Hello and welcome back to Locs Talk, where I talk about all things Locs and Loose-Natural hair. This week I am going to get a little deeper into information in regard to your hair moisture routine. This talk is for all hair. I want to first recap and talk about what hair porosity is and why it is important to know. Often times we are told how important knowing your hair type is, but just knowing things like 4C, 3B or any of the other 12 types that are charted, does not provide enough information for you. Remember the Locs Talk where I spoke about general hair education 101 and the 4 elements that make up your hair type: texture, density, porosity, and curl pattern. Of these for elements, the porosity is very important to know for a number of reasons from how to properly wash and rinse your hair to enhancing your curl pattern, to the type and volume of moisture you will need to maintain moisture to your hair. Today we will discuss the type and volume of moisture you will need to maintain a healthy moisture routine, based on your person level of hair porosity.
Before we get into the routines, let's recap what hair porosity is. Hair porosity is your hair's ability to absorb and retain moisture. There are 3 levels of hair porosity, Low, Medium, and High porosity. Low porosity has lightly bound hair cuticles that lay flat. Low porosity hair is considered healthy, it repels water, difficult to penetrate (including chemicals and coloring), and takes the longest to dry once moisture penetrates through the cuticles. Medium porosity is the easiest to maintain. The cuticles are looser which makes it easier to penetrate and can retain moisture well. High porosity hair is often unhealthy and damaged hair. The cuticles are wide open and leaves little to no retention in retaining moisture. Excess moisturizing is often needed the most for High porosity hair to assure the hair does not become excessively dry and brittle.
So, why exactly is porosity so important to know for moisture routine? Well, based on the descriptions I provided for the 3 levels of porosity, a lot can be determined in order to make sure your hair receives the best level of moisture to keep your hair well moisturized and healthy. Let's start with Low porosity hair. The hair cuticles are flat, this is what makes it hard for moisture to penetrate the hair strand and causes water to repel. Also, once the hair is penetrated, because the hair cuticles are flat, the moisture is retained for much longer thus taking longer for the hair to dry. The best product to use for moisture on Low porosity hair is a water-based moisturizer that is very low in density, which includes the use of any moisturizer in liquid-based form. Liquids such as a moisturizing spray or water, will work best for Low porosity hair. Heavy dense leave in moisturizers or thick and dense hair conditioners can cause massive surface buildup due to lack of penetration. The best time to moisturize your low porosity hair would be right after you get out of the shower. The warm steam helps relax and open the hair cuticles, so it is less difficult for moisture to penetrate the hair. Moisture is well retained throughout the day due to its ability to retain moisture, therefore once per day will suffice. I use Peculiar Roots rose water-based refresher spray to moisturize my hair. It's great for All hair, not just Locs. It's especially great for low porosity hair. To properly apply, spray a good amount onto the hair but not too much, the mist will bead up as it is repelling. Don't let it build up too much, just enough for you to see it begin to appear. Next massage it in to help it to penetrate into your hair and finally seal it in with a very small amount of low-density conditioning oil.
Medium porosity is the least challenging to maintain moisture. The reason is because the cuticle is opened enough to allow moisture to penetrate the hair and is closed enough to retain and hold on to the moisture. With that being said, for medium porosity hair, low density moisturizers and light thin moisture creams and gel (such as aloe gel) will be ideal to maintain moisture to medium porosity hair and it does not take much to achieve this. The most productive time to moisturize medium porosity hair is during your morning routine. In warmer and dryer climate, you might want to remoisturize a 2nd time at night before bed. I have medium porosity hair, so I use rose water-based refresher spray and aloe gel for my morning moisture routine and seal it with a small amount of conditioning oil. First, I spray my hair, next, I apply aloe gel to my scalp and hair at the root to retain moisture at the base of my Locs, finally with a low-density conditioning oil in a very small amount, I seal in the moisture so it will last throughout the day. At night before bed, I only use a little refreshers spray and I sleep wearing a satin lined bonnet to help retain moisture overnight. I do this nightly routine because have color treated hair.
Finally, there is high porosity hair. High porosity hair is the most difficult to maintain with moisture. The hair cuticles are wide open which means the hair is penetrated quite easily and has the most difficulty retaining moisture. High porosity hair is often severely damaged hair caused by over processing done by bleaching, relaxer, perm, or dye with high volumes of ammonia. There are some with naturally high porosity hair. It is important to maintain a consistent high level moisture routine, to assure the hair does not become excessively dry and brittle. Higher density moisturizing creams can help the hair to retain moisture for longer periods of time. Deep conditioning with every wash will help as well. But most of all, be sure to seal in moisture with conditioning oil. This is very crucial for bleached hair, color treated hair, or chemically treated hair such as relaxers & texturizers. I see all too often, people texturize their loose-natural hair to relax the curl pattern, making it easier for them to maintain their hair. But then they fail to be consistent in carrying on a healthy moisture routine and shortly after they texturize their hair, it dries out and starts to break off. Then there is the blame game; "the texturizer made my hair fall out." The reality of it is some accountability falls on them, due to failure of maintaining a proper moisture routine as part of the REQUIRED after care.
No matter what, you are responsible in the very least for maintaining proper moisture care to your hair. It does not require a skillset or the talent to style your hair in order to do so. All it takes is a few minutes of your time every day and consistency to do it. It takes less time than it does to brush your teeth. You don't even have to buy expensive products to maintain moisture. Just be sure to learn your porosity in order to properly execute your moisture routine. If your porosity is one way with your virgin hair, it will change if you color it, bleach it, relax it, perm it, or texturize it. So be sure to recheck your hair porosity if your virgin hair is chemically treated.
Thank you for joining me this week for another great Locs Talk discussion about hair porosity and its importance in helping you to maintain a healthy moisture routine for your Loc'd or Loose-natural hair. I hope the information I have provided you with this week, you find very useful and helpful in maintaining a healthy head of hair. Reminder, if you need to know how you can find out what your hair porosity is, please read my blog "General Hair Education 101" you will learn everything you need to know about your hair type and the 4 elements that make up your hair type: texture, density, porosity, and curl pattern. I will be back again with more to talk about Locs and loose-natural hair next week on Locs Talk. Until then, have a happy and healthy hair journey.
Pammie
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