What is porosity?
Porosity is your hair’s ability to absorb moisture can be categorized in three ways: low, normal, and high. Low porosity hair has tightly closed pores which resist moisture and tends to create protein-sensitivity.
If the hair has closed pores moisture has a hard time penetrating the hair shaft, but once it has penetrated the hair shaft moisture tends to be locked in. Normal porosity hair allows a right amount of moisture to penetrate the hair cuticle and is evident of how well it will hold a chemical treatment such as color.
High porosity hair is most likely the result of either damaged hair or chemically treated hair. It is characterized by large pores which leads to allowing too much moisture to enter the hair strand.
It’s important to note that protein is essential in repairing large holes and gaps in the hair strand. Knowing your hair’s porosity is critical in the natural hair care community because it will determine which products and ingredients are best to keep your natural hair healthy and moisturized.
A question I am asked a lot is: “what is more important to know and understand porosity or hair type so my natural hair can thrive and grow long.” This can be a bit tricky because they both serve a different purpose.
Your hair type describes your texture appearance and sometimes its behavior about product interaction and the environment. Hair porosity is necessary for reference solely in moisturizing your hair and locking it in.
Since moisture is the number one key to maintaining good hair health, hair porosity is essential in hair growth too. Knowing your hair porosity is something you should be aware before choosing products and maintaining hair health.
Best Low Porosity Hair Products
No products found.
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Hair porosity test
The best indicator for which porosity type your hair falls under is the hair porosity test. This test is easy and simple to conduct and doesn’t require any purchases.
Natural hair has proven to be different from a person’s head, so you should use different strands of various sections of your hair to get a full analysis of your hair’s porosity. Secondly, you will place the strand of hair in a glass of water.
Allow a few minutes for the hair to absorb the water at its own rate. Hair that remains at the top of the water is categorized as low porosity hair.
The strand of hair that flows midway in the glass is classified as average porosity. Lastly, hair that sinks to the bottom almost immediately would be considered porous hair or high porosity.
Low porosity hair care regimen
Neither category is harder than the other, it just depends on how educated you are in maintaining your hair porosity. Many women have different variations of porosity on their head so don’t be alarm if this is you.
The best option is to choose products that best fit most of your hair. Knowing which products work well with your hair type is essential to creating a successful hair care regimen and mastering low porosity hair.
Here a few things you want to consider when building a regimen to fix porous hair either or how to care for low porosity hair.
Use indirect heat – Low porosity hair works great when heat is used, it helps with opening up your hairs tightly closed pores. For example, a
, shower, or a can help open up your hair pores to receive necessary moisture.
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It’s been well documented that using a hair steamer on your hair once or twice a month can make a huge difference in the condition of your hair.
Deep conditioning with heat – Deep conditioning on a regular basis is always sound advice for anyone with natural hair. It is crucial in maintaining moisture, a healthy scalp, and in low porosity natural hair, it provides another opportunity to lock in moisture.
Adding heat to the equation opens up your pores so the necessary moisture will seep inside. You can implement heat in your session by sitting under a hooded dryer (with a plastic cap on).
You should notice a huge difference with your hair strands. Your hair will feel softer, smoother, and stronger depending on the type of deep conditioning hair mask you use.
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After you condition your hair with heat, you will need to rinse with cool water to seal in the moisture you just lathered your hair with, and to close your hair cuticle.
Clarify – Product build can be an issue with low porosity hair. Since the product cannot easily penetrate your hair follicles, product and debris can build up very fast.
When cleansing, you want to utilize products that will remove dirt and improve hair elasticity. Clarifying shampoos for low porosity hair includes ingredients such as
and .These types of cleansers are known to remove product gently without stripping your hair of necessary moisture and nutrients. Since most of us with curly hair love co-washing low porosity hair, I recommend co-washing between shampoos sessions.
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How to moisturized low porosity natural hair
Moisturizing low porosity natural hair can be tricky, but it’s entirely possible. Using a steamer is ideal for achieving the highest level of moisture; the process is fairly simple.
It’s best to use a
before styling and moisturizing your hair. A steamer will help melt tangles away as well as stretch your hair.After steaming, you would follow up with the LOC method. The LOC method consists of using liquid, cream, and oil in your hair.
With low porosity natural hair, it’s ideal to use protein sensitive products with the LOC method. On the other hand, protein helps rebuild hair strands by filling in the holes and/or gaps caused by damage and low porosity hair has a closed hair shaft and won’t benefit from protein.
What the end results from protein overload is dry, brittle hair regardless of how many times you attempt to remoisturize.
The use of humectants draws moisture from the air to your hair and penetrates your hairs pores. Humectants include honey, glycerin, and even agave to name a few.
Finding these ingredients in the gel that you use is a bigger plus for styles and health. During the colder months, it’s crucial to continue your use of glycerin and the protection your ends by tucking them in.
You want to moisturize your hair while damp versus thoroughly wet or dry because the pores would either be too full or too flat to reap the benefits. Ideal oils for low porosity hair include sweet almond oil, jojoba oil, coconut oil, argan oil, and grapeseed oil.
What is your hair porosity, and how do you manage it?
Hey Curl Friend, I’m Patrina Haupt the creator and author of Natural Hair Queen. I hope you find my healthy hair care tips helpful in your hair journey. Healthy hair care practices are definitely, what helped me to achieve waist length hair.
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I did the big chop last year on July 16th. Mainly because my hair is so thick and it tangles really bad and although it’s past my collar bone now I usually wash it, put a couple of braids and put on a wig. The only thing that sends to be helpful in keeping my hair soft and moisturized is henna. Which is a proteinso I have to minimize use. Any idea on what I can use to keep it supermoisturized? I would love to where it down but the shrinkage is real real.
If you experience shrinkage then you would have to wear more stretched out styles: twist or braid outs. Butta Butta Cream is super moisturizing especially if used in the LOC method
Yolanda allow your scalp time to breathe. For keeping your hair soft, leave the conditioner in under a steam cap and/or go under the dryer for about 30min. Clarify once a month with bentonite clay or regular sulfate shampoo. Use a creamy leave-in such as cantu shea butter leave-in for natural hair or try butta butta cream before putting your hair into braids to lock the moisture in.
One thing that has worked to soften my hair (but be careful, it may over moisturize) is adding soy liquid amino (braggs) to my conditioner.
Find a good Dominican hair salon and get a blow out every now and then when you want to wear it down.
As type 4 low porosity natural hair gets longer, it is better maintained with some type of heat training or stretching else the coils, at least my own, start to tangle even more and cause breakage.
Unfortunately “heat training” is very controversial. In my humble opinion it’s not training your hair at all it’s actually damaging the hair to a point where you can no longer see your natural curl pattern. If you change your hair texture whether it be by heat, or chemically it’s technically damaging your hair.
I totally agree, except with changing the curl pattern. I find that my hair looks it’s best and my curls are perfect after a period of time being straight. My hair seems shiny, soft and moisturized. I have always felt that straightening my hair now and then allows more moisture to get to the entire strand. In its natural state it is very fine, very curly and the manipulation of so-called protective styles is not very protective at all. So, I flat iron my hair maybe 1-2x per year and that’s usually when I notice dryness from the summer or winter. I always use a heat protectant and I have never experienced my curl pattern changing. Reading this article confirmed some of my suspicions about shampooing (which always felt better than co-washing), and the use of certain oils. Nice article.
Thank you.
I just saw this post while looking for help. I have a 6 year old biracial beauty of a daughter but I feel like I am ruining her hair. After finally finding out she has low porosity I have been trying some of the things you mentioned. (Thank you, by the way) The issue i have is woth her baby hairs in the front. They stick up even after using an edge cream. They are so dry still, almost like its all due to breakage. Any help or advice with those little stinkers would be helpful.
Beyond thankful! Many blessing
Hi Ashley, thank you for writing in your concerns for your little one. If you feel your daughters may have breakage it could be due to the lack of moisture in her hair overall or the edge control you are using may have alcohol and/or protein in it and it’s causing breakage. Write to me at [email protected] so we can discuss the products you are currently using.
Hello!
I did the big chop about 2 years ago. My hair is really dry. No matter what I use, it’s just DRY. The back has curls and the front just has waves. I just need help.
Thank you in advance.
Kala aka Dry Hair
Hello Kala, it sounds like you need a moisture driven hair care regimen. Please check out https://www.naturalhairqueen.net/natural-hair-care-regimen/
Can u suggest tips on how to chose low porosity hair products im lost the recent products i”ve been using has my hair dry and itz no longer curling instead it has waves ???? and im hair is shedding so much i dont know wht to do
I really like TGIN products. Be sure to shampoo, clarify, deep condition with heat, and to use the loc method to hold on to moisture.
Thanks for all this tips, my hair are soo stubborn i’m thinking of given up, they are low porosity and really thick but i can get the moisture to stay in! i use betonite which cleans them properly and good deep conditioner but somehow after rinsing it impossible for me to get the moisture in, i try all leave in and it seems my hair does not eve absorb them. i soon I put them on my hair, which are usually either wet od at least damp, i can feel it just sat on top and gives a crunchy feeling! I just want to conserve all the moisture that my deep conditioner give me but i can’t seems to do it right. On your post you say to use a steamer, so should i after rinsing the DP go straight to it and then use my leave in and styler? thx
Hi Meryl, it sounds like you may need to switch out your hair care products for products that are working with your hair. Are you also layering your hair care products?
Hey … my hair is dry
Is it necessary to oil my scalp?
or it will prevent the growth of my hair
Hello Rana, If you use natural oils then the pores on your scalp will not become clogged.
i am having a big,full,fast growing hair because of your advises,thank you Patrina,I am black natural,but when I lock and seal in moisture with black castor oil my hair falls off at the ends,what else can I use to seal in moisture?,my hair type dries up quickly,guess its low porosity on the sides and on the crown,high porosity at the back.
Hello Nonceba, It sounds like you need more moisture for your ends if they are breaking off. Are you using the liquid, oil, and cream layering method? If not, be sure to first use water or a water-based product then apply oil such as Butta Butta Cream or jojoba oil then a cream to lock in everything.
Hi Patrina,
I keep reading blogs that say to use a cream for the LOC method. But, they never say what cream. lol. Do you have any moisturizing creams suggestions for EXTREMELY low porosity hair?
Also, in your opinion, which is better – LOC or LCO?
Thanks!
In my opinion I like the LOC method best as you are sealing your oil with a cream not the other way around. I really love TGIN’s daily butter cream as my “C” in the LOC method.
Also, I agree with you that using too much heat can damage your natural curl pattern. I have experienced that after flat ironing my hair every 2-3 weeks for about a year. Every now and then probably is fine, but not consistent flat iron like I was doing. The front of my hair looks like I have a perm at the ends it’s so straight and I have not had a perm since 2014!
The back of my hair which is more course (yes, I have two textures of hair in my head, ugh), held up a little better. But, now front is more long and wavy and the back shrinks up like nobody’s business.
I too have two different textures on my head too.
Thank you for all this info! I have fine, low-porosity 2b/c hair, and I have tried all manner of routines for natural wavy/curly hair, and always find that on a co-washing-only regimen, my hair goes flat and dull and my scalp gets irritated – no matter how much massaging I do during co-washes. I’ve started adding in a castor oil shampoo in between co-washes, and a clarifying shampoo when my scalp asks for it. It’s been a game changer! Lightweight honey and aloe based styling products have also been super useful, since flaxseed is too protein-y for my hair and cream/oil products are too heavy.
All your info really supports what’s been working for me, plus a few new ideas to try!
I wish I’d known all this when I was younger! I spent so many years flat-ironing, blowing out, round-brushing, and generally fighting with my hair – never understanding why it couldn’t just be “good” hair. I literally had no idea that “naturally wavy” was a thing. There was straight hair, and there was curly hair, and mine was just neither. It always wanted to revert to some kind of dandelion fluff mess, and I had no idea why I was so cursed.
Understanding what my hair needs to be healthy really gives me so much more direction than just standing in a hair-care aisle and hoping that something will help!
I am glad that you are finding the information helpful and informative. You can also check out my Ebook for a complete hair regimen. I think it will be very helpful as It is a step by step walk through of a hair regimen: https://shop.naturalhairqueen.net/products/natural-hair-care-guide-for-beginners