best oils for coarse low porosity hair

[IAgal]

I have coarse low porosity 2c hair that is almost BSL. The ends and canopy get a little dry at times. I see a lot of you use oils on the ends or to seal in moisture. Its mind boggling trying to read about oils so could anyone help give some suggestions for oils that work best with my hair type?? for some reason, coconut oil seems to make my hair feel dry/strawlike...haven't quite figured it out.

if anyone else has hair properties like mine, I'd love to hear any other tips/products that work for you!

[ErinLeigh]

Jojoba may be one to try. It is a great sealing oil (wax) meant to coat not penetrate. It makes strands feel smooth and it seems to help lock in moisture well.
A little goes a long way so even a drop on damp hair is enough to start noticing difference in my opinion.

A penetrating oil that seems to work on folks who do not like coconut oil seems to be avocado oil. This is actually one of my top favorites. I get softness, shine, moisture retention and it appears to help keep my hair strong. It makes a nice pre shampoo oil too I notice.

Mineral oil is another to consider. This one actually blocks more moisture loss than "natural oils." I have yet to try this one out of sheer laziness so I cannot comment personally.

[ravenreed]

My hair is low porosity and doesn't respond all that well to oils in general. Very rarely, I do a pre-wash oiling with argan oil.

[sapphire-o]

Do you mean high porosity? Low porosity would mean your hair is sleek and oils can not be absorbed (my hair is like that). For dry thirsty hair argan oil is great, though a bit expensive.

[ravenreed]

Argan oil is terribly expensive, but it is the only one I have found that gets absorbed at all by my hair. Everything else just sits on top and makes my hair look gross.


Do you mean high porosity? Low porosity would mean your hair is sleek and oils can not be absorbed (my hair is like that). For dry thirsty hair argan oil is great, though a bit expensive.

[chen bao jun]

I'm low porosity. a little heat helps (I put the oil on, usually an SMT and then sit under a dryer cap for a bit) and I used avocado oil and olive oil the most. Coconut sometimes but it works a little less well for me.
I still do have a problem though its improved of the hair being dry and oils sitting on top doing nothing, especially on the ends, and when I haven't washed in a few days.

[Scarlet_Heart]

I have coarse low porosity 2c hair that is almost BSL. The ends and canopy get a little dry at times. I see a lot of you use oils on the ends or to seal in moisture. Its mind boggling trying to read about oils so could anyone help give some suggestions for oils that work best with my hair type?? for some reason, coconut oil seems to make my hair feel dry/strawlike...haven't quite figured it out.

if anyone else has hair properties like mine, I'd love to hear any other tips/products that work for you!

I'm still not totally clear on the porosity thing (what it means), but my hair is very coarse and, like yours, it doesn't like coconut oil too much. What it does like are the thicker, greasier oils like olive and mineral oil. And petroleum jelly on my ends has been terrific. Sometimes I comb the petroleum jelly through my length and that always turns out nice. It makes my hair wavier.

[Scarlet_Heart]

Jojoba may be one to try. It is a great sealing oil (wax) meant to coat not penetrate. It makes strands feel smooth and it seems to help lock in moisture well.
A little goes a long way so even a drop on damp hair is enough to start noticing difference in my opinion.

A penetrating oil that seems to work on folks who do not like coconut oil seems to be avocado oil. This is actually one of my top favorites. I get softness, shine, moisture retention and it appears to help keep my hair strong. It makes a nice pre shampoo oil too I notice.

Mineral oil is another to consider. This one actually blocks more moisture loss than "natural oils." I have yet to try this one out of sheer laziness so I cannot comment personally.

Oops I see ErinLeigh beat me to the mineral oil recommendation. But I think that's a good idea and something to try. Just keep it away from your scalp (can look greasy). As far as being lazy about it, I use my son's baby oil. It's just mineral oil and a little fragrance which doesn't seem to bother my hair at all. And I love the smell. :cloud9:


Do you mean high porosity? Low porosity would mean your hair is sleek and oils can not be absorbed (my hair is like that). For dry thirsty hair argan oil is great, though a bit expensive.

Oh is that what it means? Sheesh after all these years on LHC and the porosity subject always mystified me, lol. Well then yes, my hair is highly porous. It needs lots of thick/greasy oil on the length. Or cones sometimes.

[florenonite]

Do you mean high porosity? Low porosity would mean your hair is sleek and oils can not be absorbed (my hair is like that). For dry thirsty hair argan oil is great, though a bit expensive.

I'm pretty sure my hair's low porosity, but it does like a small amount of oiling. It works best if I apply it overnight to let it slowly seep in.

[ravenreed]

If your hair absorbs everything in sight, it might have high porosity. Porosity relates to how porous someone's hair is. The more porous something is the more little holes it has and the more absorbent it is. In the case of hair, this is probably due to lifted cuticles. Those of us with low porosity have hair that doesn't want to absorb anything. So things like oils just sit on top and make our hair look lanky and greasy without improving the overall condition much. HTH!

[chen bao jun]

Thanks for the good explanation Ravenreed.
There are various tests of hair porosity (if you google around there's one involving putting a hair in water and seeing how fast it sinks) but basically, it is what Ravenreed said. Your hair is always dry and products you apply just sit on top of the dryness and don't penetrate. So you can have the fun situation of dry, unhealthy and greasy hair quite easily.
You are also probably the person whose hair won't dye or whose perms won't take. Same situation. Everything sits on top, nothing goes in.
As I said, heat can help to some extent. If I want something to penetrate my hair, I put it on and then sit under a dryer (or heat cap) for a bit. Opens those cuticles at least slightly.
it seems to often go with the hair being coarse.
The really penetrating oils are olive, avocado and coconut. I have had a certain amount of luck with butters like shea butter and cocoa utter also. if you're not using heat, sometimes putting things on the hair at night and giving them all those hours to penetrate can help. But as I said, I all too often have greasy hair. Knowing it needs moisturizing (curls need heavy moisturizing, so low porosity and dense curls is a lousy combination) and hoping that by the end of the day something will make it inside the hair shaft. Sometimes it does--and by the evening I'm desert dry again. Especially those ends. But a lot of the time the evening finds me dry and still greasy.

[molljo]

Can I ask how you're using the oils? I find that doing a heavy pre-wash overnight oiling and then a very light oiling post wash on dripping hair to seal in moisture is the best way for me to use oils. Any other time during my wash cycle tends to not work well at all.

[Chamomile betty]

I use Monoi Tiare Tahiti . Found on good ol'd Amazon and it's the unscented kind.
Also, in my rotation is it the Shea Moisture Tahitian Noni & Monoi Smooth & Repair High Shine Glosser. You can find it at Target, Sallys, Rite Aide.

Olive oil didn't do much for my hair. Great for taking off makeup though ;)

[IAgal]

Thanks for all the replies! With "coarse" I mean each individual hair is thick/wide and I had my hair tested and it showed low porosity. it takes a long time to dry and things tend to sit on my hair rather than absorb so its hard to moisturize the length/canopy that is dry. I just saw that so many of you "oil your length" after showering so I was interested in which ones might be best for my type of hair, so thank you for all the responses. For those that have the problem with oils just sitting on your hair and not absorbing or making hair look greasy-what do you use to moisturize your hair? I've tried pre shampoo oiling and that seems to help but wasn't sure what to use after washing my hair.

[ExpectoPatronum]

For a while, I was adding a few drops of oil (I think I used coconut) to my conditioner when I conditioned my hair in the shower and that seemed to work. I have low porosity hair too. I find jojoba oil to work well for me. I do overnight oilings with just a tiny amount. Too much, and my hair will be greasy. I think that's really the key for us with lower porosity - less is definitely more!

[florenonite]

Thanks for all the replies! With "coarse" I mean each individual hair is thick/wide and I had my hair tested and it showed low porosity. it takes a long time to dry and things tend to sit on my hair rather than absorb so its hard to moisturize the length/canopy that is dry. I just saw that so many of you "oil your length" after showering so I was interested in which ones might be best for my type of hair, so thank you for all the responses. For those that have the problem with oils just sitting on your hair and not absorbing or making hair look greasy-what do you use to moisturize your hair? I've tried pre shampoo oiling and that seems to help but wasn't sure what to use after washing my hair.

I don't oil post-shampoo; it's too easy to overdo it. I only use oil (or, recently, Nightblooming's Panacea salve) on dry hair.

[sapphire-o]

Thanks for all the replies! With "coarse" I mean each individual hair is thick/wide and I had my hair tested and it showed low porosity. it takes a long time to dry and things tend to sit on my hair rather than absorb so its hard to moisturize the length/canopy that is dry. I just saw that so many of you "oil your length" after showering so I was interested in which ones might be best for my type of hair, so thank you for all the responses. For those that have the problem with oils just sitting on your hair and not absorbing or making hair look greasy-what do you use to moisturize your hair? I've tried pre shampoo oiling and that seems to help but wasn't sure what to use after washing my hair.

OK I have sleek hair. I don't really use oils. My hair doesn't really get dry. Very occasionally I use a blend before wash. Usually emu oil based. If you have strong hair with tight cuticles and it feels dry, it's very likely that it's coated and needs a good clarifying on the whole length to remove build-up. Especially if you've been experimenting with oils, the "dryness" is probably old oil gunk. My hair is very slippery once it's perfectly clean.

[carrielynn]

I have almost-coarse (higher end of medium) and medium to low porosity hair (got mine tested too), and I just have never had ANY luck with oils. At all. I've tried coconut, jojoba, and olive, before, during, and after showering. My hair hates straight oils. If it's mixed in something, it does better. But beware that oiling is just not for everyone.

If I remember correctly, oiling does not do anything for the moisture content of hair. If your hair's moisture level is where it should be, it will be absorbing and holding onto water, not oil. Conditioners, and other products with similar ingredients, are what help the most to truly moisturize hair.

[IAgal]

OK I have sleek hair. I don't really use oils. My hair doesn't really get dry. Very occasionally I use a blend before wash. Usually emu oil based. If you have strong hair with tight cuticles and it feels dry, it's very likely that it's coated and needs a good clarifying on the whole length to remove build-up. Especially if you've been experimenting with oils, the "dryness" is probably old oil gunk. My hair is very slippery once it's perfectly clean.



What do you use to clarify with? Can I ask what you use for shampoo/conditioner? I figure my hair must be dry cuz it can be so undefined/poofy without any product. probably because of the waves/curls.

[IAgal]

I have almost-coarse (higher end of medium) and medium to low porosity hair (got mine tested too), and I just have never had ANY luck with oils. At all. I've tried coconut, jojoba, and olive, before, during, and after showering. My hair hates straight oils. If it's mixed in something, it does better. But beware that oiling is just not for everyone.

If I remember correctly, oiling does not do anything for the moisture content of hair. If your hair's moisture level is where it should be, it will be absorbing and holding onto water, not oil. Conditioners, and other products with similar ingredients, are what help the most to truly moisturize hair.

What products do you use carrielynn?

[IAgal]

Can I ask how you're using the oils? I find that doing a heavy pre-wash overnight oiling and then a very light oiling post wash on dripping hair to seal in moisture is the best way for me to use oils. Any other time during my wash cycle tends to not work well at all.

What oils do you use for the pre wash and which one/ones do you use post wash may I ask?

[carrielynn]

What products do you use carrielynn?
Honestly I'm still experimenting. Mostly I use one of the Shea Moisture shampoos, then whichever conditioner I happen to grab first -- cones, no cones, whatever -- working my way through things like Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture, Yes to Carrots, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. Then because I'm a wavy, I do use a leave-in conditioner, either some of the conditioner I just rinsed out or something like Shea Moisture Milk, and finish with flax seed gel.

I've been trying to keep a hair journal, just a spreadsheet where I write down what products I use along with their ingredients on any given wash day, and record the results, and hopefully I'll find a pattern based on ingredients about what my hair does and doesn't like.

[IAgal]

Honestly I'm still experimenting. Mostly I use one of the Shea Moisture shampoos, then whichever conditioner I happen to grab first -- cones, no cones, whatever -- working my way through things like Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture, Yes to Carrots, Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. Then because I'm a wavy, I do use a leave-in conditioner, either some of the conditioner I just rinsed out or something like Shea Moisture Milk, and finish with flax seed gel.

I've been trying to keep a hair journal, just a spreadsheet where I write down what products I use along with their ingredients on any given wash day, and record the results, and hopefully I'll find a pattern based on ingredients about what my hair does and doesn't like.



thankyou! I should keep a journal also! do you make your own flaxseed gel?