Do you use various natural oils but somehow you can’t see any difference made to your hair? Have you ever wondered why one oil works, while another makes your hair dehydrated and frizzy?
Oil Hair Treatment is effective and completely safe only when we chose the oils that target all needs of our hair.
To get the most from the treatment, you have to learn your hair structure and the symptoms that reflect a particular problem.
For example, if you suffer from dandruff, you don’t need a cleansing product. In this case, using an oil that regulates work of sebaceous glands is enough. It’s the excess of sebum that most frequently leads to the development of the troublesome dandruff.
Hair Structure – Basic Information
It’s important to learn at least the very basic information concerning hair structure so as to define hair needs and choose the proper care method. Let’s start by mentioning the most crucial information which most people already know – hair is created from keratin.
This keratin ‘safe coat’ resembles an armour made of cuticles adjacent to the hair shaft. There are a few layers of it. Their aim is to protect the sensitive hair cortex from damaging factors like, for example, high temperature, UV radiation, humidity, toxins and even mechanical damages. The condition of hair cuticles determines the strands’ health.
WHAT’S HAIR POROSITY?
The hair condition can easily be determined just by looking at the strands. To clarify, hair is either smooth and healthy, or rough and damaged. It all depends on the way the cuticles are set. Hair porosity is a degree at which hair cuticles are raised up from the hair cortex. And this degree can obviously be greater or lesser.
- Low porosity hair cuticles aren’t open at all.
- Medium porosity hair is characterised by open cuticles that gradually start rising even more creating greater gaps.
- High porosity hair cuticles are maximally open.
What’s High Porosity Connected with?
In practice, hair porosity stands for the level of protection the hair receives. So, if hair cuticles are open wide, it means that the sensitive hair cortex isn’t protected. As a consequence, it’s easier for toxins and other destructive agents to get into hair and damage strands from the inside. In this case, the inner structures of hair remain without any protection which results in hair losing hydration, for example. Moreover, through the pores of the hair protective layers strands also lose precious nourishing substances. This has its consequence in hair getting weakened and then starts falling out. In short, high porosity type means trouble.
How to Lower Hair Porosity Degree?
It has been already stated that you have to make sure your hair has the lowest porosity to enjoy beautiful looks of it. But how to do it? Firstly, you should limit exposing your hair to the damaging factors which result in cuticles becoming more and more open. Such factors are, among others, the high temperatures (say goodbye to blow-drying, a hair curler and regular hair straightening), dyeing (all hair colourants contain substances that are responsible for opening hair cuticles so as to enable tints getting inside the hair), as well as improper handling with the hair in general (it’s time to comb hair delicately, don’t jerk it, and start sleeping with tied strands).
Obviously, you can also reach for natural oils. Their tiny molecules penetrate through the cuticles easily. They seal the natural protective layer as well as strengthen hydro-lipid barrier of the scalp. Basically, the natural hair oils act like a bandage for weakened hair, but only if chosen appropriately.
Which Hair Oil for Hair?
We have three types of hair porosity and three types of oils. All you have to do is match them the right way. Just as a reminder, if mismatched, hair oils might significantly increase hair frizz and dehydration.
- Oils recommended for low porosity hair are Non-Drying Oils of the huge content of saturated fatty acids, for example, Coconut Oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Babassu Oil.
- Oils recommended for medium porosity hair are Semi-Drying Oils containing mono-saturated fatty acids, for example, Buriti Oil, Turnip Oil, Macadamia Oil, Avocado Oil.
- Oils recommended for high porosity hair are Drying Oils including poly-saturated fatty acids, for example, Grape Seed Oil, Sunflower Oil, Safflower Oil.
Apart from the oils mentioned above, each hair type can be matched with at least tens other oils. Although we aren’t aware of that, there are thousands of natural oils waiting for us to use them. One that has to be borne in mind, is as follows; if you want to take the most of an oil, you have to know your hair porosity type. Only then will you be able to match the oil with your hair the right way.
How to Define Hair Porosity?
If you want to be 100 percent sure what porosity level your hair is, see a trichologist. Also, some professional hair salons offer such a service of defining the porosity level of their client’s hair. Still, a trichologist’s office is a place where you can receive all possible information concerning your hair and its condition. However, if you don’t have the opportunity to meet the specialist, you can determine your hair porosity type at home, as well.
Technique No. 1 – Observation
Take a closer look at your hair and try to distinguish a few characteristic features. If it’s constantly straight, heavy, smooth and hard to style, probably your hair has low porosity type. If it’s matte, with the tendency to frizz, split ends, dandruff or fall out too excessively, your hair might have medium porosity type. High porosity hair is the easiest to define since it’s very rough, maximally damaged, with split ends, brittle, falling out and matte.
Technique No. 2 – Water Test
Take one of your hair and throw it into a glass of fresh and clean water. If it reaches the bottom, it’s probably high porosity. If it floats on the water surface, it’s highly possible the hair porosity is low. The most frequently occurred type of hair is medium porosity. It falls towards the bottom of the glass very slowly.
Technique No. 3 – Coconut Oil Test
Prepare natural Coconut Oil and apply it to hair. In general, this type of oil serves low porosity hair only. Therefore, if your hair reaction to the coconut oil is bad, this means its porosity is higher than low. High porosity hair becomes maximally frizzy and dehydrated when treated with Coconut Oil.