Are you struggling to understand why your beautiful curls always feel dry?
Does it feel like no matter what you do — add water, gel, leave-in conditioner — nothing seems to change?
We got news for you, CurlMixer: it's likely you have low-porosity hair!
What is Low-Porosity Hair?
Low porosity hair means you have a closed shaft structure that forms the cuticle layer of your hair.
This essentially means that it's super challenging for your hair strands to receive hydration. Without hydration, it's difficult to get the ultimate moisture that your curls need.
Characteristics of Low-Porosity Hair
- Products often just sit on top on your curls, chilling instead of penetrating your strands
- Build-up and dirt remain present, even after a squeaky clean shampoo and conditioner
- It takes forever and a day for your curls to dry
- It also takes forever and a day for your curls to get wet
These low-porosity hair characteristics can be a pain in your curl to deal with, but we have a couple of remedies for you!
Here's how to ensure that your low-porosity hair is getting nice and moisturized:
1. Heat is Essential for a Natural Hair Wash Day
When you have low-porosity hair, heat is the key:
- Hot shower while you do your Wash + Go
- Deep conditioning with a heated cap or steamer
Heat is absolutely necessary to keep your hair shaft open to receive hydration!I
2. Weekly Cleansing
We highly suggest that you begin a weekly wash routine that includes the use of a gentle cleansing shampoo.
You see, keeping your low-porosity hair clean is a key component of maintaining high levels of moisture on a daily basis.
If you’re not cleansing your hair weekly, you’re instead piling on products such as creams, butters, moisturizers, and oils. This creates a barrier of product build-up.
With this build-up, water is unable to penetrate your hair strands, which leads to the dreaded dryness!
It's essential that you thoroughly shampoo and cleanse your low-porosity curls before applying any additional product.
3. Biweekly Deep Conditioning Treatments
Deep conditioning low-porosity hair is such a remarkable way to combat dryness, keeping your curls luscious and moist all day long.
In fact, when moisturizing low-porosity hair, it’s best to use a deep conditioner with humectants like glycerin or honey.
Humectants work to pull water in from the air, keeping your hair hydrated even after you’ve finished wash day.
Also, you’ll want to be consistent with your deep conditioning treatments, so be sure to add this to your routine at least every other week for best results.
To really kick your deep conditioning treatment experience up a notch, we suggest the use of heat or steam to help lift up the cuticle layer.
This allows moisture to easily penetrate your lovely hair strands.
4. Use Water-Based Low-Porosity Hair Products
If you’ve heard it once in the curl community...you’ve heard it a zillion times:
Water is the key to healthy hair!
Whether it be a moisturizer or gel, turn that bottle label over and if the first ingredient you see is water, then you’re off to a great start!
An added benefit about water-based products, especially water-based leave ins/moisturizers, is that they do not leave build up!
Our CurlMix Co-founder and CEO Kim Lewis shares this in CurlMix University:
“Water-based moisturizers can contain a combination of water, nourishing oils, conditioning agents, and humectants to provide a light, permeable seal that allows your hair to absorb moisture from the air.”
For low-porosity hair, you’ll want a combo kit that offers conditioning qualities to nourish and hydrate your hair, because hydrated hair is healthy, water-filled hair.
5. Use Lightweight Oils
Oils are excellent moisture sealants because they have the ability to lock in the moisture you achieve when your hair has been thoroughly hydrated with water.
Should you decide to add an oil into your low porosity hair routine, it’s best to go with a lightweight oil.
Oils for Low-Porosity Hair
Jojoba Oil, which has the ability to absorb into hair strands, easily providing a healthier environment for growth and increased moisture levels.
Sweet Almond Oil, which is also easily absorbed in the hair and has the added benefit of conditioning the follicles making the hair more healthy.
CurlMix Pro tip: Hair oils/serums form a protective layer on your hair and are a great way to seal in your moisture.
However, be sure that you are thoroughly washing your hair each week when using oils or serums, to keep your hair from being dehydrated under that protective layer of oil.
We look forward to seeing you implement these moisture tips for your curls. Leave us a comment and share how you moisturize your low-porosity hair!
8 comments
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i’m so glad i’m starting to understand the concept of low porosity hair and how to care for it. ive had problem hair since puberty and have tried everything to make ot not dry and brittle. coconut oil, deep conditoners. everyone on my household had straight silky hair and me course and curly. anyytimme peoppe try to give me hair advice they say “use coconut oil!” ive tried that, sister. also everyone assumes my hair is fried even though i never use heat on it not even blow dryers. recently ive discovered the different types of hair porosity and turns out, I am.low porosity. probably very low because after 20 minutes, those strands did not sink. ive been caring for my hair the wrong way all this time. ahaha its a brave new world!!
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