I was thinking about hair porosity the other day, and I noticed that there are many articles and information on low and high porosity strands, but not so many on medium (normal) porosity strands.
Now, I’m assuming that it may be because “normal” porosity is considered well, normal , and really do not need many informative articles. Or it could be that most people tend to be either low porosity or high porosity so that is always where the focus has been.
Whatever the case may be, I noticed the gaping hole and lack of information and thought that it’s about time that we show the normal stranded ladies some love.
Like all of us , with various porosity levels, knowing the dos and the must haves of our particular porosity can be beneficial for all of us throughout our hair journey. Do you have medium – porosity hair strands? If you do check out the dos and the must haves below that can improve your hair regimen!
1. Incorporate Products that Enhance Your Moisture and Protein Balance
Moisture-Protein Balance products are a must for medium porosity hair. Due to medium porosity hair being the best of both worlds, it can easily, gain characteristics of low porosity or high porosity over time, based on whether you use too much heat and chemicals or too much protein. That is why it is super important to use conditioners, leave ins, cleansers, etc. that can maintain your normal porosity level.
How to:
To keep a moisture-protein balance, you do not necessarily have to have all of your products be a mix of protein and moisture. You can just have one part of your regimen be the balance for your strands.
For example, for your pre-poo, you can use ORS Replenishing Conditioner which is a great protein based conditioner and then have the rest of your regimen be based off of moisture. You can also just leave your regimen the same, and incorporate a protein-moisture based leave in* such as Lacio-Lacio to keep things in check.
Additionally, be aware of your strand size. Fine hair can most definitely benefit from constant amounts of light protein, but coarse medium- porosity hair would probably only need a protein treatment every 6-8 weeks and have a normal regimen of mostly moisture filled products.
2. Light Oils (Such as Grapeseed*, Safflower, etc.)
Since most of us with medium porosity strands have minor problems when it comes to keeping our strands moist, heavy oils and butters* might not be necessary.
Oils such as Grapeseed, Sweet Almond oil*, and Safflower oil can get the job done. These oils are great sealants, will not leave your hair feeling mushy due to overly moisturized strands, and will not weigh your strands down like castor oil* or heavy butters* and pomades can tend to do.
How To:
Like other sealants, these oils work best on hair that is damp or have already been moisturized. Also, a little can go a long way so be careful to not use a lot or these oils like others can potentially weigh down your precious strands.
For some ladies, oil is a big no no in their hair regimen. This, however, can be highly based on the individual and their strand size. For ladies with fine strands, oil may not be needed in their hair regimen. But, for coarse-stranded ladies, oils may be key in helping their hair thrive.
3. Avoid Over-moisturizing
For us natural hair gals and even hair that is chemically altered, moisturizing our hair is top priority which keeps our elasticity on point and helps us to retain length.
But sometimes, for some of us, “moisturizing daily” thing can be a bit overboard and our strands and our progress can pay the price. Over-moisturized hair is caused by either using too many moisture based products or overusing moisturizing techniques on your hair.
Ladies with medium porosity strands can fall victim to this due to the fact that medium porosity strands naturally have minor problems with retaining and receiving moisture. Overdoing this can cause major issues.
How to:
To avoid over-moisturizing, you can get away with moisturizing your hair every other day or by using the LOC or LCO method. The LOC (liquid, oil, and cream) and LCO (liquid, cream, and oil) are effective moisturizing methods in keeping the hair moisturized for 2-3 days, sometimes for 4 or 5 days.
Products that you can use for an effective outcome with the LCO method can be: a glycerin based spritz, then a bit of Shea, Mango, or Aloe butter, and then an oil like Grapeseed* or Safflower oil.
A mix like this can keep your hair moisturized for days on end. For the LOC method, you can use similar products with the exception of switching the application of the your cream and oil products. Do you have medium porosity hair? Share your comments below.
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