Low Porosity Support Thread

[faithVA]

Perhaps you are low porosity and you have figured out the best way to moisturize and keep your hair moisturized. Sadly over two years, I can say that I have not So whenever I have an issue I like to create a support thread or challenge for inspiration.

If you have low porosity, whether Natural or Relaxed please come on in and share and get support. Hopefully together we can come up with ways to have even more lovely heads of hair.

--Share your hair background

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?

--What have you tried that worked?

--What have you tried that did not work?

--What questions do you have?

There are a lot of great suggestions on the board. But putting them together in a way that works for our hair is a journey. And what works for one low porosity head may have to be modified for another. But let's share what we can and see if we can make our lives a little easier or at least help each other from going crazy.

Supporters
mg1979
JulietWhiskey
havilland
blackeyes31626
suns4i6e
mamaore
Ogoma
Rikinkkulus
MaraWithLove

 

[mg1979]

Thanks for this! I've been thinking about starting a low porosity support thread, but I've never started a support thread before.

Share your hair background:
Last relaxer 3 years ago. When I did relax, it never took. Not sure what else to say here.

What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?
Dry, dry, dry. Product sits on it & does not absorb.

What have you tried that worked?
Heat helps, but I still don't have a good handle on it.
I try to baggy, but I'm prone to sinus headaches if I do it too long.
More liquidy products work better than thick.
I like Giovanni 50:50 & GVP Balm.

What have you tried that did not work?
Protein is not for me. Builds up easily.
Silicones. Keep moisture from getting in.
Roux porosity control. This is for high porosity.
Butters. Too heavy.

What questions do you have?
I just have reservations about using baking soda. How do you know it's not really damaging especially in the long term?
Is a steamer worth it?

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[Evolving78]

my hair is just dry. it is hard to keep it moisturized. baggying, wet/damp hair, butters, oils, etc... just don't cut it.

when i was a regular at the salon, none of this was ever a thought.

i am still learning and trying to find what works.

 

[JulietWhiskey]

--Share your hair background: 4a, shoulder length, natural

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting? Products sit on hair. Hair feels SUPER dry.

--What have you tried that worked? Sealing with plain vaseline! It's sealing in products and my hair feels and looks better than ever!

--What have you tried that did not work? Sealing with natural oils/butters. I think using products with low ph has been problematic, too, because it further closes the cuticle.

--What questions do you have? How do you determine for certain about your porosity?

 

[havilland]

--Share your hair background. i think i am low to medium porosity if there is such a thing....my texlaxed hair is low for sure.

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting? frizziness and won't hold moisture on the ends.

--What have you tried that worked? protective styles and sealing with castor oil jelly (like vaseline but natural)

--What have you tried that did not work? sealing with regular oil

--What questions do you have? i would like to figure out how to get maximum growth retention without having to cut away my texlaxed hair.


i think that porosity is the next "thing" in hair. there is not alot of information out there about it and how to deal with low porosity.

in 5 years we will be trailblazers.....remember when everyone on hair boards was relaxed bone straight?....now everyone is transitioning or natural. same for porosity. soon that will be the topic of discussion.

 

[faithVA]

mg1979[/USER];15661803]Thanks for this! I've been thinking about starting a low porosity support thread, but I've never started a support thread before.

Share your hair background:
Last relaxer 3 years ago. When I did relax, it never took. Not sure what else to say here.

What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?
Dry, dry, dry. Product sits on it & does not absorb.

What have you tried that worked?
Heat helps, but I still don't have a good handle on it.
I try to baggy, but I'm prone to sinus headaches if I do it too long.
More liquidy products work better than thick.
I like Giovanni 50:50 & GVP Balm.

What have you tried that did not work?
Protein is not for me. Builds up easily.
Silicones. Keep moisture from getting in.
Roux porosity control. This is for high porosity.
Butters. Too heavy.

What questions do you have?
I just have reservations about using baking soda. How do you know it's not really damaging especially in the long term?
Is a steamer worth it?

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

Welcome... I would swear I wrote this. It is almost word for word, exception I've never tried Giovanni.

I don't have many answers but hopefully we can help each other out and share what we have tried and our experience.

This thing is making me want to shave my head

 

[faithVA]

my hair is just dry. it is hard to keep it moisturized. baggying, wet/damp hair, butters, oils, etc... just don't cut it.

when i was a regular at the salon, none of this was ever a thought.

i am still learning and trying to find what works.

Thanks and Welcome shortdub78.

When I was relaxed it wasn't so hard but I still had the problem I realize now that the issue with relaxers taking, were the reason they kept it on for so long which eventually led to scalp damage

I think some things will help us whether we are relaxed or natural. So hopefully we can find some of those things.

 

[faithVA]

--Share your hair background: 4a, shoulder length, natural

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting? Products sit on hair. Hair feels SUPER dry.

--What have you tried that worked? Sealing with plain vaseline! It's sealing in products and my hair feels and looks better than ever!

--What have you tried that did not work? Sealing with natural oils/butters. I think using products with low ph has been problematic, too, because it further closes the cuticle.

--What questions do you have? How do you determine for certain about your porosity?

Welcome JulietWhiskey.

I haven't proven that my hair is low porosity but I have read enough of the porosity threads and read on the internet about the different symptoms and it was more of a process of elimination for me.

There are threads that talk about doing a water test and there are threads that discuss the symptoms you can read up on.

Has the vaseline made enough difference that you can just continue with that without worrying about anything else or are you still working on improving things?

 

[faithVA]

--Share your hair background. i think i am low to medium porosity if there is such a thing....my texlaxed hair is low for sure.

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting? frizziness and won't hold moisture on the ends.

--What have you tried that worked? protective styles and sealing with castor oil jelly (like vaseline but natural)

--What have you tried that did not work? sealing with regular oil

--What questions do you have? i would like to figure out how to get maximum growth retention without having to cut away my texlaxed hair.


i think that porosity is the next "thing" in hair. there is not alot of information out there about it and how to deal with low porosity.

in 5 years we will be trailblazers.....remember when everyone on hair boards was relaxed bone straight?....now everyone is transitioning or natural. same for porosity. soon that will be the topic of discussion.

Welcome havilland... I didn't read that you have a lot of the symptoms that other low porosity ladies have. But maybe it is low porosity. Regardless, hopefully we can improve the situation together.

 

[faithVA]

--Share your hair background
When relaxed the stylist left my relaxer on longer so it would take which eventually led to scalp damage.
As a natural, my hair feels moisturized right after the DC but not too much longer. And I have never been able to successfully remoisturize once my hair dries out. Even water doesn't seem to work to rehydrate.

I haven't seemed to find the right combination to hydrate and to keep hydrated. My ends are breaking like crazy.

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?
Easily tangles especially on the ends.
It often feels wiry.
My curls don't know the meaning of clumping.
Hard to remoisturize my hair assuming it was ever moisturized.
Hair breaks no matter how I detangle, whether wet or dry and no matter how gentle.
Many products just sit on my hair.

--What have you tried that worked?
Using AO White Camellia under a heat cap for at least 20 minutes works.
Applying leave -in, sitting under heat cap then reapply leave-in seems to work.
...Everything I'm still unsure.

--What have you tried that did not work?
No sealing has worked.
Heavy oils and butters don't work.
Steaming, nor overnight DCing did anything.
Protein is a killer.


--What questions do you have?

 

[blackeyes31626]

Thanks for this! I've been thinking about starting a low porosity support thread, but I've never started a support thread before.

Share your hair background:
Last relaxer 3 years ago. When I did relax, it never took. Not sure what else to say here.

What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?
Dry, dry, dry. Product sits on it & does not absorb.

What have you tried that worked?
Heat helps, but I still don't have a good handle on it.
I try to baggy, but I'm prone to sinus headaches if I do it too long.
More liquidy products work better than thick.
I like Giovanni 50:50 & GVP Balm.

What have you tried that did not work?
Protein is not for me. Builds up easily.
Silicones. Keep moisture from getting in.
Roux porosity control. This is for high porosity.
Butters. Too heavy.

What questions do you have?
I just have reservations about using baking soda. How do you know it's not really damaging especially in the long term?
Is a steamer worth it?

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

That's my hair.

 

[India*32]

Perhaps you are low porosity and you have figured out the best way to moisturize and keep your hair moisturized. Sadly over two years, I can say that I have not So whenever I have an issue I like to create a support thread or challenge for inspiration.

If you have low porosity, whether Natural or Relaxed please come on in and share and get support. Hopefully together we can come up with ways to have even more lovely heads of hair.

--Share your hair background

--What symptoms is your hair exhibiting?

--What have you tried that worked?

--What have you tried that did not work?

--What questions do you have?

There are a lot of great suggestions on the board. But putting them together in a way that works for our hair is a journey. And what works for one low porosity head may have to be modified for another. But let's share what we can and see if we can make our lives a little easier or at least help each other from going crazy.

Are You still living in VA? It could be this hard water. I'm in Hampton and my hair gets dry if I do not steam or deep condition regularly. I too was natural and back to relaxing. I purchased a filtered shower head I don't remember if it helped.

 

[mg1979]

--What questions do you have? How do you determine for certain about your porosity?

JulietWhiskey: I did the Live Curly Live Free hair analysis to be sure.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

 

[faithVA]

Are You still living in VA? It could be this hard water. I'm in Hampton and my hair gets dry if I do not steam or deep condition regularly. I too was natural and back to relaxing. I purchased a filtered shower head I don't remember if it helped.

I am in VA but don't think its just the water. I was low porosity long before I moved to VA. I DC every week and have always done so on my journey. And steaming even with distilled water does nothing.

I may purchase a water filter but I really think its beyond that. I can spray distilled water on my hair and its a mess

 

[faithVA]

So here's what I did tonight. I don't really know what is working and what is not yet.

I did a prepoo with AVJ + flaxseed/wheat germ oil, followed with coconut oil. I am pretty sure I should use a lighter oil than flaxsee/wheat germ oil but I want to use it up. But to get the best results I think I need to get some sunflower oil and start from there.

After letting the prepoo sit for 30+ minutes, my hair still felt hard and wiry

I rinsed and then cowashed with Nature's Gate Chamomile conditioner. Don't think this is the conditioner for me. So next week I will switch over to the Taliah Waajid herbal conditioner.

I rinsed with a herbal sage tea. This reduces my shedding. But um, it makes my hair tangle. So not sure what to do about this.

I then DCd with AO White Camelia under a heat cap for 30 minutes. This is the only step that I feel works with my low porosity hair. AO White Camellia is a smoothing conditioner. The AO Blue Chamomile was nice as well and may be more hydrating. I will buy another bottle of that next time. AO GPB is a My hair rejects protein quickly. So I may try using it 1x every other month.

I rinsed with warm water. I can't tell enough of a difference between cool or hot. So I just stick with warm water.

My hair felt soft and moisturized but it was fuzzy, fuzzy, fuzzy. And it was drying quickly.

I applied SM Smoothie as my leave-in. I mix my Smoothie with 8 oz of oil to break down the shea butter. It makes my hair feel soft. I have to try it again to see if it keeps it feeling moisturized.

I then sat under my heat cap for 20 minutes to open my cuticles to let the leave-in sink it. I then reapplied the smoothie. I found that double application of my leave-in works very well.

I will twist my hair in small twist using a small amount of AVJ with glycerin and oil.

Not sure how it will turn out. But what does appear to work for me so far

1. DC with heat cap for at least 20 minutes
2. Apply leave-in, heat cap for 20 minutes, reapply leave-in
3. Combine Shea Moisture Smoothie with 8 oz of a light oil.

 

[dsgordon571]

Hello,

This is my first post and I am bit hesitant to reply but I can hear the frustration in your post. I have been natural since Dec 2010 and have yet to meet anyone with hair as dry as mine; I guess I am a 4 a/b type?

I have all the normal low porosity symptoms, hair hard to get wet with water and dries too quick (it was never wet to begin with), if got my hair wet with water and conditioner, my hair stays wet all day. My hair was hard and wiry, product sat on hair, hair floats in water for days. I could not use oil of any type in my hair.

Long Aid Curl Activator has really saved me! Now you might not like the way it feels in your hair, but it works. When I first started using a heavy gel type curl activator I noticed the difference almost at once. When I first went natural my hair had no pattern to speak of and was hard as a brick! As my hair becomes more moisturized it seems to change. Hair that would not clump or curl 6 months ago is now softer and clumps and curls beautifully. Activator is also clear, so no white stuff in your hair!

With my hair, I have noticed the more moisturized it is, the softer it feels and the better my curls form. I realize now, that my hair is not coarse at all it is actually fine, it was just VERY dry. I can get out of the shower now and actually wring some water from my hair and believe me that's a big deal; my hair will accept coconut oil now too. I can now skip a day or two of moisturizing if I want to, though I usually don't. As time goes on, I need less and less product.

I believe that once I build up the moisture in my hair, it will eventually respond to the typical moisturzing products, but I do understand glycerin will ALWAYS have to be in my regimine in some form or another, it's what works for my hair.

I live in VA as well, I think the water filter is a good idea it has helped me. Try the Long Aid for a few weeks and see what happens. When you use the Long Aid, use nothing else in your hair, co-wash as much as you like, but just use the Long Aid in your hair. I suggest tying up your hair with a silk scarf at night as well.

Watch your hair and notice how it begins to feel, at some point you may have to incorporate some type of protein. I now use Joico protein reconstrcutor weekly and my hair loves it.

Good Luck!

 

[yorkpatties]

Interesting reading ladies, though I am quite high porosity. I knew that about my hair long before this became (as someone else said) "the new topic of discussion" because relaxers would ALWAYS ruin my hair within 3 months. It would be a soggy mess. I am seeing that even as a natural this is just something I have to deal with, not NEARLY as often or nearly as bad, but I can feel it get soggy, and tangles like it's going to loc on occasion. Left over porosity control conditioner helps us ladies with highly porous hair.

I haven't reached the section in the book where she discusses this, but I am sure she gives tips for high and low porosity ladies. http://blackhairscience.com/fix_porous.html

Sorry to hi-jack your thread I hope you ladies find what works best for you as I am still trying to perfect my own regimen.

 

[havilland]

Welcome @havilland... I didn't read that you have a lot of the symptoms that other low porosity ladies have. But maybe it is low porosity. Regardless, hopefully we can improve the situation together.

faithVA (technically i consider myself low to medium porosity) my issues really come from the chemicals. i am about 9 months post now, so i have alot of hair on my head that is natural.

what i find is that eventually my ends that have been chemically treated just kind of melt away (if that makes sense). i have to not only protective style, but to an extreme, i hide my hair away for months at a time to keep any moisture in.

what has helped me somewhat is that my hair is well cared for. i used to have scalp issues, but about 5 years ago i stopped relaxing bone straight and started texlaxing, but i need to stop that too. i also went from relaxing every 6 weeks to relaxing 2x a year or less.

i deep condition and or hot oil pre poo twice a week. i find that i have to moisturize every day, twice a day or more and keep my ends hidden to even have a shot at moisture retention.

if you look at my history, i have gone from neck length-ish hair to almost bra strap, but it has taken me 5 years and i have had to cut 3-4 inches of hair several times in my journey.

the chemicals, i believe, are the cause of my low porosity issues.

 

[faithVA]

dsgordon571[/URL];15664843]Hello,



I believe that once I build up the moisture in my hair, it will eventually respond to the typical moisturzing products, but I do understand glycerin will ALWAYS have to be in my regimine in some form or another, it's what works for my hair.

I live in VA as well, I think the water filter is a good idea it has helped me. Try the Long Aid for a few weeks and see what happens. When you use the Long Aid, use nothing else in your hair, co-wash as much as you like, but just use the Long Aid in your hair. I suggest tying up your hair with a silk scarf at night as well.

Watch your hair and notice how it begins to feel, at some point you may have to incorporate some type of protein. I now use Joico protein reconstrcutor weekly and my hair loves it.

Good Luck!

Thank you for sharing that. I know this will be helpful to various women. Hopefully people can try some of your suggestions and see which ones work for you.

I agree with you on the moisture glycerin piece. I am working to include glycerin in my regimen. I don't do many of the commercial products just because of my scalp issues. So trying to make my own homemade glycerin mix that I like. Perhaps I will find a more natural substance that will give me good results.


And I do know that some low porosity heads love protein. So ladies that haven't tried it you may want to try a mild protein. But start slow. Because if your hair doesn't like it, it will let you know quickly.

 

[mg1979]

Hello,

This is my first post and I am bit hesitant to reply but I can hear the frustration in your post. I have been natural since Dec 2010 and have yet to meet anyone with hair as dry as mine; I guess I am a 4 a/b type?

I have all the normal low porosity symptoms, hair hard to get wet with water and dries too quick (it was never wet to begin with), if got my hair wet with water and conditioner, my hair stays wet all day. My hair was hard and wiry, product sat on hair, hair floats in water for days. I could not use oil of any type in my hair.

Long Aid Curl Activator has really saved me! Now you might not like the way it feels in your hair, but it works. When I first started using a heavy gel type curl activator I noticed the difference almost at once. When I first went natural my hair had no pattern to speak of and was hard as a brick! As my hair becomes more moisturized it seems to change. Hair that would not clump or curl 6 months ago is now softer and clumps and curls beautifully. Activator is also clear, so no white stuff in your hair!

With my hair, I have noticed the more moisturized it is, the softer it feels and the better my curls form. I realize now, that my hair is not coarse at all it is actually fine, it was just VERY dry. I can get out of the shower now and actually wring some water from my hair and believe me that's a big deal; my hair will accept coconut oil now too. I can now skip a day or two of moisturizing if I want to, though I usually don't. As time goes on, I need less and less product.

I believe that once I build up the moisture in my hair, it will eventually respond to the typical moisturzing products, but I do understand glycerin will ALWAYS have to be in my regimine in some form or another, it's what works for my hair.

I live in VA as well, I think the water filter is a good idea it has helped me. Try the Long Aid for a few weeks and see what happens. When you use the Long Aid, use nothing else in your hair, co-wash as much as you like, but just use the Long Aid in your hair. I suggest tying up your hair with a silk scarf at night as well.

Watch your hair and notice how it begins to feel, at some point you may have to incorporate some type of protein. I now use Joico protein reconstrcutor weekly and my hair loves it.

Good Luck!

@dsgordon571: Congrats on your first post!

What is the climate like where you live? Do you watch the dew point/humidity because of the glycerin?

 

[dsgordon571]

mg1979 Thank you! It does get cold here and I do watch the dew points, mostly out of curiosity, but my hair does well with glycerin 365 days a year with no problems; Spring/Summers are even better!

 

[faithVA]

So far the AVJ + glycerin is a hit. My SO touched my hair and asked what I did different. He says he likes the way this feels much better.

I think I am going to try 5 parts AVJ to 1 part vegetable glycerin with no oil. I will keep increasing the parts AVJ until I can use the least amount of glycerin and get the same results. The less sticky the better.

 

[faithVA]

Trying out my AVJ/glycerin this morning. Moisturized my hair with AVJ/glycerin and then sealed with a castor oil blend. My hair didn't fuzz. I am hoping that this ratio of AVJ/glycerin works well. The previous ratio held for 2 to 3 days. So this will need to keep my hair moisturized at least until Wednesday to match it.

 

[*Frisky*]

I think the Curly Girl method is helping me with my low porosity issues. I haven't been doing it as often as suggested which I plan on doing but I have noticed a change in my hair since giving up silicones, mineral oil, etc and doing steam treatments. I have only done a baking soda conditioning treatment once but I liked the results after I did it.

 

[faithVA]

Any of you ladies trying something different this week mg1979, shortdub78, JulietWhiskey, havilland?

Someone asked about steaming and if it helps. Are any of you ladies using a steamer and finding that it helps?

My experience with the steamer so far is that it didn't work for me. My hair responds better to applying a DC to wet hair and sitting under a heat cap for 20 to 30 minutes.

However, there are some people with low porosity that have had good results with a steamer. If you don't want to purchase a steamer, you can try putting on a plastic cap and wrapping hot towels around your hair. That will give you some idea whether steaming will benefit you or not before investing in one.

One thing to keep in mind is even if we are all low porosity, we will all may have a different degree of porosity issues. And adding that to our hair characteristics can make something fabulous for one and not the other. So others will offer suggestions but you will have to try them out on your own head to see if they work.

 

[Evolving78]

faithVA

you know i bought a steamer and it doesn't work properly. my hair responds to conditioner wet and with heat.

i tried using Hawaiian Silky 14n1 to my new growth. it softened it and it stayed soft throughout the day. i will try it again on clean hair for a week next time. i have enough product in and i need to wash my hair very soon.

 

[Evolving78]

mg1979 Thank you! It does get cold here and I do watch the dew points, mostly out of curiosity, but my hair does well with glycerin 365 days a year with no problems; Spring/Summers are even better!

my hair does well with glycerin when the humidity is high. but as soon as the dewpoint drops, it makes my hair feel crunchy.

 

[JulietWhiskey]

Hello,

This is my first post and I am bit hesitant to reply but I can hear the frustration in your post. I have been natural since Dec 2010 and have yet to meet anyone with hair as dry as mine; I guess I am a 4 a/b type?

I have all the normal low porosity symptoms, hair hard to get wet with water and dries too quick (it was never wet to begin with), if got my hair wet with water and conditioner, my hair stays wet all day. My hair was hard and wiry, product sat on hair, hair floats in water for days. I could not use oil of any type in my hair.

Long Aid Curl Activator has really saved me! Now you might not like the way it feels in your hair, but it works. When I first started using a heavy gel type curl activator I noticed the difference almost at once. When I first went natural my hair had no pattern to speak of and was hard as a brick! As my hair becomes more moisturized it seems to change. Hair that would not clump or curl 6 months ago is now softer and clumps and curls beautifully. Activator is also clear, so no white stuff in your hair!

With my hair, I have noticed the more moisturized it is, the softer it feels and the better my curls form. I realize now, that my hair is not coarse at all it is actually fine, it was just VERY dry. I can get out of the shower now and actually wring some water from my hair and believe me that's a big deal; my hair will accept coconut oil now too. I can now skip a day or two of moisturizing if I want to, though I usually don't. As time goes on, I need less and less product.

I believe that once I build up the moisture in my hair, it will eventually respond to the typical moisturzing products, but I do understand glycerin will ALWAYS have to be in my regimine in some form or another, it's what works for my hair.

I live in VA as well, I think the water filter is a good idea it has helped me. Try the Long Aid for a few weeks and see what happens. When you use the Long Aid, use nothing else in your hair, co-wash as much as you like, but just use the Long Aid in your hair. I suggest tying up your hair with a silk scarf at night as well.

Watch your hair and notice how it begins to feel, at some point you may have to incorporate some type of protein. I now use Joico protein reconstrcutor weekly and my hair loves it.

Good Luck!

Yes, to all of the bolded!
This is my hair EXACTLY when at optimal health! When I first started my HHJ, I used this gel and it worked wonders in moisturizing my situation and in curl formation. Later, I switched to KKC because of the more natural ingredients and added glycerin because my hair LOVES and I mean LOVES glycerin and thankfully, I live in a pretty humid climate.

I recently discovered from the Curly Nikki sight that some of my favorite conditioners may be causing problems because they contain benehetriomium methosulfate which can build up and is hard to wash off. When my hair was healthiest, I was not using this product at all, just products that mostly contained water, cetyl alcohol, glycerin and some type of oil in the first 5 ingredients and my hair was thriving.

I'm going back to that. And I may have to reintroduct my hair to the Long Aid Curl Activator Gel in the green jar!

Thanks for the reminder! Stuff if cheap, too!

 

[mg1979]

Trying out my AVJ/glycerin this morning. Moisturized my hair with AVJ/glycerin and then sealed with a castor oil blend. My hair didn't fuzz. I am hoping that this ratio of AVJ/glycerin works well. The previous ratio held for 2 to 3 days. So this will need to keep my hair moisturized at least until Wednesday to match it.

2-3 days! If I can just get one full day!

Any of you ladies trying something different this week mg1979, shortdub78, JulietWhiskey, havilland?

Someone asked about steaming and if it helps. Are any of you ladies using a steamer and finding that it helps?

My experience with the steamer so far is that it didn't work for me. My hair responds better to applying a DC to wet hair and sitting under a heat cap for 20 to 30 minutes.

However, there are some people with low porosity that have had good results with a steamer. If you don't want to purchase a steamer, you can try putting on a plastic cap and wrapping hot towels around your hair. That will give you some idea whether steaming will benefit you or not before investing in one.

One thing to keep in mind is even if we are all low porosity, we will all may have a different degree of porosity issues. And adding that to our hair characteristics can make something fabulous for one and not the other. So others will offer suggestions but you will have to try them out on your own head to see if they work.

I added glycerin as well after the previous post. My hair analysis recommended humectants so I bought a bottle, but hadn't done anything with it since the humidity is usually low here. It stays moisturizer at least half the day right now, which is better than normal, but we actually have good humidity right now. I'm willing to try it on a low day to see...can't be any worse than what it normally is...I hope!

Thanks for sharing your steamer experience. I had purchased a hooded dryer to aid in deep conditioning & heard about steamers shortly after. I keep thinking I should've got one instead and debating on saving for one thinking it would solve all my hair woes. I really don't want to purchase one if it's not any better than Dc'ing under my dryer.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCFj

 

[suns4i6e]

What questions do you have?
I just have reservations about using baking soda. How do you know it's not really damaging especially in the long term?
Is a steamer worth it?

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF

mg1979, I have very low porosity hair (it even takes a moment to get 'wet' with water). I have consistently added baking soda to my conditioners for years now, maybe three or so. I find it's the only thing that really lifts the cuticle adequately enough to allow for penetrating moisture. That is how i deep condition. To date, I have had NO ill effects. However, this is just one curly's experience. I know there are many low-po heads that do not care for the alkaline nature of baking soda. Maybe try it and see how your hair responds.