Hair porosity refers to the ability of your Hair to absorb and hold moisture. High hair porosity means your hair shaft has gaps and tears that allow hair to absorb and lose moisture easily. Normal porous hair absorbs water effectively and retains it for a considerable period.

Having low hair porosity means the shaft is tightly closed and does not allow moisture, oils, or haircare products to get easily absorbed to benefit the hair.

Low moisture absorbency can make it difficult for you to maintain or style your hair. However, using Low Porosity Hair products can help. In this post, MomJunction gives you a list of the best low porosity hair products designed to help make your hair healthy and shiny.

13 Best Low Porosity Hair Products

1. Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo

Low porosity hair will also have difficulty absorbing the products you use for hair care, leading to buildup that tends to weigh your hair down. Hence, it is important to opt for a clarifying shampoo that will keep your hair and scalp clean and healthy. This anti-residue shampoo claims to rinse away buildup and help add volume.

Pros:

• The mild formula does not cause skin irritation
• Does not contain dyes or colorants
• Also suitable for chemically treated hair

Cons:

• Contains SLS
• May not be ideal for sensitive scalp

2. Thank God It’s Natural (tgin) Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer

Fortified with the goodness of shea butter, this daily hair moisturizer claims to promote hair growth and controls hair loss. It helps reduce frizz and adds shine to hair.

Pros:

• Shea butter keeps the moisture locked
• Vitamin E and cocoa butter help strengthen hair
• Makes hair smooth without making it greasy
• Helps tame flyaways
• Suitable for thick curly hair

Cons:

• May not suit a sensitive scalp
• Can weigh down hair

3. The Mane Choice Conditioner

This hair conditioner claims to improve the elasticity of hair. It is infused with ingredients such as biotin and tea tree that help make the hair thick and strong.

Pros:

• Contains vitamin A, B, C, D, and E along with biotin and tea tree oil
• Helps refresh and replenish hair
• Can be used as a leave-in conditioner and even hair detangler
• Free of mineral oils, petrolatum, parabens, sulfates, and formaldehyde

Cons:

• Tends to leave a residue when used as a leave-in conditioner

4. Carol’s Daughter Almond Milk Leave-In Conditioner

Low porosity hair often tends to be dry due to a lack of nourishment. This leave-in conditioner claims to moisturize dry and damaged hair. Its combination of almond oil, aloe, and shea butter can helps strengthen and smoothen the hair.

Pros:

• Lightweight formula strengthens the hair
• Soya bean oil helps absorb and retain moisture in the hair
• Help manage and detangle dry, damaged hair
• Boosts bounce and shine in hair
• Free of paraben, petroleum, mineral oil

Cons:

• The smell may be a bit strong for some
• May not be effective on extremely coarse hair

5. Pure Nature Lux SpaArgan Oil Hair Mask

With argan oil as its star ingredient, this hair mask claims to deep condition the hair to make it soft and shiny. Since argan oil is light, it will not cause product buildup or weight down your hair like other oils. It also contains the hydrating blend of jojoba oil, collagen protein, and hydrolyzed keratin that strengthen the hair.

Pros:

• Argan kernel oil tames frizzy hair
• Jojoba oil helps retain moisture
• Hydrolyzed keratin helps hydrate hair
• Also suitable for color-treated hair

Cons:

• Gritty consistency could make application inconvenient
• Could dry out hair in some cases

6. Aunt Jackie’s Quench, Moisture Intensive Leave-in Conditioner

Fortified with shea butter and olive oil, this moisture intensive leave-in conditioner claims to replenish dry hair. Its formula, containing natural ingredients, helps keep curls and coils bouncy and healthy.

Pros:

• Helps fight dryness
• The slippery texture of marshmallow roots makes detangling hair easy and quick
• Extra virgin olive oil helps deeply nourish hair
• Free of paraben, petrolatum, mineral oil and sulfate

Cons:

• May not be able to control the frizz fully
• Can leave hair a little dry

7. Design Essentials Natural Honey Curl Forming Custard

We know how difficult it is to maintain those lively, bouncy curls, and hence added this curl forming custard to this list. Enriched with honey and chamomile, this hair custard claims to enhance the texture of all kinds of curls.

Pros:

• Honey helps moisturize low porosity hair
• Chamomile helps make the hair smooth and shiny
• Helps fight shrinkage and frizz
• Free of parabens, paraffin, petrolatum, mineral oil

Cons:

• Can be difficult to wash out
• Tends to leave a residue after drying

8. Camille Rose Naturals Curl Love Moisture Milk

Formulated with natural oils, butter, and milk, this moisture milk claims to provide intense nourishment. Its moisturizing formula helps add life to curly and coiled hair.

Pros:

• Moisture lasts long
• Makes hair shiny and soft
• Suitable for all types of hair

Cons:

• Can leave residue behind after drying

9. Majestic Pure Avocado and Coconut Hair Mask

Enriched with biotin, this hair mask claims to thicken hair and deep condition it. This sulfate-free formula is suitable for all hair types.

Pros:

• Lightweight avocado oil moisturizes hair without weighing it down
• Shea butter nourishes hair and leaves it smooth
• Coconut oil easily penetrates the hair shaft and makes it soft and manageable
• Safe to use on colored hair

Cons:

• May not suit sensitive scalp

10. SheaMoisture Baobab & Tea Tree Oils Low Porosity Hydro-Infusion Shampoo

Boasting of a formula containing shea butter, baobab, and tea tree oils, this clarifying shampoo claims to cleanse hair while nourishing it. This sulfate-free shampoo ensures that dry and lackluster hair looks healthy and shiny

Pros:

• Spearmint oil helps stimulate the scalp to boost hair growth
• Clary sage can make hair silky and shiny
• Baobab oil deeply nourishes, and hydrates dry the hair
• Tea tree oil helps soothe the scalp
• Free of parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, and petroleum

Cons:

• Fragrance can be overwhelming for a sensitive nose
• Can dry out the scalp

11. ApHogeeCurlific Moisture Rich Leave-In

Detangling and styling textured hair can be a serious task, but not with this leave-in conditioner. This conditioner claims to moisturize curly hair so it can detangle and style easily.

Pros:

• Shea butter helps moisturize dry hair and make it soft
• Can detangle hair easily to make styling smooth

Cons:

• Can leave a white residue after drying

12. OGX Replenishing + Water Cream Hydrating Treatment

Created to suit low porosity hair, this water cream claims to hydrate hair, so it does not look or feel dry. It can nourish hair, so it becomes shiny and healthy.

Pros:

• Helps add volume to hair
• Smoothen dry hair strands
• Also suitable for colored hair

Cons:

• Contains alcohol

13. Latinoil Chia Oil Hair Mask Treatment

Specially formulated for low porosity hair, this hair mask claims to fortify hair and seal open ends. It can help get rid of split ends and make hair shiny and healthy.

Pros:

• Helps nourish and repair damaged hair
• Softens and smoothens hair
• Can help detangle artificial hair too
• Also suited for chemically-treated and colored hair

Cons:

• May not suit every buyer

What Are The Signs Of Low Porosity Hair?

If you are not sure of the porosity of your hair, you can determine the same through this simple and common ‘water test’.

Take a glass of regular water and drop a strand of your hair in it. If your hair sinks quickly to the bottom of the glass, then it means that your hair has high porosity. If it sinks slowly and stops midway in the glass, then it has normal porosity. If it does not sink at all and remains floating on the surface, it means that it has low porosity.

Other than this, low porosity hair exhibits the following characteristics:

• Does not get wet easily
• Wet hair does not dry quickly
• Products tend to build up on hair instead of getting absorbed
• Lacks elasticity
• Most likely to have dandruff since product buildup contributes to lack of a clean scalp

What Causes Low Hair Porosity?

Low hair porosity is usually caused due to genetics, as other factors such as chemical treatments or exposure to heat do not affect hair porosity.

How To Find Best Low Porosity Hair Products?

Not all products come with the label indicating that they are suitable for hair with low porosity. So, you have to judge every product based entirely on its ingredients.

With hair cuticles tightly bound, it is difficult for hair products to penetrate the hair shaft easily. It is essential you treat your hair to products containing moisturizing oils that are high on fatty acids such as lauric and caprylic acids. Natural ingredients such as shea butter, avocado oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, and aloe vera are known to penetrate the hair shaft and nourish hair easily.

These ingredients can effectively penetrate through the shaft and moisturize your hair. You can also look for hair milk formulae that are light on the hair and do not weigh it down.

To ensure good health of hair with low porosity, you must avoid using products high in protein content. It is because such products tend to build up and leave the hair feeling stiff. It better to opt for products without protein or with relatively less protein and look for moisture-retaining ingredients such as honey or glycerin.

How Often Should You Wash Low Porosity Hair?

This depends on how your hair behaves after every wash. If your scalp tends to get oily easily, you may need to wash it more often. If you are using a clarifying shampoo that keeps your head free of buildup for a long time, then can wash it once a week.

We hope these tips and products help keep your low porosity hair healthy and shiny. Do you have any personal tips for maintaining hair with low porosity? Do share with us in the comments section below.

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