Dealing with low porosity natural hair
What you need to know:
- Porosity is the hair’s ability to absorb moisture, similar to a sponge. The higher the porosity, the easier it is to absorb and retain moisture.
- For low porosity hair, use a clarifying shampoo to remove product build-up from your strands. Heat is also very effective in lifting up the cuticles to improve absorbency. Use a heating cap, steamer or dryer when you condition your hair.
Q: My hair is perpetually dry and does not absorb products. Even when I wet it, the water forms beads that just stay on the hair. What can I do to fix this?
A: Porosity is the hair’s ability to absorb moisture, similar to a sponge. The higher the porosity, the easier it is to absorb and retain moisture.
It sounds like yours is low porosity hair. In low porosity hair the cuticles lie flat and resist the absorption of water, colour or any chemical processing.
For low porosity hair, use a clarifying shampoo to remove product build-up from your strands. Heat is also very effective in lifting up the cuticles to improve absorbency. Use a heating cap, steamer or dryer when you condition your hair.
Rinse with warm water and apply your leave-in conditioner or oil while hair is still warm. Limit the use of protein treatments and focus instead on moisturising treatments.
Use lighter more absorbent oils like jojoba, grape seed and argan oil. If you live in a humid area, adding humectants like honey and glycerine to your regimen will also help. Managing your hair’s porosity will enable you to have healthy long hair.