spinoff: high porosity hair

[tashboog]

So I'm still struggling with keeping moisture in my hair when I'm trying to wear out styles (ie. twist outs, braid outs, bantu knot outs) My hair initially looks good, but once I take them out then I kid you not within minutes my hair swells and turns into a poof ball and I lose all my curl definition, shine, and shape! It so frustrating cuz I don't want to have to always wear protective styles to keep moisture in my hair. It's so frustrating ! Do any of you natural ladies have any helpful tips for wearing your out styles so that your hair doesn't poof into a cloud?

 

[bellatiamarie]

I wish i had an answer... My hair does the same thing! All of my "styles" (twistouts, braidouts,etc) turn into puffs in a matter of minutes.

 

[soulglo]

So I'm still struggling with keeping moisture in my hair when I'm trying to wear out styles (ie. twist outs, braid outs, bantu knot outs) My hair initially looks good, but once I take them out then I kid you not within minutes my hair swells and turns into a poof ball and I lose all my curl definition, shine, and shape! It so frustrating cuz I don't want to have to always wear protective styles to keep moisture in my hair. It's so frustrating ! Do any of you natural ladies have any helpful tips for wearing your out styles so that your hair doesn't poof into a cloud?

Lol my hair goes poof too but I think adding eco styler and allowing the hair to fully dry helps. Also smaller sections

 

[faithVA]

EnExitStageLeft, you have been letting go of a lot of products lately. Have you found what works for you? Is it technique? product? or both?

Would you mind sharing? tia

 

[tashboog]

bellatiamarie so how do you normally wear your hair? Are you wearing protective styles or wearing your hair out & excepting the puffy hair? I don't know about you but it frustrates me to spend time on twisting or braiding my hair then for it to turn into a puff ball is not the business .

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

faithVA

Honestly I'm sticking to staples now. If I have no need for it.....I'm letting it go. But to be completely honest all the products I have would be worthless without technique.

I don't do cool water rinses, I leave ACV in my hair, I MUST LOC my hair to moisturize and detangling is a MUST.....DAILY!

 

[tashboog]

soulglo I've tried eco styler gel but my hair doesn't play nice with any products that has a humectant high on the ingredients list. Humectants turn my hair into a poof ball even faster . I've also tried Sheamoisture curl enhancing smoothie and I've tried the smoothie/eco mix I found on youtube and I get the same exact result...poofy hair . I've also tried kinky curly curling custard, homemade flaxseed gel, TW lock it up gel, Aubrey organics B5 gel and they all give me the same results regardless if I use small, medium, or large sections. However, thanks for the helpful tips and I'm sure it will help someone else who is struggling with this same issue .

 

[faithVA]

EnExitStageLeft[/USER];19167605]faithVA

Honestly I'm sticking to staples now. If I have no need for it.....I'm letting it go. But to be completely honest all the products I have would be worthless without technique.

I don't do cool water rinses, I leave ACV in my hair, I MUST LOC my hair to moisturize and detangling is a MUST.....DAILY!

Would you give me an example of a regular wash day?

I assume you shampoo, condition, rinse in warm water, ACV rinse?

Do you start applying product to soaking wet hair or do you let your hair air dry a bit?

What is one example of what you are using for your LOC?

 

[tashboog]

EnExitStageLeft What products do you use for your LOC method? Why don't you use cold water rinses? Do you use warm water to rinse out your conditioner and then follow it with the ACV rinse?

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

faithVA

My washday usually go something like this.....

Prepoo w/ oil (I eventually want to start using ayurvedic herb mixtures, but for now its still just a good ole' oil)

Shampoo or Co-Cleanse

Reconstructive Treatment (Bi- monthly)

DC w/ steam

Rinse DC and detangle in shower with a slippy conditioner and I use warm water to rinse

Before applying my leave in's I drench my hair in the ACV solution. (So that my hair is soaking wet)

Then apply leave ins
Moisturizing Liquid Leave In, Moisturizing Creamy Leave In, Creamy moisturizer Moisturizer, Oil to seal

This is what I have been doing since my "big chop" in December 2012 (I started using the ACV recently, like 3 months or so ago, up until then I used room temperature Distilled Water). I've grown quite a bit since.

My Hairs Progress:

Dec. 2012, Feb. 18, 2013

April 27, 2013

October 12, 2013 (Excuse the quality of this one, I had to change to my old phone and the camera was CRAP!)

 

[faithVA]

^^Thanks for that.

This I find interesting: Moisturizing Liquid Leave In, Moisturizing Creamy Leave In, Creamy moisturizer Moisturizer, Oil to seal

I think I am trying to do something similar. It is that "Creamy moisturizer Moisturizer" as you call it that I am looking for

It's interesting that although I'm Lo Po my regimen is pretty much the same as yours except for the ACV rinse.

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

tashboog

I use various products to LOC with.....I'm a bit a of a PJ

But I always use this same pattern:

Moisturizing Spritz
Creamy Moisturizer
Oil to seal
and I always heavy seal my ends with a butter since they are the most porous.

Also, I stay away from cones unless I am using heat. I did avoid them completely at one point, but now that I am transitioning I must use them in moderation to keep the frizz at bay. I only used them in my leave in's and avoid them like the plaque in my conditioning products. They cause build-up and I find them harder to remove.

I have the same issue with Beeswax. I don't use it at all.

As for my ACV rinse. I usually rinse my conditioner, detangle with a rinsing conditioner, rinse the rinsing conditioner w. warm water, pin up my hair allow the steam from the shower to do more magic, get out, get dress ( I do so with my hair pinned up and I don't not towel dry AT ALL once out of the shower), once dressed I then apply my ACV solution (1/2 tsp to 4 oz.'s of water) and then apply my leave in's directly on top.

My philosophy is : "The Wetter the hair, the sleeker it dries" and it hasn't failed me yet.

I hope this helps!

 

[spellinto]

tashboog

I use various products to LOC with.....I'm a bit a of a PJ

But I always use this same pattern:

Moisturizing Spritz
Creamy Moisturizer
Oil to seal
and I always heavy seal my ends with a butter since they are the most porous.

Also, I stay away from cones unless I am using heat. I did avoid them completely at one point, but now that I am transitioning I must use them in moderation to keep the frizz at bay. I only used them in my leave in's and avoid them like the plaque in my conditioning products. They cause build-up and I find them harder to remove.

I have the same issue with Beeswax. I don't use it at all.

As for my ACV rinse. I usually rinse my conditioner, detangle with a rinsing conditioner, rinse the rinsing conditioner w. warm water, pin up my hair allow the steam from the shower to do more magic, get out, get dress ( I do so with my hair pinned up and I don't not towel dry AT ALL once out of the shower), once dressed I then apply my ACV solution (1/2 tsp to 4 oz.'s of water) and then apply my leave in's directly on top.

My philosophy is : "The Wetter the hair, the sleeker it dries" and it hasn't failed me yet.

I hope this helps!

Hmmm... great tips I'm going to try leaving my hair wet when I cowash my hair tonight and see how it dries!

 

[spellinto]

So I'm still struggling with keeping moisture in my hair when I'm trying to wear out styles (ie. twist outs, braid outs, bantu knot outs) My hair initially looks good, but once I take them out then I kid you not within minutes my hair swells and turns into a poof ball and I lose all my curl definition, shine, and shape! It so frustrating cuz I don't want to have to always wear protective styles to keep moisture in my hair. It's so frustrating ! Do any of you natural ladies have any helpful tips for wearing your out styles so that your hair doesn't poof into a cloud?

This happens to me all the time and I have relaxed hair!
For low mani styles I've learned to do them on completely dry hair and to use a curl defining cream for hold. My hair still poofs out a little (especially at the roots) but the curl defining cream really helps to retain the texture I created. HTH!

 

[tashboog]

tashboog

I use various products to LOC with.....I'm a bit a of a PJ

But I always use this same pattern:

Moisturizing Spritz
Creamy Moisturizer
Oil to seal
and I always heavy seal my ends with a butter since they are the most porous.

Also, I stay away from cones unless I am using heat. I did avoid them completely at one point, but now that I am transitioning I must use them in moderation to keep the frizz at bay. I only used them in my leave in's and avoid them like the plaque in my conditioning products. They cause build-up and I find them harder to remove.

I have the same issue with Beeswax. I don't use it at all.

As for my ACV rinse. I usually rinse my conditioner, detangle with a rinsing conditioner, rinse the rinsing conditioner w. warm water, pin up my hair allow the steam from the shower to do more magic, get out, get dress ( I do so with my hair pinned up and I don't not towel dry AT ALL once out of the shower), once dressed I then apply my ACV solution (1/2 tsp to 4 oz.'s of water) and then apply my leave in's directly on top.

My philosophy is : "The Wetter the hair, the sleeker it dries" and it hasn't failed me yet.

I hope this helps!

Thx EnExitStageLeft for answering my questions. I mite try your ACV solution once I take down my puffy twist. I haven't been layering my products so I'm going to try applying my leave-ins using your technique. Thx so much .

 

[faithVA]

tashboog


My philosophy is : "The Wetter the hair, the sleeker it dries" and it hasn't failed me yet.

I hope this helps!

Do you mean to have the hair very wet before applying the leave-in? Or something else?

So after you seal what are you doing with your hair? bunning?

I think I've been schooled today

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

@tashboog

Let us know how it turns out. I'm sure its going to be awesome!

@faithVA

Yes, my hair is soaking wet (with ACV) before applying my leave ins. Think about it this way. I seal in the moisture from my DC by sealing my cuticle w/ ACV. I then smooth things out with my leave in's and seal the deal with a nice oil blend.

After I apply my leave ins I usually band my hair to stretch it out. Then I bun.

HTH's

 

[tashboog]

@tashboog

Let us know how it turns out. I'm sure its going to be awesome!

I will definitely keep ya'll posted .

 

[DarkJoy]

So I'm still struggling with keeping moisture in my hair when I'm trying to wear out styles (ie. twist outs, braid outs, bantu knot outs) My hair initially looks good, but once I take them out then I kid you not within minutes my hair swells and turns into a poof ball and I lose all my curl definition, shine, and shape! It so frustrating cuz I don't want to have to always wear protective styles to keep moisture in my hair. It's so frustrating ! Do any of you natural ladies have any helpful tips for wearing your out styles so that your hair doesn't poof into a cloud?

Hey tashboog! I got the same poof problem. Are you twisting wet, moist or dry?

I've got most of the poof under control (usually, you know it has its own mind some days). The trick for me was twisting flat twists on mostly dry hair. So I wash, DC, heavy seal & allow to air dry and shrink in advance. This doesnt take long because my lo-po stuff is dry in about half an hour after washing. I found regular twists to be horrid and would puff up too. Plus my hair is low density so it was pretty scraggly with regular twists.

Also, oils were not enough to keep it from reverting and hold the moisture in. I have to go hard with the butters (I melt together cocoa, shea and mango) or grease. They keep the moisture in so my hair and keep the air moisture out so it doesnt revert and poof.

 

[DarkJoy]

I also agree with the ACV. I literally put a half a cap in a 16oz cup of water after all washing and DCing is done. That is a long-term solution for correcting porosity. My hair loves this and I do it almost every wash day.

 

[tashboog]

Hey tashboog! I got the same poof problem. Are you twisting wet, moist or dry?

I've got most of the poof under control (usually, you know it has its own mind some days). The trick for me was twisting flat twists on mostly dry hair. So I wash, DC, heavy seal & allow to air dry and shrink in advance. This doesnt take long because my lo-po stuff is dry in about half an hour after washing. I found regular twists to be horrid and would puff up too. Plus my hair is low density so it was pretty scraggly with regular twists.

Also, oils were not enough to keep it from reverting and hold the moisture in. I have to go hard with the butters (I melt together cocoa, shea and mango) or grease. They keep the moisture in so my hair and keep the air moisture out so it doesnt revert and poof.

DarkJoy I do my out styles on dry hair but I've tried it on wet and damp hair and my hair still poofs. It also poofs when I stretch my hair with curlformers too . I will definitely try using thicker butters or my natural grease next time around .

 

[faithVA]

EnExitStageLeft[/USER];19168097]@tashboog

Let us know how it turns out. I'm sure its going to be awesome!

@faithVA

Yes, my hair is soaking wet (with ACV) before applying my leave ins. Think about it this way. I seal in the moisture from my DC by sealing my cuticle w/ ACV. I then smooth things out with my leave in's and seal the deal with a nice oil blend.

After I apply my leave ins I usually band my hair to stretch it out. Then I bun.

HTH's

That helps a lot. I will hold onto these tips to try them out over the next few weeks.

 

[EnExitStageLeft]

faithVA

Let us know how it works out

 

[Duchess007]

Great thread... high porosity ladies, are you out there? Will post my deets soon.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

I forgot about this!


Describe your hair? (fine/med/thick strands? Dense? Not very dense? Relaxed, natural, texturized, texlaxed? etc and so on)
Fine-medium strands, medium density, natural


what are your hair's indicators of high porosity? My hair is THIRSTY and needs to be moisturized daily. Did a strand test and meandered to the bottom.


what methods/products have you tried that really work for your hair?
Protective styling with daily M&S, monthly henna, weekly cowashing, oil rinses, biweekly mud washes, homemade butters, LCB moisturizing, ACV rinses, aloe vera, and Ayurveda. I like to DC with egg yolk, yogurt, etc.


what have you tried that did NOT work for your hair/what do you avoid?
So far most product has been fine. My hair didn't like a gel I bought once, but I'm cool with Argan Eco styler. Wearing my hair out for more than a day seems to cause excessive tangling, so I avoid that. And I haven't mastered the WNG, which shrinks into a knotty mess and dries out my strands.



how has having high porosity hair affected your hair care & growth journey?
I'm okay as long as I remember that I HAVE to moisturize daily. Otherwise my hair turns into tumbleweed. Protein has been so helpful to me. Henna is my homeboy.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[mshoneyfly]

Just a bit of a survey and hopefully we can get some helpful tips going just like the low porosity thread.

Describe your hair? (fine/med/thick strands? Dense? Not very dense? Relaxed, natural, texturized, texlaxed? etc and so on) what are your hair's indicators of high porosity? what methods/products have you tried that really work for your hair? what have you tried that did NOT work for your hair/what do you avoid? how has having high porosity hair affected your hair care & growth journey?

Glad you all bumped this thread!! Didnt know it existed.

There are some blog posts out there that confuse the symptoms of high and low porosity so it took me awhile to diagnose my hair.

My hair is fine, low to med density and Im transitioning from bone straight relaxed to texturized.

My hair dries fast, wets easily, is prone to tangles and some SSKs and takes chemicals and color really fast. The one that convinced me was the strand test. You can feel the bumps along the strand and see them easily when held up to the light.

Henna treatments twice a month do a good job of sealing the cuticle but I can tell the difference if I skip a session. GHE with JBCO to preserve and recycle moisture. The JBCO keeps the moisture sealed in and my cuticles closed for days at a time. Creamy moisturizers work best for my hair. AVG is a good moisturizer too. Using silicone finishing products really smooths the cuticle too.

I use heat once a month and my hair loves hydrolyzed keratin, silk amino acids and collagen. I have started following my henna treatment immediately with a keratin rinse out conditioner. Also, LCO works beet for me. I like Folicure leave in conditioner for the L, Shea moisture restorative for the C and safflower oil or Vatika coconut oil for the O.

ACV rinses worked the first time to seal the cuticle but after that time my hair was full of static and very hard. Cold water rinses didn't work either. My hair likes warm water and I never comb my hair unless its 90-95% dry and only after moistuizing and sealing. If its still tangled, I smooth it down with my hands and baggy overnight. I only use a soft brush on the edges only.

I have started to see some growth, thickness and retention in the last few months. See comparison pics in the Full Healthy Crown and Edges challenge thread and the SL 2013 thread.

I hope this post will help some people and I will be checking this thread often to get more tips.

I LOVE this HHJ!!

 

[tashboog]

So I ordered Claudie's hair revitalizer normalizing conditioner and normalizing hair rinse which is suppose to help with porosity. Hopefully I will see some improvements with these two items .

 

[PeaceFlow]

tashboog Where do you order stuff from? I cant find her website.

 

[tashboog]

tashboog Where do you order stuff from? I cant find her website.

Sumra here is her website http://www.claudieshairrevitalizer.com .

 

[MD_Lady]

What do differences in the way your hair responds to conditioning say about its porosity? I've always thought I had high porosity hair because it can NEVER be over-conditioned (I can deep condition overnight with the thickest of moisture masques and my hair will always in the morning). In terms of other characterstics, it takes my hair over an hour to completely air dry and it absorbs moisturizers better when it's wet/damp.

 

[tashboog]

faithVA I need your expertise to help answer MD_Lady question.