in your hair will evaporate in the atmosphere.
Currently testing products, will let you know what works best for my hair type.
Love your hair.
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