Low Porosity Hair Products: Are They for You?
Porosity describes how well your hair can absorbs and retains moisture and oils.
Low porosity hair means the structure of your hair doesn’t readily absorb moisture into your hair shaft. Structurally, the cuticles tend to overlap each other and are tightly packed together. This makes it harder for water to soak your hair when it’s washed. In addition, because there are no spaces between the cuticles, it makes it harder for water and products like oils and conditioners to deliver moisture to the hair shaft.
As well, low porosity hair tends to repel moisture, it can also be more challenging to process and style.
Try this three-step to determine if you have low porosity hair.
Answer these two questions
- Do products sit on your hair?
- Does drying take longer than a few hours?
If you answer " YES" to either or both, go to step three
To confirm your hair porosity, try the float test
- Thoroughly shampoo and rinse your hair to remove any product buildup. Clean hair will give you the best outcomes.
- Dry your hair as usual.
- Drop a strand of your hair into a clear glass of water.
- Watch the hair strand to see where it floats.
If your hair floats to the top before sinking toward the bottom of the glass, your hair has low porosity.
What ingredients work best for low porosity hair?
Shampoo -choose products that contain honey or glycerin. Ingredients like these can penetrate the hair cuticle more quickly than products that contain oils.
Conditioner-Saturate your hair with water before adding conditioner. This will make the conditioner more easily absorbable and less likely to just sit on your hair.
Deep Conditioner- a weekly deep-conditioning treatment.
Amplify the treatment, put a shower cap over your hair once you’ve applied the deep conditioner. Furthermore, to help open the cuticles, wrap your hair with a warm towel for a few minutes.
Remember, for low porosity hair; you’ll want to stay away from protein treatment conditioners
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