Low Porosity Ladies: What consistency products absorb better?

mg1979 · Oct 12, 2011

Those of us with low porosity struggle to get moisture into our hair as the cuticle is too compact and does not permit moisture to enter the hair shaft easily. Hair with low porosity also has a tendency to repel product rather than to absorb it. I noticed in another thread that some low porosity ladies noted thinner consistency products absorb better for them than thicker. Anyone else noticed a trend?

mg1979 · Oct 13, 2011

Bumping for more votes in the poll...

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xquisitduchess · Oct 13, 2011

I struggle with the same issue. For my hair it does not matter what the consistency of the product is.. my hair will still repel it.

mech · Oct 13, 2011

water-based creams are essential for the moisture of my hair.

Tiye · Oct 13, 2011

My hair takes a long time to dry so I guess I fall in the low porosity camp. From what I can tell it doesn't have anything to do with the texture of the product - i.e. thin vs thick it's what's in the product. If you're struggling to keep your hair moisturized it's probably about finding a product that works for you and sticking with it.

TopShelf · Oct 13, 2011

I took cherrypie's idea and dyed my hair this past Monday, in order to lift the cuticles and now all products appear to absorb. I've been cowashing for the last two days and within an hour all of the product is absorbed

mg1979 · Oct 13, 2011

TopShelf said:
I took cherrypie's idea and dyed my hair this past Monday, in order to lift the cuticles and now all products appear to absorb. I've been cowashing for the last two days and within an hour all of the product is absorbed

I was wondering how that turned out! I've never dyed my hair, seems like so much effort! But it may be less effort than trying to get product absorbed! What did you dye with?

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TopShelf · Oct 13, 2011

I'll post some pics of what my hair looks like post dye and get you the exact name when I get home.

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divachyk · Oct 13, 2011

Tiye said:
My hair takes a long time to dry so I guess I fall in the low porosity camp. From what I can tell it doesn't have anything to do with the texture of the product - i.e. thin vs thick it's what's in the product. If you're struggling to keep your hair moisturized it's probably about finding a product that works for you and sticking with it.

I have low porosity hair and ITA it is the ingredients that matter for my hair.

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TopShelf · Oct 14, 2011

here are the pics of my wash n go for the last two days:
with flash

w/o flash

Hair is cowashed with aussie moist, mositurized with sheamoisture shea butter leave in, sealed with castor oil. I used a clairolliquid soy dye with a 30 developer.

LilMissSunshine5 · Oct 14, 2011

I have no answers, but I do struggle with low porosity hair, so I am intently reading everyone's responses :yep:

Products & oils tend to just sit on top of my hair, but water based stuff does absorb a bit better, but I feel like I am needing something else...have any of you ladies used a steamer to address low porosity? It seems like maybe it would open the cuticle enough to allow some product to absorb

morehairplease · Oct 14, 2011

LilMissSunshine5 said:
I have no answers, but I do struggle with low porosity hair, so I am intently reading everyone's responses Products & oils tend to just sit on top of my hair, but water based stuff does absorb a bit better, but I feel like I am needing something else...have any of you ladies used a steamer to address low porosity? It seems like maybe it would open the cuticle enough to allow some product to absorb

I am steaming using the method SamanthaJones shared on the forum and its working for me. Since steaming my deep conditioner, I have noticed that my hair stays moisturized longer than it did when I deep conditioned overnight. While searching youtube for ladies with fine, relaxed, low porosity hair I came across this video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSSvoEBz5uE.

Next week, I plan on trying baggying like she suggested but only for an hour or 2 in the mornings. When I first joined the forum, I tried baggying and my ends were horrible....they were ultimately over moisturized and I trimmed a lot as a result. I immediately stopped and never considered trying it again until now.

hths ladies,
tishee

faithVA · Oct 14, 2011

I use thinner consistency and lighter products to work with my hair and that appears to work well for me. I tried AOHSR and Kenra MC because so many people liked it. They feel great going on but they don't leave a lasting result. So I use TW herbal condish. Its thin and runny and my hair likes that. When I use oils I use sunflower because it is really light and absorbs into my hair. Anything heavier can be an issue. And if I use butters they have to be whipped with a lot of different things to make them lighter unless I'm just trying to seal my ends.

The good news is that I don't really have product build up like people have because at the end of the week you can't really tell I put anything on my hair. So its easy to rinse and to cleanse.

And I find that my hair moisturizes better over a period of time versus trying to get it moisturized in 1 sitting. So if I moisturize over a period of days it last quite well.

I don't use creams at all. And I don't use anything that looks white. Even when I was relaxed those types of products didn't do well with my hair. They are too heavy and they leave a white film.

Kenny-Ann · Oct 14, 2011

I have found that it doesn't matter what I put on my hair if my cuticles aren't lifted. Nothing gets through. I usually do a soak in warm salt water to help lift them a bit for my deep conditioner to get through. After I'm done sealing my hair it usually stays moisturized for the week.

mg1979 · Oct 15, 2011

LilMissSunshine5 said:
I have no answers, but I do struggle with low porosity hair, so I am intently reading everyone's responses Products & oils tend to just sit on top of my hair, but water based stuff does absorb a bit better, but I feel like I am needing something else...have any of you ladies used a steamer to address low porosity? It seems like maybe it would open the cuticle enough to allow some product to absorb

@LilMissSunshine5: I had just bought a standing dryer before I started hearing all about steamers for low porosity...actually I didn't even know I had low porosity yet. Anyhow, I can't afford to go buy a steamer now, so hopefully the standing dryer can open up the cuticle enough. I just hate rolling it out and sitting for so long!

faithVA said:
I use thinner consistency and lighter products to work with my hair and that appears to work well for me. I tried AOHSR and Kenra MC because so many people liked it. They feel great going on but they don't leave a lasting result. So I use TW herbal condish. Its thin and runny and my hair likes that. When I use oils I use sunflower because it is really light and absorbs into my hair. Anything heavier can be an issue. And if I use butters they have to be whipped with a lot of different things to make them lighter unless I'm just trying to seal my ends.

The good news is that I don't really have product build up like people have because at the end of the week you can't really tell I put anything on my hair. So its easy to rinse and to cleanse.

And I find that my hair moisturizes better over a period of time versus trying to get it moisturized in 1 sitting. So if I moisturize over a period of days it last quite well.

I don't use creams at all. And I don't use anything that looks white. Even when I was relaxed those types of products didn't do well with my hair. They are too heavy and they leave a white film.

@faithVA: On the bolded-I'm the same way. I tend to think a dc was awesome while it was in my hair, only to be so disappointed once I rinsed and it dried!

Kenny-Ann said:
I have found that it doesn't matter what I put on my hair if my cuticles aren't lifted. Nothing gets through. I usually do a soak in warm salt water to help lift them a bit for my deep conditioner to get through. After I'm done sealing my hair it usually stays moisturized for the week.

@Kenny-Ann: Do you rinse the salt water out before you apply the dc?

Ogoma · Oct 15, 2011

Hi everyone. Long term lurker, first time poster.

I have very low porosity hair as well and I have found that products with both water and aloe juice in the first five ingredients work perfectly for me. I have had success with using cream-based moisturizers to seal, but not as leave-ins. I avoid heavy oils and butters because I am only able to get them out by shampooing; not even co-washes get the greasy feeling out. Overnight DCs didn't work well for me. I only got buildup because the product just sat on my strands. I invested in a steamer and that works so much better. As long as I am not heavy-handed with my DC, it absorbs well.

LilMissSunshine5 · Oct 15, 2011

Thanks for the feedback morehairplease and mg1979! I bought a steamer and plan to try it out soon :yep:

I can't do baggying bc it causes build up on my scalp and flares my SD (seborrheic dermatitis), so steaming is my last hope :lol:

I love LHCF...so much knowledge here :grin:

Pink Pearls · Oct 26, 2011

Using heat or steam helps my low porosity hair absorb deep conditioning treatments. I also rinse my hair with warm water and apply my DC and leave-in while in the shower; the steam from the shower helps the product absorb.

BrookeLynn · Oct 26, 2011

I dye my hair to cover grays, so maybe that's been helping me lately.

I also do the opposite of washing out conditioner with cold water to seal the cuticle- because my cuticle is already tightly closed. I wash out with warm/hot water and have been having great results.

morehairplease · Oct 26, 2011

LilMissSunshine5 said:
Thanks for the feedback morehairplease and mg1979! I bought a steamer and plan to try it out soon I can't do baggying bc it causes build up on my scalp and flares my SD (seborrheic dermatitis), so steaming is my last hope I love LHCF...so much knowledge here

np....anytime sweetie. Coincidentally, I suffer from seborrheic dermatitis too. Although, I never really paid attention to flare ups when I tried baggying when I first joined. I plan to give it a try for 1 hour a day starting next week and see how it goes. I have a steamer on my to buy list so hopefully I will be able to purchase one on black Friday/Christmas.

bb09 · Oct 26, 2011

"Kenny-Ann: Do you rinse the salt water out before you apply the dc?"

mg1979 · Oct 26, 2011

I'm really starting to think there's something to this as I've been experimenting with this. Watered down Giovanni 50:50 Conditioner is working better for me than some of the thick masks/deep conditioners.

Kenny-Ann · Oct 27, 2011

mg1979 and @bb09 Sorry about the delay in getting back to you...

I "slightly" rinse my hair with warm water and then go right to the d/c. I use the burt's bees d/c, yogurt and honey (since honey is a humectant). I rinse that and use leave-in and seal with coconut oil.

I'm thinking the more of a base the product is that more it will open your cuticles. This sounds like the perfect idea for my daughter's science project.

Kimiche · Nov 5, 2011

I'm so glad that I found this thread. I seriously think this explains why my hair doesn't accept any of the products that I put in it. Moisturizers and oils just sit on my hair and if I use something that contains many silicones, it's even worse. I will definitely try steaming and see how that works. I have been struggling with this issue for years and lost a lot of hair because my hair isn't getting moisturized.

divachyk · Jun 11, 2012

I've been using thick product but my hair clumps together. I will try using thinner product to see if I can tell a difference.

Evolving78 · Jun 11, 2012

divachyk said:
I've been using thick product but my hair clumps together. I will try using thinner product to see if I can tell a difference.

once i switched to thinner/liquid products, my hair responded much better. it still tangles when wet, but i am getting the moisture without the heavy coating. thicker creams and moisturizers were not cutting it for me.

Low Porosity Ladies: What consistency products absorb better?

Low porosity ladies: what product consistency absorbs better for your hair?

Thinner consistency absorbs better than thicker.

Thicker consistency absorbs better than thinner.

Both absorb about the same.

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