Have you ever wondered why certain hair products do not work for your hair the same as they worked for others? Have you ever spent hours on end watching countless videos of your favorite influencers reviewing their favorite hair care products and wondering why it doesn’t work the same for you? I have fallen victim to spending hundreds of dollars on hair products my favorite influencers use but end up being disappointed 90% of the time because I did not receive the same amazing results they did. Being the research girly that I am, I stumbled upon an article, ultimately giving me all the answers to my questions and helped me better understand the reasoning behind why these products are not giving me the same results as they may others.
In order to find the perfect hair routine and achieve your desired hair goals, it is essential that you have a solid understanding of your hair and its specific needs. The best way to understand your hair type and its specific needs is by knowing your hair porosity. Hair porosity measures and determines how porous your hair strands are. Knowing your hair’s porosity is crucial as it helps you best determine how much liquid your hair absorbs. Additionally, having knowledge on your hair’s porosity is important and can make a huge difference in the way you care for your curls and how you apply products to those beautiful curls. Without knowledge of your hair’s porosity, you can fall victim to purchasing countless haircare products and spending money on a variety of products that, in the end, potentially end up not catering specifically to your hair’s needs or porosity type.
It is important to note that there are three porosity types including high, medium, and low. Individuals with high porosity hair types experience gaps within their hair shafts due to their cuticles being wide open. Highly porous hair is common in color-treated, relaxed, or damaged hair due to chemicals stripping the strand of its structure. Individuals with medium porosity hair types are considered the same as having normal hair. The cuticles of healthy hair are neither too open nor too close. Those that have medium hair porosity most likely do need to make any changes to their hair routine because the strands are already healthy. Individuals with high porosity hair types experience their cuticles being completely shut, ultimately making it hard for the hair to absorb water and other healthy nutrients. Though their hair strands have very few gaps within the hair’s shaft, the strands are still brittle and more prone to break.
In order to determine your hair’s porosity, you can either do the hair porosity test or analyze how your hair responds to products to determine your hair’s porosity. The hair porosity test is very simple. All you need to do is get a small glass of room-temperature water, place a clean strand of your hair in the glass of water, and watch to see if the hair floats, sinks, or stays centered in the middle. If your hair floats, you have low porosity hair; if your hair stays in the middle, you have medium/normal porosity hair; and if your hair sinks, you have high porosity hair. If you prefer the other method and choose to analyze how your hair responds to products, you can best determine your hair’s porosity through the following characteristics:
Common Characteristics for Low Porosity Hair:
- Product Sits on Hair
- Hair is Shiny
- Hair Takes Forever to Dry
- Hair is Dry and Breaks Easily
Common Characteristics of High Porosity Hair:
- Moisture Enters and Leaves Immediately
- Hair is Dry, Dull, or Color-Treated
- Hair Tangles Quickly
The best and most effective way to purchase the right hair care products that tailor to your hair’s specific needs is by determining your hair porosity. By understanding your hair’s structure and discovering products that best cater to your hair’s needs, you are destined to achieve your hair goals. But don’t worry, I got you covered! Take a look at some of the best hair products that cater specifically to your hair porosity, and of course, they’re Black-owned!
TONAL Beauty’s Top Picks
Low Porosity Hair Products
Rosemary Mint Strengthening Leave-In Conditioner
Brand: Mielle Organics
Retail Price: $9.99
How it Works: The Rosemary Mint Strengthening Leave-In Conditioner was developed to meet your hair’s needs. Infused with Biotin and Rosemary, this leave-in hydrates while protecting and moisturizing.
Pomegranate & Honey Moisturizing & Detangling Shampoo
Brand: Mielle Organics
Retail Price: $12.99
How it Works: Tackle wash day with a Type 4 hair product made just for you. Mielle’s Pomegranate & Honey Moisturizing and Detangling Shampoo uses fresh ingredients like honey and babassu oil to lift dirt and oil from your hair while preserving much needed moisture. This shampoo works into a luxurious lather and has an amazing scent. Nothing works better at loosening tangles and adding slip.
Brand: PATTERN Beauty
Retail Price: $25
How it Works: The Intensive Conditioner, the richest of PATTERN’s ultra-hydrating conditioner formulas where tighter textures can seriously indulge. Perfect for low porosity hair struggling to get moisture to seep into strands, our powerful formula is packed with ingredients like Avocado Oil, Shea Butter, Safflower Oil & Acacia Decurrens Flower to help protect against breakage & dryness while leaving definition behind after rinse-out. Restore your curl pattern in this deep-conditioning experience.
Medium/Normal Porosity Hair Products
Brand: Camille Rose Naturals
Retail Price: $12
How it Works: Camille Rose’s Sweet Ginger Cleansing Rinse is an enlightening hair cleanser with natural notes of sweet ginger and lemon peel, leaving the hair soft, healthy, and clean.
Moroccan Pear Conditioning Custard
Brand: Camille Rose Naturals
Retail Price: $12
How it Works: Sweetly restore your hair strands with Moroccan Pear, a culinary cocktail conditioner infused with sweet Moroccan pear and cherry kernel oils crafted to nurture dry strands and promote accelerated hair growth with potent B vitamins.
Brand: PATTERN Beauty
Retail Price: $25
How it Works: The Medium Conditioner is geared towards both curly & coily hair textures looking for hydration, slippage & curl definition. Your curls will dance to their own unique rhythm after conditioning. Featuring a hearty blend of Jojoba Oil & Olive Oil, our Medium Conditioner is great for keeping low to normal porosity curls nourished & defined yet not weighed down. Let your curls flourish.
High Porosity Hair Products
Buriti Nectar Repair Cholesterol Treatment
Brand: Camille Rose Naturals
Retail Price: $15.99
How it Works: Camille Rose Natural’s modern take on the “CHOLESTEROL” hair treatment is updated with exotic Amazonian Buriti fruit oil in an Omega 3, 6, and 9 blend crafted to repair TEXTURED hair. Dry, limp and brittle strands damaged from heat styling, color treatments, or lack of moisture are renewed and left supremely nourished, soft, shiny and lustrous
Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner
Brand: Mielle Organics
Retail Price: $13.99
How it Works: Derived from an Amazonian palm fruit, babassu oil contains high concentrations of sterols and tocopherols to moisturize and improve hair and scalp. That’s why it’s one of the main ingredients of this hair conditioner with organic ingredients. Our Babassu Oil & Mint Deep Conditioner is enriched with fatty acids and natural oils, as well as complex amino acids from wheat, soy, and other all-natural ingredients, to help hydrate and replenish your hair.
Brand: PATTERN Beauty
Retail Price: $9
How it Works: This curl defining cream provides superior moisture penetration & the ideal oil-rich, touchable hold when setting a range of curl type and hair styles including twist outs, braid outs, bantu knots, wash-&-gos & more. Essential elements of Shea Butter, Cacay Oil & Sweet Almond Oil nourish the hair to promote hair retention while preventing breakage or damage.
Cover Art: @artpce
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