My New and Improved Hair Regimen (For Low Porosity Hair)

My New and Improved Hair Regimen (For Low Porosity Hair)

As some of you already know, I recently learned that I have low porosity hair (see this link to learn about hair porosity: Porosity Who?) and this new found knowledge has changed the way I care for and style my hair. It seemed that no matter what I did to my hair, it just never got adequate moisture. So my 2013 natural hair resolution is to get MOISTURE, and retain MOISTURE in my strands.

STEP 1: Wash and Condition

I start by co-washing with either an organic or silicone free conditioner.

My conditioners of choice are:

*Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle Conditioner - Can be purchased at Trader Joe's ($3)

*Trader Joe's Nourish Spa Conditioner - Can be purchased at Trader Joe's ($3)

*Treseme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner - Can be purchased at Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Target ($4)

About once a month I use an all natural sulfate-free shampoo or Bentonite Clay to clarify my hair. Bentonite clay is very alkaline so it lifts my cuticles so more moisture can get in the strand and it's also great at picking up build-up from the hair and scalp.

Clarifiers of choice are:

*Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo - Can be purchased at Walgreen's and CVS ($10)

*Aztec Healing Bentonite Clay - Can be purchased at beauty supply stores or online ($5)

STEP 2: After washing my hair, I follow up with a leave-in conditioner.

Leave-in (s) of choice:

*Right now I'm loving the Kimmaytube leave-in conditioner mix (see link for the recipe: Kimmaytube Leave-in)

STEP 3: Next I seal my hair with an oil

My oil of choice:

*100% Grape Seed Oil (I love this oil because it's light and absorbs well into the hair) - Can be purchased at natural food stores like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc. (I bought a big bottle for $15)

* Sweet Almond oil (I add this to my deep conditioner, I explain below) - Natural food stores ($10)

STEP 4: The Next step is to style my hair.

For a Wash n Go, I apply gel to small sections of hair by smoothing and raking it in until my entire head is complete and coated. Then I can go about my day and allow my hair to air dry or I'll use a diffuser for faster drying. For Twist-outs or braid outs, I like to use gel for a super defined look and a thick creme for a nice volumized look.

Stylers of Choice:

*Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel (I LOVE this gel! It doesn't flake, doesn't dry hard, it's extremely moisturizing, and all natural) - Can be purchased at Wal-Mart ($4)

*Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (creme) - Can be purchased at Target, Walgreen's ($10)

Deep Conditioning:

I like to deep conditon once a week EVERY week (this is key to retaining moisture and shine). I Mix 1 cup of Treseme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner, 1 Tablespoon of Grape Seed oil, 1 Tablespoon of Sweet Almond Oil, and 1 Teaspoon of honey. Then I place it in the microwave and WARM up the conditioner for about 10-15 seconds (making sure not to over heat the conditioner as the properties of the ingredients can be destroyed). I warm up the conditioner because this will help to lift my extremely compact cuticles and allow the deep conditioner to penetrate the strands better. Next I apply the conditioner in sections, usually on dry hair, put a plastic cap on, and allow it to penetrate for 30 mins-1 hour. Then I rinse and style as usual.

Tools added:

Yellow Bird blow dryer with a diffuser: Low porosity hair is hard to moisturize because the cuticles are very compact. The use of some heat and alkaline products helps to lift those cuticles so moisture can penetrate the hair strand. The good thing about having low porosity hair is that once the moisture is in, it stays in there for a really long time (yay!). The downside to this are really long drying times. So to avoid going to bed with wet hair and getting styles to set faster, I've added a blow dryer with a diffuser, but I only use it on a warm/cool setting.

Bed Time Prep and how I Maintain my Style:

For a Wash n Go: I put my hair in a pineapple (gathering all of your hair to the top of your head) and put on a satin cap over my hair or I sleep on my satin pillow case. You DO NOT want to sleep on cotton pillow cases because it will absorb all the moisture from your hair and frizz up your hair (you just undid everything you just worked hard for)! In the morning, I take down the pineapple, spritz my hair lightly with some water, shake out curls, and position them how I like. That's it!

For twist outs/braid outs, I spritz my hair with a little bit of water, apply a little more oil and creme, detangle, and re-twist/re-braid. Put my satin cap on and go to bed. In the morning I just un-twist/un-braid my hair, position the curls how I like and again that's it. Pretty simple right?

We'll this concludes my current updated hair regimen. I will keep you guys posted if I add or change anything to my hair regimen. I like to keep it pretty simple yet fabulous. If you decide to try any of these products let me know how they work for you. If you're already using them, let me know like them?

As always stay blessed and beautiful

-Rose

Original article and pictures take therosylifestyle.blogspot.com site