How to work out if you have High Porosity hair
High Porosity hair can be inherent or it can be due to heat damage, chemical damage or environmental changes. High porosity hair is where the cuticle is raised, this results in moisture entering easily, the benefit to this is that your hair absorbs water and product easily although it leaves quickly due to the raised cuticle. This leads to rapid moisture loss, due to this your hair will become dryer quicker resulting in tangles, frizz and split ends leading to breakage.
You may also notice your hair lacks elasticity and rarely looks shiny.
It looks something like this:
How to care for high porosity hair
- Use pre shampoo treatments. To give your hair extra moisture.
- Mix your wash day routine with cleansing shampoos and co-washes. Co-washing will give your hair a gentle cleanse, not removing too much moisture which has been sealed in caring for your fragile curls.
- Incorporate apple cider vinegar rinses this will help to balance your hairs PH, flatten the cuticle and seal in moisture.
- Deep condition regularly and incorporate protein treatments occasionally, if you hair is not protein sensitive, this will support to strength your strands. You unlike low porosity will NOT need to use heat while deep conditioning as your cuticle is already open.
- End your routine with a cold rinse to shock your cuticles closed to help seal in the moisture and supporting to reduce frizz.
- Air dry your hair- Preferably use no heat when drying your hair or if required use low heat, due to the likelihood of increased damage with excessive heat use.
- Keep your hair moisturised. Use cream based products to support to hold moisture. Consider the LCO/LOC method. Use our Satin Pillowcases to maintain moisture at night.
- Apply products in sections for maximum moisture retention.
- Use anti-humectants products in hot climates and humidity. This will help seal your damaged cuticles and prevent them from absorbing excess moisture in the air.
- Wear low manipulation hair styles as high porosity hair is more fragile, consider protective styles with your own hair such as twists or plaits. Use our Satin Scrunchies to protect your curls from snagging on conventional bands.
- Consider cutting out heat such as straighteners or curlers. This will stunt your hair progress if returning natural.
Shampoo/co-washes
It is recommended that all hair types wash their hair every 7-10 days, this helps to remove build up on your scalp allowing for regrowth. The best thing to do is listen to your hair, if your notice your hair has build up, is limp and lifeless you may benefit from a cleanse. If during the middle of the week you want to refresh your curls and gentle cleanse your scalp, why not consider using a co-wash (conditioning wash) this will gently clarify your hair, allowing moisture to penetrate your strands giving it that much needed mid week boost without doing a deep cleanse.
For those curlies with high porosity hair it is important to have a good shampoo that cleanses but does not stripe your hair as your hair is more fragile. Remember to look for shampoo's and co-washes without sulfates as these are increasingly stripping to your hair which may lead to breakage if your hair is already fragile.
High porosity hair benefits from products containing protein as this helps to seal in the moisture. For those who are protein sensitive or have overloaded on protein you may notice your hair become brittle and stiff, in these cases you will want to switch to a protein free product which is moisture based. A hair routine is all about balance listen to your hair and mix between protein containing proteins and non-protein containing products depending on how your hair responds.
Some recommended shampoos and co-washes are as follows:-
Camille Rose Natural Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Shampoo
Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser
