Best hair oil for high porosity hair

For natural hair, we need a lot of different types of oils depending on our hair type. Whether we have low porosity hair or high porosity hair, or if we’re right there in the middle. Natural hair is naturally more dry than other hair types because of how difficult it is for our natural oils or sebum to travel down our curls versus straight hair. So today, I want to talk to you about the different types of oils that are best for natural hair and where you can find them!

How I learned the importance of using the right oil for my hair type:

At the moment I have low porosity hair and for me, it used to be pretty difficult to find the right oils. I used to use coconut oil as I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post and coconut oil just wasn’t working for me. The oil would just sit on top of my hair and it wouldn’t penetrate my hair follicles. It just left me looking really greasy, and it would get everywhere. The coconut oil just wasn’t absorbing, it was too heavy for my low porosity hair. 

That was before I realized that you can’t just be using any oil on natural hair. So, I did my research and I found out that I had low porosity hair. You can test your hair’s porosity here.

How does my hair porosity affect what hair oils to use?

For low porosity hair, you cannot use products that are too heavy. You want products that can easily penetrate the hair follicle. Yes, it can be difficult for products to enter the hair follicle, but you can remedy this by using heat to open up the follicle. That allows the products to be able to penetrate your hair and give you all the nutrients and moisture that you need. This would be hard to do with a heavy product like coconut oil or olive oil, so we use lighter-based oils.

Highly porous hair has gaps and holes in the cuticle that allow too much moisture into the hair. Because of that, it can also lose moisture just as easily. High Porosity hair is prone to frizz, tangles, and dryness. So, the curls dry quickly. 

Hair Oils for Low Porosity Hair:

• Grapeseed oil
  • Grapeseed oil is an amazing oil packed with many nutrients for your skin and hair. According to Grapeseedoil.com, “It feeds skin and hair with nourishing vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids.” Make sure to buy the cold-pressed version!
• Avocado oil
  • Not only are avocadoes a healthy food to eat, but the oil pressed from their flesh is a powerhouse for vitamins and minerals! Avocado oil moisturizes and strengthens your hair, and can seal the moisture in your hair and prevent it from breaking.
• Almond oil
  • Almond oil is great for both the skin and the hair, it works well for both low and high porosity hair as it is an emollient. So, it can fill in the gaps in your hair follicles from a cellular level!
• Argan oil
  •  Moroccan Argan oil is a very popular oil and has become an essential ingredient in many hair products. Argan oil is “rich in tocopherols and polyphenols, which are powerful antioxidants.”

Although it is heavier, I still use black castor oil because it is very helpful with hair loss by promoting hair growth quickly. I especially like to use it around my edges if they are ever looking a little sparse. You can buy some here.

Hair Oils for High Porosity Hair:

• Olive oil
  • Used for thousands of years, olive oil is a great addition to your hair regimen. Olive oil also works as an emollient, meaning that it can fill in the gaps in your hair follicles. So, the more you use it, the softer your hair will become. Since high porosity hair has large gaps in the cuticle, olive oil would provide great benefits to your hair.
• Coconut oil
  • Coconut oil is very popular, and I am sure many of my readers have tried it before. But did you know that coconut oil has been found to reduce protein loss for both undamaged and damaged hair when used before or after your wash? “Coconut oil, being a triglyceride of lauric acid (principal fatty acid), has a high affinity for hair proteins and, because of its low molecular weight and straight linear chain, is able to penetrate inside the hair shaft.” Read more here!
• Black Castor oil
  • Not only does black castor oil moisturize and strengthen hair, but it heavily promotes hair growth! According to NaturallyCurly.com, “It increases blood flow to the scalp, supplying valuable nutrients to hair follicles. Jamaican Black Castor Oil will also prevent hair breakage, dandruff, eczema, and dry, itchy scalp.”
• Jojoba Oil
  • Studies show that Jojoba oil “mitigates protein loss, protects the hair thread, and improves the resistance to breakage.” According to that same study, if you also perm your hair, jojoba oil can be incredibly beneficial and provide conditioning effects to stop our natural hair from getting too dry. 

Remember to Moisturize First!

Now that you know what oils to use on your hair type, you have to know when to use them and how. For example, you might be thinking “my hair is feeling kind of dry let me put some oil or moisturizer on it right now.” That right there is wrong! Regardless of whether you have low porosity hair or high porosity hair, that is not going to cut it.

Basically, you’re just putting on this barrier on top of your hair that usually seals in moisture, it’s not really providing you the exact moisture natural hair needs. That moisture is going to come from water plain and simple. Just like plants, we need to water our hair. Our natural hair needs water, that is the moisturizer that we should be applying when our hair is dry. 

If you have low porosity hair, use some warm water. And if you have high porosity hair, just use room temperature water. Apply that water to your hair first to moisturize it, and then you can seal it with an oil to help retain the moisture in your hair. Make sure that your hair stays hydrated and that it doesn’t dry out.

Hope this helps!

I hope that this was helpful and that you learned more about the types of oil to use and how to use them in your hair, because trust me this seems like something small, but it will make such a big difference in your hair. Especially if you’re trying to grow it out or if you’re trying to retain moisture longer, this is the way to do it.

Another thing I would recommend doing, is every few days until wash day, depending on your hair, take the time to moisturize it with water and seal it with oil.

 If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email! Be sure to sign up for my email subscription and receive great natural hair tips in your inbox!

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