Are you a curly girl who has been fighting brittle or dry hair this winter season? Before you go out and grab as many products as you can fit in your cart, let’s compare the various types of hair oils and butters that are used in moisturizers to determine which will be best for you.

Knowing your hair’s porosity can help you choose the right products to keep your hair well-moisturized, supple, strong, and shiny during the transitional periods.

What is porosity?

Your porosity level refers to how well your hair is able to absorb and hold moisture. This aspect of your hair type will determine what curly hair products, butters, and oils work best for your hair.

Hair Butters

Hair butters are amazing, moisturizing sealants often used for protective styles and in cooler months. While they may have some moisturizing ingredients, they are better suited for sealing in moisture from water or water-based products like moisturizers or leave-in conditioners. They are usually the last step or used right before your styler.

Best butters for low-porosity hair

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Most butters used on low-porosity hair should be very light so that the hair is not weighed down and cause product buildup. Some butters that are good for low-porosity hair include:

  • Avocado Butter – Have moisture sealing properties that help keep the hair softer for longer. Avocado butter is also a high-quality emollient that has antioxidant properties.
  • Murumuru Butter – Murumuru butter is a very light butter. It is rich in omegas, and it helps to soften the hair, promote elasticity,, and add shine. Murumuru butter also helps control frizz and define curls

Best butters for medium porosity hair

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Medium porosity hair is easily moisturized and retains its moisture very well. Good butters for medium porosity hair include:

  • Cocoa Butter – This will help you keep your hair healthy and soft. Cocoa butter helps to heal and to soften the hair.
  • Cupuacu Butter – This is an amazing hair moisturizer that helps absorb water. This butter also helps strengthen the hair and promote a healthy scalp.

Best butters for high porosity hair

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For those with high-porosity, moisture retention can be difficult. Moisture is absorbed and also released quickly for high porosity hair. So, the butter used on this type of hair needs to be thick to coat the hair strands to keep moisture in. Hair butter for high-porosity hair include:

  • Shea Butter – This is a very heavy butter, but it works wonders for damaged and brittle hair. It is also good to help repair breakage by strengthening your strands from root to tip.
  • Tucuma Butter – This is a great butter for those with high-porosity hair. It is considered to have excellent emollient properties and helps to soften your hair.

Pros of Hair Butters

  • Outstanding emollients
  • Softens hair
  • Many butters have properties such as anti-inflammatory, soothing, and antioxidant

Cons of Hair Butter

  • Short shelf life
  • Heavy sealants can weigh hair down

Hair Oils

Natural oils are good for curlies because they are used for multi-purposes such as heat protectants, detanglers, and moisturizers. Oils are usually applied after your leave-in according to the LOC method to help seal in the moisture of your leave-in conditioner.

Best oils for low-porosity hair

If you’re low porosity, try:

  • Grapeseed oil – This light and moisturizing hair oil can benefit all curls. This oil works great to strengthen each strand, increase manageability, protect against heat, and can also be used to combat dry scalp and dandruff. Shelf life: approximately one year.
  • Argan oil – Easily absorbed and quite nourishing, this oil is great for your hair, skin, and nails too. For curly girls, Argan oil helps with manageability and can also strengthen the hair. It can be pricey, but a little goes a long way. Shelf life: approximately two years.

Best oils for medium porosity hair

If you’re medium porosity, try:

  • Avocado oil – This super nutrient rich oil is heaven for thick-haired curlies. This oil is full of essentials like amino acids, minerals, and vitamins, avocado oil can help strengthen hair and enhance deep conditioning treatments.
  • Babassu 0il – This is great for irritated, flaky, or damaged scalp. It also has restorative properties, so it is good for sensitive scalp. Shelf life:

Best oils for high porosity hair

If you’re high porosity, try:

  • Jamaican black castor oil– is a special castor oil that can be used for rough hair, split ends, hair loss, and dandruff. Jamaican black castor oil helps thicken hair and enhances hair growth. Shelf life:
  • Olive oil – This multipurpose oil is a staple in many hair care regimens. Not only is olive oil a great pre-poo and hot oil treatment option, but extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) works wonders to seal moisture in and can add a kick to your conditioning routine, too. If you have finer hair, you may want to use just a small amount in order to not weigh the hair down. Shelf life: up to 2 years.

Pros of Hair Oils

  • Helps with detangling the hair
  • Seals in moisture
  • Great for heat protection

Cons of Hair Oils

  • May leave hair greasy
  • Can weigh down hair
  • Can’t be used alone to moisturize hair

What hair butters and oils work best for your hair?

Read Next: The 10 Most Popular Oils for Curly Hair

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