Is olive oil good for low-porosity hair? If not, what oil should I choose?

 

We’re talking about low porosity hair. However, do you know what that is?

 

I’m going to explain it to you in a very graphic way.

Imagine a house with a tile roof where rain falls on the tiles. Except if there’s a leak, water won’t penetrate between the tiles because they’re placed to prevent it.

That is, each tile overlaps the next to prevent water from entering.

 

Low porosity hair is the same.

The cuticles are placed in the same way as a tile roof. So, when you try to add water or moisture, it’s difficult for water to penetrate and for your hair to absorb it.

It’s not just difficult for water to penetrate. It’s also harder to moisturize low porosity hair if you don’t choose the right specific products.

  However, don’t despair. There’re several alternative products for your low-porosity hair, such as rose oil or shea butter. 

Why do these moisturizers work on this hair type, but olive oil doesn’t?

 

 Because olive oil is heavy and low porosity tends to have problems with product build-up.  

When that happens, your hair may look dull, flat, and lack volume.

 

Therefore, before showing you the best moisturizers for low-porosity hair, I invite you to test your hair.

So read on, because I’ll tell you:

 

How to check if your hair has high or low porosity

Porosity is the capacity of the hair fiber to absorb water.

If you looked at a strand of your hair under a microscope, you would see that each hair is covered with small scales, which are the cuticles.

 

 When the cuticles open, the hair’s core can absorb and retain moisture, whether from water or other hair products. 

There are three types of porosity: low, medium, and high.

 

Low porosity:

Do you have soft, shiny, frizz-free hair?

It means that your cuticles are sealed and overlapped, preventing hair treatments from opening them.

 

Medium porosity:

Do you notice that your hair gets very frizzy and has too much volume?

This type of hair, which is also soft from root to tip, absorbs hair products easier because the cuticles are not overlapped.

 

High porosity:

Is your hair rough and dry with a lot of frizz?

Then, it’s high porosity hair. The good news is that it’ll easily absorb any moisturizing products. In turn, the bad news is that it’s also more prone to dryness and breakage.

 

If you still have doubts about whether your hair is low porosity, do this simple experiment

It’s very common to confuse low porosity with medium porosity hair due to their similar textures.

To make sure your porosity is low, you should do a very simple test.

 

 

Now that you confirmed that your hair has low porosity, let’s see the best way to moisturize it. Of course, it won’t be with olive oil.

 

How to properly moisturize your low porosity hair

Olive oil is heavy, which means that its molecules are very large.

So, if your hair has trouble absorbing water, imagine how much it would take to absorb oil with larger molecules!

 

 If you apply olive oil to your hair, it’ll be heavy, greasy, and dull because your hair won’t be able to absorb it. 

 

For your low-porosity hair to absorb moisture you need:

 

What are the best oils for low-porosity hair?

 

  Any of these oils will work perfectly on your low-porosity hair. 

Now let’s move on to the application.

 

 

How do you notice your hair?

It’s probably much shinier and softer to the touch, and less frizzy. Also, as low porosity hair takes longer to lose moisture, you won’t have to repeat this process as often.

I recommend that you repeat the procedure once or twice a month.

 

Conclusions

Olive oil is not suitable for low-porosity hair.

If you want to moisturize your low porosity hair, you should choose light oils. For example, you can go with argan, pomegranate, or jojoba seeds, among others. They have smaller molecules that can penetrate the hair fiber better.

And remember that when you apply them, you must do it with heat to help the hair fiber absorb it properly.