Tips & Tricks for Low Porosity Natural Hair

As naturals we hear it all the time: “learn your porosity!” You heard it from me in my post WTH Is Porosity? And you heard it from Madisen in her post Natural Hair: The Guide to Learning About Porosity. If you aren't sure what your porosity is, go ahead and read those posts before you read this one. 

I believe that porosity is your most important hair type. It matters more than your curl pattern because it determines how your hair retains moisture. Moisture is what natural hair needs to thrive! Knowing and understanding your porosity can be a game changer!

You read the characteristics, you’ve been observing your hair and you figured out your porosity, now what?

Today Madisen and I are collaborating to bring you personalized tips on dealing with your porosity! The Low Porosity tips were written by me, based off my personal experiences of course; and the High Porosity tips are written by Madisen based off of hers! Unfortunately, we can'tguaranteethat they will work the same for you. As with everything natural hair includes some trial and error, but definitely give them a try as you figure out what works best foryou.  

If you have low porosity hair, keep on reading. If you have high porosity hair, head over to Madisen’s post: 6 WAYS TO CARE FOR HIGH POROSITY HAIR. 

Tips for dealing with Low Porosity Hair

• Shampoo’s are your friend!!
• Don’t fall for the hype. Although co-washing provides a light moisturizing cleanse, it’s not effective enough to remove the product buildup your low porosity hair acquires. Your cuticles are closed, so products tend to sit on top of your hair. Low porosity hair needs to be shampooed regularly to flourish! If you don’t start your moisturizing regimen (deep conditioner, leave- in, etc) on a clean slate, those products won’t effectively penetrate your hair. Not all shampoos are created equally - they don't all need to completely strip your hair either. The Luna Rose Shampoo Bar is an ideal weekly shampoo for low porosity curlies because it cleanses without stripping your curls of their natural moisture.

• Wash &rinseyour hair withwarmwater.
• This is something I didn’t do for the first few years of my natural hair journey. Bloggers and influencers always made it seem like it wasTHE RULE to do a cold rinse after washing your hair. This was supposed to close your cuticle. Without much education on the topic, I listened. Low porosity hair has closed cuticles (already) that prevent moisture from coming in,warm water opens up the hair shaft! This helps your shampoo cleanse better, allowing you to you remove build up and prep your hair for deep conditioning. A cold rinse post deep conditioning, doesn't really help you either because again, your hairs cuticles naturally lay down, you want them to open up so your hair can absorb your leave-in conditioner.
• Add heat to your deep conditioner.
• Whether you sit under a hooded dryer, use a steamer, a hot towel, or use a microwavable deep conditioning cap like this one, adding heat to your low porosity hair will help the product penetrate your strands 10 times better!
• Use lightweight leave-in conditioners (especially when layering products).
• Keeping in mind that low porosity hair is both harder to penetrate and prone to build up, this makes a lot of sense! If I am going to be using a heavier cream type product, this is the only product I will use. I have found that although my hair responds extremely well to a light leave in, oil, and a gel, it responds just as well when I use a custard or twisting cream on its own.

• Always seal your ends, and seal with lightweight oils.
• Once your low porosity hair is moisturized, your hair can retain that moisture! *yay* Sealing that moisture in with a lightweight oil like the Ayurvedic Hair Oil will only positively benefit you as it will ensure that moisture stays in! 
• Maintain a protein-moisture balance, with caution!
• Low porosity hair tends to be protein sensitive - not always, but most of the time. This doesn’t mean your hair can or should go without protein, just that you need to monitor how often you use protein so your hair doesn’t go into protein overload. Below is an expert from a previous post I had called Deep Conditioning Your Curls The Right Way. 

• As a low porosity natural, you may do a protein treatment anywhere from every 3 to 6 weeks, depending on what you have figured out works best for you. But did you know that leave-in conditioners, creams, and even gels might have protein in them too?! I know, I know, yet another thing we have to monitor. It’s true though, the protein in these products may cause the product to not work as well for you and send you into protein overload - so keep this in mind too.

These are the tips and ticks that have been game changers for me, keeping my low porosity curls moisturized and healthy. I hope you learned something from this post today! If you have, definitely let me know. If you have your own tips, feel free to share those too. Don’t forget to click here and subscribe if you haven’t already. (Shhhh, I do random giveaways to reward those who regularly engage with my blog and Instagram, you could be the next winner! The last 2 winners won 2 oz samples of my Ayurvedic Oil.)

Even if you don’t have high porosity hair, definitely check out Madisen’s blog, it’s filled with tons of carefully crafted content on all things natural hair. I love watching her blog grow because I can tell she's extremely dedicated and truly loves it!

Do you know your hairs porosity? If so, do you think it's been beneficial to know?

XO

Consy