I'm Emily, Queen of Hair

When you suffer from hair that is frequently dry and brittle, it can be a struggle to keep your tresses moisturized, especially if your hair is curly. Shampooing your hair can make your dry hair feel like straw and completely stripped of moisture. If your mane feels like this after a shampoo and you have a hard time introducing moisture back into your hair, you may have low porosity hair.

It is important to know what type of shampoo and conditioner to use when you have this type of hair. Once you know you have low porosity hair, you will be able to choose products that are more suitable for your hair.

Porosity Basics

Hair porosity simply refers to the ability of your strands of absorb and retain moisture. If you have high porosity hair, your strands will absorb moisture easily because the cuticle in the hair strands has holes and gaps that allow liquids to penetrate the hair shaft.

When you have chemically processed hair, from relaxers or harsh color treatments, you probably have high porosity hair because the chemicals break down the natural structure of the hair cuticle.

With medium porosity hair, strands have intact cuticle layers that are loose enough to allow moisture in but not the to the point that your hair will feel mushy from over moisturization.

If you have low porosity hair, the cuticle layer is tightly bound to the hair shaft making it hard for moisture to penetrate. Thus, some products will just sit on top of your head because your hair is repelling moisture.

Some products, like those containing high levels of proteins, will even make your hair feel hard and brittle after a shampoo and conditioning treatment. Proteins creates a barrier around the hair follicle which is helpful is you overprocessed hair. But when you have low porosity hair, the last thing you need is another barrier to getting your hair moisturized past the outer layer.

Determining Your Porosity

If you are unsure about the porosity of your hair, you can conduct a simple test to get some clarity. You will need a few strands of clean hair for the test. You do not have to pluck them from your head if you have hair you can use in your brush or comb.

Put the hair strands in a glass that is full of water. If you have high porosity hair, your strands will float to the bottom right way. If you have medium porosity hair, your hair will begin to float down after a few minutes but will not sink all the way to the bottom.

Low porosity hair strands will not sink, at all. They will stay at the surface. You can come back to check the glass an hour later and your strands will still be floating at the top of the glass.

Choosing the Right Products

If you just use any type of cheap shampoo and conditioner when you have low porosity hair, you are not doing yourself any favors. When you shop for shampoo, look for moisturizing cleansers with natural ingredients, such as oils and shea butter, that do not contain protein or have proteins listed near the very bottom of the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed on hair care products in descending order of predominance.

Following that logic above, you should not use any type of deep conditioners considered to be "protein treatments." This includes hair mayonnaise products, which contain loads of protein, or any two-step protein treatment. You will end up spending weeks trying to reverse the damage of these hard protein treatments that will make your head feel like it is covered in hard wool.

If you like to oil your scalp and the ends of your hair as part of your moisturizing routine, stick with oil blends that contain light oils such a grapeseed, argan, almond and jojoba. You should be able to purchase these oils separately or in blends at well-stocked beauty supply retailers.

If you buy hair products online, you may even find entire hair care lines that are specifically labeled for low porosity hair. However, you may not be able to find the products you need at your local drug store, so go online and shop at retailers that specialize in beauty products. Your hair will be much better off when you take the time to find products that suit your low porosity strands.