Is this hair high or low porosity?

[abcd09]

I'm having trouble deciding whether my hair is low or high porosity. I'm naturally thinking it's overly porous, but reading about porosity here and other places has be a little confused considering what my hair has been doing. Some factors that make me think it is high porosity are:

1) its relaxed
2) it tends to look dry/ does not hold onto moisture as well
3) humidity makes it poofy and straw like/stiff
4) less shine when air drying (maybe because the cuticle is still open?)
5) Dries somewhat quickly
6) Relaxed hair tangles/dreds easily (my hair is also fine)
7) May be a little heat damaged from flat ironing a few weeks ago

Some low porosity factors that confuse me are

1) Shed hair still floating one hour later in water
2) Water rests on top of hair
3)Hair does not seem to absorb leave ins, or cons without heat. Even at this wash and dc, my hair did not seem to absorb a lot of the DC even though I clarified

Some of these properties seem to run into one another (ie not getting moisture is a property of both)

 

[Nonie]

Some low porosity factors that confuse me are

1) Shed hair still floating one hour later in water
2) Water rests on top of hair
3)Hair does not seem to absorb leave ins, or cons without heat. Even at this wash and dc, my hair did not seem to absorb a lot of the DC even though I clarified

Some of these properties seem to run into one another (ie not getting moisture is a property of both)

abcd09 when you do the float/sink porosity test, do you do it with shed hair that has been cleaned well and stripped of product? Hair that has product on it will float regardless of porosity.

 

[abcd09]

@Nonie, thanks. Doing that now with a clarifying shampoo. So far it is floating (it's been several minutes)

I should also add that it is difficult to get product out of my hair. I have to shampoo with each wash or else I have nasty buildup two inches from my scalp. I'm not sure if porosity has anything to do with products sitting on hair in this manner.

 

[Nonie]

Hmm... :scratchch

OK, the last time we were discussing porosity it occurred to me--and I don't say this to alarm you, but just something to think about--that low porosity hair floats because water doesn't get inside it to weigh it down. Porous hair sinks because it absorbs water and gets heavy and sinks. So what would hair that has its cuticle stripped do? I mean hair that doesn't really have an "inside" that is enclosed for water to be contained in...but just open in parts...like this:

Or where the cuticle is completely ripped off so the cortex is exposed like this meaning there's no "inside" for water to enter but just an object that would be buoyed by the water:

Wouldn't it too float? Which is why all the other characteristics are necessary to figure out how to proceed.

What products do you use to shampoo, condition and style? Do they have 'cones? Also do you use warm water when you wash? I think knowing more about your regimen will help us figure this out.

My next question is one that gets under people's skin. How often do you dust/trim? How long is your hair? Besides the moisture issue, is there anything else you're aware of that your hair does that seems off? Does it hold a curl?

 

[abcd09]

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Wouldn't it too float? Which is why all the other characteristics are necessary to figure out how to proceed.

What products do you use to shampoo, condition and style? Do they have 'cones? Also do you use warm water when you wash? I think knowing more about your regimen will help us figure this out.

My next question is one that gets under people's skin. How often do you dust/trim? How long is your hair? Besides the moisture issue, is there anything else you're aware of that your hair does that seems off? Does it hold a curl?

Nonie I am so glad you responded.

I use Joico chelating shampoo because my city has hard water and the water filter I bought for my old apartment does not fit in on the old-fashioned shower head of my new place. The shampoo is nice because it doesn't dry out my hair (I tested this theory by using Suave clarifying one week and it dried and tangled my hair badly) and seems to melt the matting I get. I also use a light protein sometimes (Aphogee 2 min) and DC with ORS replenishing and Humecto. For moisturizing I use hair one and a light form of Argan oil.

I usually do an ACV rinse at the end, which helps with tangles, but lately it seems to be making my hair harder in combo with not feeling moisturized from the other steps.

These products are probably cone-filled, but any other product combo I try leaves me with tangles and knots. I trim myself about once a month, but since my hair is so fine it tangles and gets thinner at the ends due to the detangling I have to do.

My hair is currently BSL. I do use warm water when I wash.

Besides the moisture issue, the humidity issue bothers me since it gets fuzzy and seems to "swell" which is probably a high porosity thing. I havent worn my hair in curls for so long, I do know it doesn't get "swang". There are broken hairs at the crown and the relaxed hair (not the new growth) tends to dred/knot very easily as well as split easily (I've never had blunt ends in my life). While my hair usually feels dry, in the past few weeks it has been feeling dryer, which may be from using a flat iron to iron out the roots and an overly hot hooded dryer. Oils, except Golden argan oil and vatika oil, tend to sit on my hair and make it stiff, even in small amounts. Even the oils I do use don't do as much as I'd like.

I think I'm lending more towards high porosity, but I have no idea why nothing is taking the way I would like. What you said makes sense, damaged hair could float too!

 

[Nonie]

@abcd09 I'm tired and so not thinking straight but I do wonder if your hard water might'n't be part of the problem. You use a good product that smooths your hair, then rinse with hard water that roughens it up. And the frizz may be just normal because you don't use a serum or apply it well enough to coat your strands fully(?).

Distilled water is usually cheaper than other water. I know I've been able to find it for $0.50 a gallon. I wonder whether it would make a difference or a water filter/softener.

Anyway, please tag me or something so I remember to return to this thread tomorrow when I'm rested and able to think. Sorry I had to leave abruptly but I keep losing the screen coz I find myself staring at the insides of my eyelids. (OK I exaggerate but I am staring blankly confused about what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Time to head to the Land of Nod. Nitey! Catch you mañana. :blowkiss

 

[Prose Princess]

I've been reading a lot about porosity lately, and it sounds like you have low porosity hair like me. Just because you're relaxed doesn't necessarily mean you have high porosity, which blew my mind. Does your hair respond normally to relaxers or do you have to leave them on longer than you should, or use a very high strength? When I was relaxed my hair was very resistant to all kinds of relaxers, and the higher strength of them in combination with my chronic dryness just ate up my hair. This may not be a problem for you though since you have fine hair, whereas mine is very coarse.

Your comment about ACV rinses drying your hair out more point to low porosity, as these are a nono for low porosity gals because the acidity flattens your cuticles more, locking out even more moisture from your strands. If you had high porosity it would have helped you retain more moisture. If water is sitting on top of your hair and your shed hair floats in water, that’s gotta be low porosity. My hair was still floating the next day when I did the test!

Try doing a baking soda rinse (one tablespoon per two cups of water, preferably distilled water) after you shampoo and before you deep condition and see if it helps. Be sure to deep condition with heat if you can. I remember seeing somewhere that low porosity ladies should take it easy on the protein as well, since it can fill in gaps in your hair and prevent even more moisture from penetrating the hair shaft, although I could be wrong. But since you're having dryness issues already, it couldn't hurt to lay off the protein at least until you try the baking soda rinse. I would also recommend the "Cherry Lola" treatment, where you mix about a cup of plain yogurt, a tablespoon of Bragg's Amino Acids, and a tablespoon of baking soda, apply to your whole head and leave it on for 40-45 mins before rinsing and proceeding with a moisturizing deep conditioner. When I tried it I used egg whites in place of the Bragg's and it worked beautifully. Try not to use oils during your washing process either, as they can coat the hair and lock out moisture as well. I'm not far enough into this lo-po journey to know if cones in your products really make a difference, so I can't give you any solid advice there, although I will say that when I did the Cherry Lola I followed up with a cone-free conditioner (Aubrey Organics HSR). I also found mixing honey into my deep conditioners helpful. I knew the treatment had helped because I steam my hair all the time, but by the time I'm done I would always still have conditioner sitting on top of my hair because it would be on my fingers when I rubbed them on my hair. After I did the Cherry Lola and steamed with HSR mixed with honey, there was nothing but water on my fingers by the time my steaming session was done and my hair was buttery soft.

Sorry to bombard you with suggestions but I know how frustrating it can be to not know what's going on with your hair. I've been on this board for years making very little progress other than going natural and no progress on the moisture front to speak of until like a week ago when I found out I had low porosity hair which seems to be discussed much less. Anyway, I hope I was able to help, I'm sure Nonie will have more to add, I'm pretty sure her posts are where a lot of my info came from!

 

[abcd09]

@abcd09 I'm tired and so not thinking straight but I do wonder if your hard water might'n't be part of the problem. You use a good product that smooths your hair, then rinse with hard water that roughens it up. And the frizz may be just normal because you don't use a serum or apply it well enough to coat your strands fully(?).

Distilled water is usually cheaper than other water. I know I've been able to find it for $0.50 a gallon. I wonder whether it would make a difference or a water filter/softener.

Anyway, please tag me or something so I remember to return to this thread tomorrow when I'm rested and able to think. Sorry I had to leave abruptly but I keep losing the screen coz I find myself staring at the insides of my eyelids. (OK I exaggerate but I am staring blankly confused about what it is I'm supposed to be doing. Time to head to the Land of Nod. Nitey! Catch you mañana. :blowkiss

Nonie I wish I could use my filter for my hair, but my new apartment's shower head is old fashioned and has no screw indentations for the filter to fit on it (I was really frustrated after paying for it to find this out). I also tried the distilled water for a few months, but it made it extremely difficult to wash my hair and get he gunk out that likes to stick near my roots, which I have a lot of trouble even with running water. My hair will not get clean using a cup to pour the water one at a time, and it's really time consuming. I don't use a serum because for some reason they don't work on my hair. I put it on and my hair gets stiff and feels and looks like I didn't have anything on at all (serums I've tried: Biosilk, CHI infusion, DermOrganics argan oil).

I swear my hair is special.

Prose Princess My hair usually responds to medium relaxers, I think. I know my stylist uses the kind you have to mix together. I know my natural hair was very, very resistant to heat.

What's strange about the ACV is I didn't have any problems a few weeks ago; it helps with the matting I get. I'm thinking the matting/dredding is from high porosity. Or maybe not

I'm trying the baking soda as speak. I really hopes this works.

 

[lboogie2679]

BUMP.................................

 

[abcd09]

Woops, didn't do a follow up. The baking soda did not really do anything for soaking up moisture.

I will say that the dredding (of my relaxed hair) has come back. It's closer to the roots (but does not involve the roots) and the hair feels like it glues and sticks together and is wrapped like I never detangled or combed for weeks (when I do it every 2 days or when I find a "loc"). This must be related to porosity or something because no other relaxed head I know has this issue.

 

[divachyk]

@abcd09 - I am relaxed with low porosity and tangled prone hair. Understanding your porosity will help you improve your regi. I was treating my hair for high porosity (Roux PC) when I first joined to be in the majority. My hair always air dried bushy and my hair never retained moisture no matter how much I pumped moisture in it. After learning about porosity, I realized I have low porosity. My clean hair floats for days when doing the strand test. It takes several washes before my hair absorbs water. After stopping Roux and incorporating quality products, my hair's health dramatically improved. See blog for regi.

Trimming helps the ends of my hair from snagging and tangling on each other although it doesn't correct all of my tangling issues. I still deal with tangles but I don't have marathon detangling sessions now that my regi, product and hair's health is on point.

Lightly detangle before shampooing. Perhaps try washing in sections (you may already, I didn't read all posts). This will help you to focus on the scalp, remove product buildup and keep the tangles under control.

I comb my relaxed hair (leaving my ng alone) throughout the week. I can't go days upon days without combing or my hair with tangle too badly.

HTH