How To Take Care Of Your Low Porous Hair? (2024)

Is your hair difficult to manage? Your hair cuticles [1] are an important aspect of your hair that determine its ability to absorb moisture. So, what happens when these cuticles are tightly overlapped?

Closely compacted hair cuticles indicate low porous hair that fails to retain moisture or hydration. This makes your hair unmanageable. However, you can follow simple hair care hacks to manage them.

Let’s take a closer look at what low porous hair is and how you can manage them with effective hair care tips.

What Is Low Porosity Hair?

Hair porosity is defined as the absorption capacity of your hair shaft. The cuticles form an outermost layer of your hair shaft structure that protects the inner layers, cortex, and medulla. In low porous hair, the cuticles are tightly packed together with no space between them, which blocks the moisture or water to enter the inner layers of your hair shaft. Also, your hair fails to absorb the products you apply such as hair oil, conditioner or masks, eventually leading to the product buildup.

In Ayurvedic terms, we consider a low porous hair as the result of aggravation of Kapha dosha. “Genetic factors play a predominant role in the development of low porous hair. People with innate Kapha Prakriti are more likely to have it accompanied by over sebum production,” says Dr. Zeel Gandhi, Chief Ayurvedic Doctor at Vedix.

What Does Low Porosity Hair Look Like?

Without product build-up, low porous hair can be oily and lustrous. Otherwise, it looks matted, greasy with a rubbery texture. Also, without moisture retention, low porous hair eventually turns brittle from inside and prone to breakage.

What Are The Characteristics Of Low Porosity Hair?

• Low porous hair repels water and it makes you take a longer time to wash your hair properly.
• Your hair takes a longer time to dry.
• Often, you find the products getting built-up on your hair, making it heavier.

Researchers claim that abundance of fatty acid, anteiso-18-methyl eicosanoic acid (18-MEA) [2], that is covalently binding the cuticle cells is predominantly responsible for the hydrophobic properties (repulsive to moisture) in low porous hair.

How To Know If You Have Low Porosity Hair?

Shampoo and rinse your hair well to eliminate any built-up of products and sebum. Let your hair get dried completely. Now, pluck a hair strand and put it into a glass of water. If your hair strand floats at the top of the water, then it indicates that you have low porous hair.

How To Take Care Of Low Porosity Hair?

1. Hair Oils For Low Porosity Hair

Low porous hair will get along well with light hair oils which have tiny saturated fatty acid molecules. You can use light oils such as argan, almond, or jojoba oil as a carrier oil, which can penetrate well into low porous hair and nourish the inner layers below cuticles. Ayurveda recommends herbal ingredients in your hair oil that promote Pitta dosha (hot, light, and deep penetrating) to balance the elevated Kapha and Vata doshas in low porous hair.

Kapha-Vata balancing herbs that your hair oil can contain:

• Gunja(roasepea)
• Brahmi(bacopa monnieri)
• Devdar(cedar)
• Sariyaka(barleria prionitis)
• Ashwagandha(withania somnifera)
• Kushta(Indian costus)
• Bakuchi(psoralea corylifolia)
• Karanja(pongamia pinnata)

2. Best Shampoos For Low Porosity Hair

When you have low porous hair, your shampoo needs to be efficient enough to deal with the product build-up and excess of sebum[3] that accumulates on your hair shaft as well as scalp. However, opting for shampoos that contain sulfates and parabens for their intensive cleansing action would be a bad idea as they may cause extreme dehydration to your scalp and hair.

Ayurveda recommends shampoos with herbs that control oil and sebum production in your scalp tissues, besides working to moisturize your hair shaft simultaneously.

Some of the Ayurvedic cleansing herbal ingredients for low porous hair:

• Kumari(aloe vera)
• Bhringraj(eclipta alba)
• Gunja(rosepea)
• Methika(fenugreek)
• Tulsi(basil)
• Jyotishmati(staff tree)
• Nimbuka(citrus)

“You can also add a few drops of essential oils such as sage, carrot seed, grape seed oil, etc. in your shampoos which have deep penetration and moisturizing properties,” says Dr. Zeel.

3. Conditioning Masks For Low Porosity Hair

A. Lodhra-Amla Mask

Mix lodhra and amla powders in equal parts and add an adequate amount of water to form a fine paste as per your hair length. Apply the paste to your hair and wash it off properly after 20-30 minutes.

B. Clay Mask

Mix a cup of bentonite clay[4] with 1/2 cup of aloe vera water and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar. Prepare a smooth paste and apply it from your roots to tips. Leave it for half an hour and rinse thoroughly using a hydrating herbal shampoo.

C. Chandana Mask

Mix 1-2 spoons of sandalwood powder and a spoon of lemon juice. Now, add an adequate amount of water to the mixture to make a fine paste. Apply it to your hair and wash it off with lukewarm water after half an hour.

Vedix Tip:Steaming your hair helps to open up your hair cuticles, thus enhancing the absorption of hydrating herbs. Hence, wrap your hair with a towel soaked in hot water after applying hair oil or a hair mask. Later, wash your hair with cold water to seal in the moisture absorbed.

4. Home Remedies For Low Porosity Hair

A. Banana-Honey

Blend ¼ of a ripen banana with a spoon of warm honey and apply the mixture to your hair. Leave it for 5-10 minutes and then rinse your hair properly with normal water.

B. Baking Soda

Add 1-2 spoons of baking soda to2-4 liters of warm water. Mix well until the baking soda is dissolved completely and pour it over your hair. Put a plastic hair wrap and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Now, rinse your hair again with warm water thoroughly followed by applying a deep herbal conditioner.

C. Rice Water Starch

Pour diluted rice water starch on your hair. Wait for 10-15 minutes and then wash it off properly with normal water.

“Do not use concentrated rice water starch on low porous hair. But, you can use a diluted solution as it minimizes the protein concentration [5]. Also, do not treat your low porous hair with rice water more than once a month,”says Dr. Zeel.

5. Avoid Protein Treatments For Low Porous Hair

Usually, protein treatments tend to decrease the moisture and increase the lipid percentage in your hair shaft, which is exactly the opposite of what a low porous hair requires. Hence, until your hair porosity is increased to a medium level, it is better to stay away from any kind of protein treatments.

How To Moisturize Low Porosity Hair Daily?

It is better for people with low porous hair to shampoo their hair with lukewarm water on alternate days as it keeps the sebum and product build-up under control while the warm water turns the cuticles soft and flexible. Also, use hair products that are light in weight and contain humectants such as honey, glycerin, etc. to keep their hair moisturized.

“You can put a freshly made aloe vera solution or rose water into a spray bottle and use it as a natural hair mist daily to provide a long-lasting hydration for your hair,” says Dr. Zeel.

Important Note:

Please seek your Ayurvedic doctor’s advice before using any herbal treatments mentioned in this article to treat your low porous hair.

The Last Word

Besides washing and moisturizing your hair, you may find it difficult to style your hair when it has low porosity. However, your maintenance of low porous hair may become easier with the right Ayurvedic herbal treatments. At Vedix, we evaluate your current doshas and hair conditions to customize an Ayurvedic hair care regimen for your unique hair needs.

Know Your Dosha Now