Wash Day 25/05/13: Did my first ACV rinse

So a week ago on my wash day, I wanted to see how porous my hair was. Hair porosity test determines the condition of the cuticles and how well moisture penetrates and stays in the cuticle layer of the hair shaft. See below.

A popular way to test this is to dip a strand of shed hair - wet or dry - into a jar of water. I would advise your hair is not coated in oil as this will skew the results and sink under water anyway. The strand stays on top if its porosity is low and sinks to the bottom if its highly porous. We want it to stay in the middle (normal porosity). So I did the test after shampooing and within seconds my 2 test strands sunk = highly porous.

When it's highly porous, it means that it absorbs moisture but it loses it as fast as the cuticles are too open to retain it. This is bad news because too much moisture can lead to breakage, and that's the last thing I want. So I decided that yesterday I would fix this.

How I'm fixing my highly porous hair
Wash day yesterday: I shampoo'd with a moisturizing shampoo then deep conditioned with a moisturizing conditioner under the Secura Steamer (yes I finally used it!). Then I did the ACV rinse. Apple cider vinegar is acidic and it's known for closing the cuticles. So I added 1/4 cup of ACV in 2 cups of diluted water and 5 drops of lavender oil. After washing out the deep conditioner WITH COLD WATER (cold water also closes the cuticles), I poured the ACV mix over my head. That shit stunk y'all lol But not too bad.

Then I applied my Dermorganics Hair Masque to further close my cuticles and balance my hair pH, washed it out and applied my Dermorganics Argan Oil leave-in to kill the ACV smell. Applied moisturizer (my mix of glycerin + olive oil + jojoba oil + diluted water) and further sealed with coconut oil. Then air dried and put my hair in a bun.

Change of Sealant: I'll also start doing the LOC method - moisturize, seal with oil (olive/coconut), further seal with butter (mango butter/shea butter). I changed my sealing oil from almond oil because even though it's odorless, it's too light and it feels as if it doesn't penetrate as my hair gets very oily. Although normal porous hair should absorb whatever you put on it so maybe it's 'cause mine is highly porous.

Anyway, I will repeat the same process next wash day and test my hair porosity again and see if there's any improvement.


Until then.... stay cool!
x


p.s: I still want the Roux Porosity Control!!!