meoww

I'm confused, because i thought wavies need moisture to keep the frizz away and calm down our hair. and i'm also even more confused because i have low porosity hair, so i'm recommended "humectant products". can someone please educate me?

multicultcurly

Not a wavy but curl pattern is irrelevant when choosing hair products. Coarse hair needs humectants; fine hair needs protein and medium strands need a little of both. Low porosity hair can be any texture but it is often coarse. Low porosity gets coated easier and it's hard to penetrate the strands with moisture. You should find put your hair's texture and that will help determine if your needs humectants.

__________________
3b/c, medium-coarse, low porosity, low density
HG: Jessicurl Too Shea and Kinky Curly Curling Custard
Shampoo: nonsulfate shampoo and Suave Naturals sulfate shampoo when needed

jakrussel3

This is my basic understanding of it...

Humectants draw moisture to them, which generally is a good thing. In normal and high dews, they will draw moisture from the air to them, adding moisture to your hair. However in low dews, there may be more moisture in your hair than in the air, so the humectants will suck moisture out of your hair instead.

Anti-humectants basically seal your hair, so the moisture in it cannot escape. However, that seal blocks outside moisture from getting into your hair too.

Pretty much all of my hair products have glycerin or some other humectant in them. Someone here suggested sealing with an anti-humectant (such as olive oil or grapeseed oil) after using my rinse out conditioner but before applying styling products to seal in the moisture from my rinse out and seal out the glycerin so it can't suck moisture from my hair.

Did I totally confuse you?

__________________

meoww

hmmm no that makes sense to me! so does it matter if you use a product that is anti humectant in the shower? i figure that's where you'd need it most since the heat from the shower would open up the cuticles in your hair. also, how do you keep it from weighing your hair down? is there like a certain product routine i'm supposed to do? sorry i'm bombarding everyone with all these questions i'm just so overwhelmed with all this information i have no idea where to start lol :P

multicultcurly

That only pertains to glycerin. Other humectants don't do that. I live in the arid Southwest and because I have coarse low-porosity hair, I need to use humectants. However, glycerin makes my hair drier because it takes moisture from the hair and gives it to the drier air.

__________________
3b/c, medium-coarse, low porosity, low density
HG: Jessicurl Too Shea and Kinky Curly Curling Custard
Shampoo: nonsulfate shampoo and Suave Naturals sulfate shampoo when needed

HairObsessed

Helpful articles from the curl chemist.

Humidity, Humectants and Hair

What are Humectants?

__________________
Wave Pattern: 2A
Hair Properties: Normal Porosity, Thick Density, Medium Texture w/Fine Straight Underlayer
Co-wash: Suave Naturals
Low-poo: Ology
Rinse Out & Leave In: Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture
Gel: LA Looks Mega Mega Hold Gel, Garnier Fructis Spray Gel

jakrussel3

Meoww, no worries! My shampoo and conditioner both have glycerin in them. I figure most of it washes out, so I don't really worry about it. Most of my styling products have it too, but so far using a leave in with olive oil and no glycerin is working just fine to seal so the glycerin in the styling products isn't frizzing out my hair. It hasn't been weighing down my hair either. I use probably a nickle to quarter sized blob of it. If you use straight oil, start small. lightly coat your hands and run them through your hair like you would with your products. Experiment a bit until you find the right amount for you. There are probably you tube videos on how to seal hair using oil.

__________________

dresdendoll

Hmmm...
My new styler is full of humectants, which used to dry me hair out during the winter months last year. Now, though, I seal my hair with argan oil after each shower, and it seems like that fixed it They seem to balance each other out in my case.

Also, it depends on the weather. The Frizz Forecast here on NC.com is great for advice about whether to use humectants vs. anti-humectants depending on the dews and the day. For instance, today it recommended I use humectant products. Usually, though, to not have to worry about it on a day to day basis, I just seal with an oil to balance out humectants just in case, haha.

__________________
2c/2b with some 2a, coarse, dense, thick, low porosity
Growing out a CL bob. Last significant haircut 12/2011.
CG again as of 7/20/12


Cleanser: BRÖÖ Hydrating Porter Shampoo
Conditioner: Darcy's Botanicals Pumpkin Conditioner
Styler: homemade coconut/aloe flax gel
Trying to make my own products!

all-natural products, MOISTURE, Mehandi henna, argan oil
PROTEIN, synthetic ingredients, heavy oils