Applying products to damp vs soaking wet hair..question.

Myrna · 03-07-2013, 07:10 PM

So is the answer to this question dependent upon the porousity of the hair? and its texture? because I can see if one has highly porous hair, it would make sense to saturate it with conditioner and gel. But my hair is coarse and low porousity - and I have never applied product to it soaking wet, as it seems like I would be wasting a lot of product....

Curlsnswirls · 03-07-2013, 07:19 PM

From what the curly girl book says. The more volume, the less water you want in your hair when applying your Stylers. The wetter your hair is, the less volume and more than likely more "clumpy"...is that a word? No mention of texture or porosity.
Hope that helps some. This is definitely how it works for me anyway, although I'm medium porosity.

CurlyCutie1394 · 03-07-2013, 07:50 PM

If your hair is low porosity and you air dry putting products in with soaking wet hair is setting yourself up for hair that will take a whole day maybe 2 to completely dry

dusalocks · 03-07-2013, 08:18 PM

I have high porosity and I still don't like to apply finishing product (gel, gelly) to completely wet hair because I feel like I let get less shrinkage and less tight curls. Also it's trickier to distribute and evenly apply the product. . . but the finished product is, I'll admit, relatively the same volume wise. Admittedly I'm coarse and high density so that might be why. It's just a tad less curly than I'd like it to be. Only difference. Also it takes longer to dry that way which is a pain because I get cold easily.

(P.S. I don't plop or use a hair dryer. I realize if I did I'd switch up my styling technique. . . )

Jas76 · 03-07-2013, 09:55 PM

I do both, sort of - I put some (cheap) gel in when soaking wet, MF scrunch out the excess water, then add a small amount of gel after. Sort of the best of both worlds!

elizard · 03-07-2013, 09:57 PM

my hair is low to medium porosity. i have been at this for like 9 months, and i find i get the best looking hair when i apply to soaking wet hair. i completely agree with the idea that it gives more clumps and less volume. however, i have to make up the volume by diffusing. if i do not diffuse, my hair is matted to my head when it air dries because of the weight of the water. however, when i diffuse tilting in all directions for maximum volume, my hair looks amazing. i actually notice that applying to completely soaking hair and scrunching like crazy gives me the best product distribution. all the water is able to scrunch the product through the hair if that makes sense.

Starmie · 03-07-2013, 10:03 PM

For me, with very porous hair that is the fine side of normal texture-wise, I put leave-in and frizz controller in soaking wet hair, blot with a towel and then put mousse in. After much trial and error I find this is what works for me. Reading the other replies it would seem that porosity does play a part in when it's best to apply products.

dusalocks · 03-07-2013, 10:10 PM

elizard, have you tried putting less product up top at the roots so they won't be matted down? I just do a quick sweep over the area with leave in and then again with gel or gelly. Then once it's dry I flip my head down and ruffle around the roots and that's how I get root lift/volume without diffusing. (No matted look.) I can see how that would mess up root curl maybe but I only get it once in a blue moon anyways so . . .

elizard · 03-07-2013, 10:24 PM

Dusalocks, you might be right about the roots, but I do like to put product there because I find it helps with root curl, which is a goal. I ruffle my roots as well before I diffuse, and then afterwards I shake my head around to loosen the curls up a bit more. Somehow this seems to make them fall more uniformly too. Then spray gel to set and let it air dry the rest of the way. Works For me!

elizard · 03-07-2013, 10:26 PM

Oh also like you said it's usually ok once totally air dried and ruffled/SOTC'd but the matting up until then is not a good look for me.

dusalocks · 03-07-2013, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elizard

Dusalocks, you might be right about the roots, but I do like to put product there because I find it helps with root curl, which is a goal.

You just blew my mind, elizard. Maybe that's why I can't achieve it. That and the fact that I don't diffuse or use the clippies or do anything I'm supposed to do.

So. . . lazy! (Kicks legs in the air and throws self on the floor.)

Aqua_Lily · 03-07-2013, 11:37 PM

I have medium porosity and fine hair. I hate it when my hair is saturated when I apply product. I try to squeeze out as much as water as I can before I apply leave in and before I apply gel. All the extra water just weighs my hair down and increases my drying time.

Myrna · 03-08-2013, 05:22 AM

Thank you, Ladies, very helpful. CutieCurlie, as it is I get up earlier than I need to (yes) so that I can let my hair dry naturally after clipping it. So I guess I wont take that step of applying product to soaking hair except for the leave in - I happn to love volume.

tricello · 03-08-2013, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elizard

..... i have been at this for like 9 months, and i find i get the best looking hair when i apply to soaking wet hair. i completely agree with the idea that it gives more clumps and less volume. however, i have to make up the volume by diffusing. if i do not diffuse, my hair is matted to my head when it air dries because of the weight of the water. however, when i diffuse tilting in all directions for maximum volume, my hair looks amazing. i actually notice that applying to completely soaking hair and scrunching like crazy gives me the best product distribution. all the water is able to scrunch the product through the hair if that makes sense.

Ditto. This is my experience though I don't go to crazy with the diffusing since I don't want to increase my volume too much. But this method gives me the most control of both my curl and volume.

joseybird · 03-08-2013, 08:38 AM

If I apply all my product while my hair is soaking wet I get uneven distribution

It has to be moderately wet at most.

sdkitty · 03-08-2013, 02:22 PM

Since I got my recent Deva cut, I've been squeezing out excess water from my hair, applying leave-in and gel, then blotting with a sham-wow and scrunching with more gel and dry with combo of air dry and diffuser.
this gives me shinier curls with less frizz.
But last week I was away from home and didn't have time for this.
So I went back to a towel. I still put the gel and leave-in on when my hair was wet. But then I wrapped with a towel and diffused. I got good curl formation with just a bit more frizz. I'm debating whether it's worth the extra time to dry w/o the towel. For now I'm doing the Sham-wow when I have time.

Jas76 · 03-08-2013, 04:36 PM

Do you like using the sham-wow?? I tried a shammy once, but it (the shammy) dried stiff as a board, so I was not able to re-use it! Lol!!

I considered purchasing a sham-wow, since it seems as tho it stays "fabric-like" and does not turn stiff when it dries!

If you are liking it, I might give it a shot!

CurlyJulie81 · 03-08-2013, 08:29 PM

For me(high porosity fine hair), if my hair is too dry, I loose definition. water helps shape my curls.

dusalocks · 03-08-2013, 08:33 PM

Sham-wow would be good, huh, because its flat surface! The microfiber towel I use right now for my hair is the same one (not the exact same one of course but the same kind) I use for cleaning the house and it works great. No frizz.

sdkitty · 03-09-2013, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jas76

Do you like using the sham-wow?? I tried a shammy once, but it (the shammy) dried stiff as a board, so I was not able to re-use it! Lol!!

I considered purchasing a sham-wow, since it seems as tho it stays "fabric-like" and does not turn stiff when it dries!

If you are liking it, I might give it a shot!

The "sham-wow" I purchased works pretty well. I got mine (actually it's 3 small ones) at the dollar store (dollar tree in the automotive dept). They don't harden when dry. They soak up the water pretty well and I just hang them to dry. I wish they were a bit larger but since my hairdresser said to use them to blot and not to wrap my hair in anything, they do the job.
My Deva trained stylist was the one who recommended these. She doesn't like microfiber towels and paper towels are ridiculous.

Using these and putting the gel in when my hair is wet does give me nice shiny curls....but takes a long time to dry fully.