Do you have low porosity hair and struggle with dryness and breakage? You need to create a low porosity curly hair routine that prevents this!
Low porosity hair needs a special kind of routine to be well-nourished compared to high porosity hair. But what is even low porosity hair?
It means that it’s harder to moisturize and takes more effort to achieve gorgeous locks. You just have to find the right method to solve your hair problems.
People have one of three porosity hair types: high porosity, medium porosity, and low porosity.
What is low porosity hair?
It is a hair type that has tightly closed cuticles which makes it hard to moisturize your hair and absorb your products effectively.
It is resistant to moisture and you have to take extra steps to moisturize your hair. This can make your products build up on your hair instead of fully absorbing it.
Signs you have low porosity hair:
- Your hair resists moisturizing products
- The product sits on top of your hair
- Your hair doesn’t absorb water easily
Try the water test. Cut off a piece of your hair and put it in a cup of water. If it stays floating at the top, you have low porosity hair. If it falls to the bottom, you have high porosity hair. The advice in this article is for those with low porosity hair.
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1. Use warm water when you wash your hair
Low porosity hair does not absorb products as well if you use cold water. When you wash your hair, you might have heard to use cool water after to close the pores.
But you need to absorb the moisturizers immediately after washing your hair, so use warm/hot water even when rinsing out the shampoo and conditioner. You should not be applying cold water to your hair at any time in your low porosity curly hair routine.
2. Avoid certain ingredients in your products
There are different types of ingredients that are known to dry out low porosity hair even further. You always want to check the ingredients in your products, especially your shampoos and conditioners.
One popular ingredient is silicone. It creates a temporary feeling that your hair is moisturized and shiny which may be the reason why many people feel like the product works. But over time, it weakens the hair and damages it leading to breakage.
Another drying ingredient to look out for is sulfate. A lot of name-brand shampoos have sulfate in them, so make sure to thoroughly check the ingredient list. You can swap it out with a clarifying shampoo that doesn’t have sulfates.
3. Deep condition your hair weekly for extra moisture
Because low porosity hair is prone to dryness, you want to deep condition your hair more frequently. Try out different products to see which ingredients your hair likes in deep conditioners as even with low porosity hair, not everything will work the same way for everyone.
Make sure to also detangle your hair so your products can thoroughly cover your hair!
My favorite detangling brush is the Denman brush because it really helps to get my tangles out. Other methods that work is finger detangling and also using a wide-tooth comb.
4. To help the deep conditioner be more effective, add heat
When you go to the hair salon, they often put you under the hooded hair dryer that covers the top of your head. Heat is a must for the conditioner to better penetrate the hair.
You can have your own hooded hair dryer at home and do this process every week. Don’t sit under it for too long or you will burn yourself, try it for 20 minutes.
5. Add oil
This is the step that you have to be extra careful with. Certain oils may not work for your hair like for other people with low porosity curly hair.
A common theme in the low porosity hair community is that coconut oil and olive oil does not work for them as it just sits on top of their hair.
Try applying lightweight oils to your hair to better penetrate your roots and increase the chances of your hair absorbing it.
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Here are some lightweight oils to try to see what works for you:
6. Apply moisturizer or leave-in conditioner
After applying your oil, apply a moisturizer or leave-in conditioner to make it easier to style your hair later. This is where most of the moisture will come in.
A lot of moisturizers have some of the oils above. My favorite moisturizer that I’ve used on my hair so far is the As I Am Classic Leave-In Conditioner.
7. Add curl sealer
To keep the moisture from escaping and enhance your gorgeous locks, always use a curl sealer as the final step of your products. It helps to control the frizz and keep your hair more consistent throughout.
Make sure to get a curl sealer that makes your hair feel light and not heavy.
8. Use protective styling
Protective styling is one of the best things you can do for your hair to prevent breakage and slow down the process of having dead ends. If you want to grow your hair longer faster, you need to be doing protective styling.
Sometimes it’s easier to style low porosity hair when it’s damp, but other times it might be better when it’s dry. It depends on what works best for you. Try to see if it’s easier to style with dry or damp hair.
This is the most important step in your low porosity curly hair routine.
9. Keep your hair moisturized in the protective style
Your hair will dry out if you don’t apply something to keep it moisturized while it’s in a protective style. Get a bottle of water and light oils like the ones above to spray on your hair daily.
Carry your bottle wherever you go to make sure you keep your hair moisturized as it dries out throughout the day.
10. Have a healthy diet
What you eat shows up in the quality of your hair over time. So it’s not only what you put on your hair, but also what you put in your body. Along with getting a good amount of exercise and sleep.
Make sure to consistently take care of your health and get the right nutrients that helps to promote strong hair growth like vitamin C, protein and iron.
11. Massage your hair every day to promote growth
Massaging your hair helps get the blood circulation going to help promote new growth. Massage for 5 – 10 minutes before you go to sleep. You can also do this step when you are putting oil into your hair.
12. Go to sleep with a satin pillow or head wrap
Tired of dry and frizzy hair? Stop sleeping on cotton pillows. It dries out your hair and makes it messy. Instead, switch it out with a satin bonnet or a satin pillowcase.
I recently upgraded to the silk pillow case and it not only helps keep my hair moisturized after using my products, but it also helps my face stay moisturized longer too.
13. It’s all trial and error, try different methods
What’s common when I listen to the low porosity community is that certain products work for one person and then another person absolutely hates it because it doesn’t work for their hair.
You can listen to the advice of others, but you will know your hair best if you keep trying to see what works.
Once you find what works for you, create a solid routine and stick to it. Record the effects for a few months to see if it brings long-lasting results.
Take note of any ingredients your hair doesn’t like and avoid that in your products.
