5 Styling Products For Low Porosity Hair

By Shalwah Evans · December 6, 2020 Updated

It took me a long time to figure out that I have low porosity hair, which simply means that my hair doesn’t hold moisture well. It seems that my hair doesn’t hold moisture at all. But it took me several products and a lot of trial and error to figure out what works for me. I also had to figure out some hacks on how to maneuver good products that just aren’t made for hair with low porosity.

One of the most important things I’ve learned is that heat is my friend. As someone who’s been natural all my life and can count on my hands how many times I’ve straightened my tresses, that was a hard one to swallow. But deep conditioning with heat allows products to penetrate the hair shaft, which will otherwise just lay on top of the strands without it.

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With so many women beginning their natural hair journeys, they will go through similar discoveries in what types of hair they have. And having low porosity hair can seem like a chore when you don’t know your processes or have go-to products. We’ve recommended great items in the past and I’m adding these five styling products that I’ve come to love for my low porosity mane.

Ebene Naturals Coconut Curl Enhancing Custard

Custards and butters get a bad rep when it comes to low porosity hair because they tend to be thicker and heavier than other styling products. Thick products just sit on hair and build up instead of being absorbed. But this custard not only dissolved into my strands, it made my hair so soft and easy for styling. It did’t give the curls a ton of hold, but for the softness and moisture, I’ll take it.

Ebene Naturals

available at Ebene Naturals $26 Shop Now

Ouidad Whipped Curls Daily Conditioner & Styling Primer

Most hair experts will tell you to stay away from using leave-in conditioners daily if your hair is low porosity. But this whipped formula doesn’t have that heaviness that many other leave-ins have, making it relatively comfortable for repeated use. I would recommend applying to hair maybe twice a week as needed for styling to avoid unnecessary build-up.

Ouidad

available at Sephora $26 Shop Now

Kinky-Curly Knot Today Natural Leave-In Conditioner

This detangler was recommended to me by a friend who loved the product. I was skeptical at first because of my hair’s resistance to so many leave-in conditioners, and because the recommendation came from someone with very different hair than mine. But after seeing more than one thousand high reviews I gave it a try. It’s a rinse out for low porosity hair, not so much a leave-in. But it did a wonderful job smoothing and detangling for styling and application of other products.

Kinky-Curly

available at Naturally Curly $12 Shop Now

Curls B Defined Curl Defining Gel

This limited edition twist out gel caught me by surprise with its ability to keep my style for days. You will get flaking and product build-up if you don’t apply heat to your twists or braids when you first put the product in. The first time I used it, my twist out looked amazing and held, but I did look like I had dandruff. But with some heat and proper shingling, this gel was a styling dream for my hair.

Curls

available at Curls $6 Shop Now

Vernon François Nourishing Water

For styling low porosity hair it’s all about adding moisture first. This lightweight hair mist is great for spraying on your tresses just to give them a moisture boost throughout the day. It’s also perfect as a styling primer, which you spray into hair before applying other products.