Restore Hair Porosity to Dry Hair

by Ramona
(Virginia)

How can I keep my hair moisturized? My hair is natural or virgin hair: not colored, no heat appliances, not relaxed. Yet, my hair is so porous that my hair can dry within an hour without a towel. It's hard to keep my hair moisturized. Yet, oils and butters make my hair greasy and hard. I do deep conditioner treatments, but afterward my hair is dry again. I use leave-in conditioners, but I haven't found one that works on my hair (wet or dry) without leaving a residue and providing moisture to my hair. Please help!

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Poor hair porosity is an issue that many people deal with. When your hair won't hold moisture, you have a problem with your hair cuticles. If your hair cuticles are raised and not closed, moisture flows out of your hair as easily as it's absorbed. That can lead to fly away hair and/or frizzy hair. The answer is to close the cuticle which helps to correct hair porosity.

Fillers are used in color applications to correct hair porosity but you can also use fillers on virgin or damaged hair.

One way to correct hair porosity is to use protein treatments occasionally. These work well because they build up hair (which helps to lay down the cuticles) and 'fill in' any weak areas. This gives your hair much more tensile strength, which is also a problem with hair that has poor porosity.

One note of caution about using too many protein treatments though. You can overdo a good thing! Too many protein treatments can make your hair dry and brittle. That's why I always recommend that you use protein treatments with moisture.

Hair color glazes are also a great product to use. Treatments will last about a month if you condition your hair when you shampoo. If you don't color your hair, you can use the clear versions of the products. Hair glazes are a great way to protect your hair after you've used protein treatments. Two products I like a lot are Sebastian Cellophanes and Redkin Shades EQ.

Shea butter is also a great way to restore hair porosity. Use shea butter conditioners regularly, to help build protein and add moisture.