Your hair needs a healthy environment to not only grow but to retain its length. The ends of your hair are the oldest part so you want to give it all the help you can to stop breakage. One step you can take is learning the porosity level of your hair. The porosity of your hair is how well the strands retains moisture. Start by conducting a porosity test on a few hair strands, take account of the different hair textures you may have on your head. All you need is a bowl and water to determine if you have low porosity hair or high porosity hair. If you hair as low porosity it means that your hair cuticles are tight and resistant to open up for water to penetrate and gather moisture. Even when adding products to the hair it will sit on top of the hair instead of penetrating the hair shafts or scalp. The hair can have a straw-like texture and too stiff to style. One way to strengthen the hair is to apply a protein treatment, but make sure it is not hurting the hair itself.
Low porosity hair tends to be sensitive to most protein treatments, so try to minimize this treatment and keep the hair moisturized. Using Hair moisturizers with emollients like coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, and shea butter are ideal. Using humectants like honey and vegetable glycerine in the warmer seasons will attract and hold moisture to the hair. When selecting hair products with water as the first ingredient is also ideal. Look for lighter, liquid based products like a hair milk, argon and jojoba oils that are not overly oily and grapeseed oil for a light sealant.
Apply product in a different way to your hair to ensure the moisture is penetrating the strands. After you wash your hair do not towel it dry, use products like your leave-in conditioner and a little oil before you let it air dry. While your hair is releasing some of the water, it will absorb even more product. Incorporating a steamer into your hair care regimen at least once a week can a added benefit. Sit under your steamer for 15-30 minutes after applying conditioner, this will lift your cuticles and deeply infuse the moisture in the hair. Methods to Safety Lift Cuticles
One way to add more moisture to low porosity hair is to lift safely the cuticles and apply moisture. Look for products like Baking Soda that contains alkaline and mix it with just water. They can temporarily lift hair cuticles to allow moisture to seep in. After you rinse this mixture out of your hair, try using a conditioner or other moisturizing products to the hair. Caring for your low porosity hair the right way will produce a head full of hair in no time.
