One of my most frequently asked question is “ Does Alodia hair products work for low porosity hair? The short answer to this question is yes, they absolutely do because low porosity hair is healthy hair. However, instead of just giving you the short answer, I decided to write this blog post to summarize exactly what is porosity and the differences between low and high porosity hair and how Alodia products help.
What is Hair Porosity?
As defined by the dictionary, if something is porous it means that it is full of pores or holes. Your skin is described as being “semi” porous and your hair also has pores ( although not the same as your skin but that’s for another discussion). Simply put, hair porosity refers to your hair strands ability to absorb and hold moisture.
What does it mean to have High Porosity Hair?
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information ( NCBI), hair that is extremely porous are hair strands that are damaged by things such as UV exposure, hair bleaching, chemical relaxers, or intense heat over long periods of time. Exposure to these things lead to increase in porosity levels causing your hair to have high porosity . Hair that has high porosity can absorb the most moisture, or water, but it's unable to hold onto this moisture (which is not a good thing, since you want to keep your strands hydrated). So, high porosity hair is hair that is damaged.
What does it mean to have Low Porosity Hair?
On the other end of the spectrum is low porosity hair. Low porosity hair is not necessarily difficult hair or problem hair. It is hair that is easily kept in a healthy condition and is strong and elastic.
So why do people describe having a hard time moisturizing low porosity hair?
If your low porosity hair feels dry, wiry, tangly or brittle, it doesn’t mean that it is damaged it is just lacking hydration, softness and flexibility. Hydrating low porosity hair is key to getting the soft, moisturized hair you desire, and this is how Alodia can help:
How Alodia Helps Low Porosity Hair
Before we get into this discussion, I just want to note that the only true hydration , is providing AND maintaining adequate levels of water in your hair. I like to say that water is God’s moisture. Not conditioner and not oil. Just think, when you’re thirsty, you don’t drink oil you drink water, and this is exactly what your low porosity hair needs!
So, my first tip to you is:
- Make sure that you are putting your hair under water once every week. Any one of our kits recommends that you are washing your hair 1x per week. Well-hydrated hair is more elastic, more flexible, and less frizzy than dehydrated hair. Hydration is all about water in and around your hair.
- Pre-poo with Oil The only way to keep the water in your hair is with the aid of moisturizing hair products. With low porosity hair, using hair-penetrating oils like our Nourish and Grow Healthy Hair and Scalp Oil for 10 min- several hours before you wash your hair can add softness and lubrication.
- Deep conditioning Low porosity hair does not pick up as much conditioning as hair that is more porous and needs certain ingredients in them to work. This is why our Deep Conditioning Masque is perfect for low porosity hair because it contains film forming humectants such as honey, aloe vera and marshmallow root. Flexible films cover your hair and trap water near your hair to keep it hydrated or moisturized - but without being heavy or oily.
- Use heat or steam with our masque. Heat gives your hair a greater surface for binding conditioners. Steam combines the beneficial effects of heat with an abundance of moisture in the form of water vapor. In the presence of steam and a conditioner, your hair will be plumping up with water.
- Avoid Hard Water! If you have hard water in your home, it will make your low porosity hair even harder to moisturize and hydrate. You can check this link to see if you live in an area with hard water: https://water.usgs.gov/owq/hardness-alkalinity.html . Also if you swim, pools can deposit minerals on to your hair as well. The reason why hard water is not good for low porosity hair is because the minerals in hard water bond to hair just like conditioner does. So, what starts to happen is that the moisturizing, hydrating conditioners have to compete with the hair-stiffening and friction-creating calcium and magnesium in your water. The bottom line: Hard water makes your low-porosity hair even less friendly towards oils and conditioners.
If you find that no matter what products you use on your hair, they just sit on top and don’t penetrate you may have hard water deposits on your hair. All you have to do is simply use our Organic Black Soap Wash to remove the mineral deposits. This shampoo can be used as little as once or as many as 4 times within 1 month.
If you are still confused about where to start, we always recommend trying one of our amazing kits! Each kit was created by me and uses the science of plants and extracts to moisturize and strengthen all hair types and our 4 piece kits come with all the products you need to have your low porosity hair flourish!
Until the next blog,
Dr. Isfahan