3 amazing things to love about your low porosity hair
Sometimes it can seem impossible to get the healthy (and long) hair you’ve wanted with your low porosity hair. You nearly have daily struggles of getting hair products into your hair strands and actually knowing that it’s in there rather than merely sitting on top of your hair. And when you discover that your hair is still dry, it makes you feel like you’re wasting your money which, in turn, makes you wish you simply had a normal porosity level. That would make all your grief decease.
NEWS FLASH: Your porosity level isn’t going to change anytime soon (the exception for this is if your hair is becoming more damaged. Now this will make her more porous, but you don’t want damage just to have a different porosity level do you?)!
Look, I believe you can handle anything that was put into your life. So that includes your hair! So here’s X things to love about your low porosity hair that you might’ve never thought of in a positive light:
You have a friend in heat
There are many different ways to steam your hair! This is just one!
If it’s one thing about low porosity hair it’s that she has a “no new friends” mentality. And she’s soo hard-headed! Even if something is actually good for her, she’s still hesitant to open and let them in. And piling on more product hurts more than it helps. However, there’s one element that just makes her knees buckle and give in…heat.
I’m not talking about flat-ironing or laying out in the sun. Friendly heat mainly comes in the form of steam, hair-drying and sometimes blow-drying. I also have low porosity hair and steam allows my hair’s cuticles to lift which then allows moisture to finally enter my strands. Hair-drying and blow-drying also help to do the same thing and blow-drying even helps my curls look a bit more voluminous.
Natural heat comes from your own scalp and the baggie method is a great way to force your hair to absorb moisture. It’s simply just putting a plastic bag or shower cap over your head and trapping the emitting heat from your scalp inside the bag in order to give your hair no choice but to absorb the moisture. So remember when your hair seems to not cooperate no matter what you do, tease her with some friendly heat.
She’s the best at containing moisture
With heat in play, you’ll be able to appreciate your low poo hair a lot more because when she has the moisture she needs and is no longer receiving heat, she will close right up, locking the moisture she’s contained in place. Now this is something high porosity sistas will envy you for! Their hair doesn’t do that!
And because of that leads me to my next point.
You can stay away from silicones
Silicones are mainly used as a sealant in natural hair. They don’t provide moisture in any way, their purpose is to seal in the moisture that’s already there. But since your low porosity already does a great job with that, it’s very possible that you can have a successful hair journey without using them even once.
The negative connotation with silicones in the natural hair community is that they can cause build-up and reeeally dry your hair out if you’re not moisturizing properly. Silicones can also have an impact on fine textured hair and severely weigh it down. I think the best sealant for low poo hair simply leave-in conditioner because most contain ingredients like petroleum and mineral oils that
Make sure you paid attention to that last sentence. Most leave-in conditioners act as sealants NOT moisturizers.
Consider these ingredients your best friends
<— Find those ingredients and use the crap out of them! 😉
When your hair cuticles are lifted and you’re using heat to assist, applying these ingredients (also called humectants) are more likely to work in your favor:
- Glycerin
- Sorbitol
- Glycerol
- Panthenol
- Propylene glycol
- Gelatin
- Honey
Once your hair has gotten the moisture desired, simply use any of these ingredients (also called emollients) to keep the moisture in for as long as possible.
- Petroleum
- Shea butter
- Jojoba oil
- Coconut oil
- Caprylic/Capric triglyceride
*And these are just a few!
Make sure you are paying attention to the order in which these ingredients are listed on hair products.
Sista, I want you to know that your hair HAS heard your degrading and negative thoughts of her. But she’s more upset that you weren’t willing to work with her just as she is, she can’t help how she was born! Now that you know there are things to be appreciative (even thankful) of with having a low poo level, I’m sure the two of you will have a better understanding of how to work with your strengths instead of graving about the weaknesses. Have fun!