Silicones for Curly Hair: What’s True, What’s a Myth, and What Actually Matters
Two people can reach for the same silicone-packed curl cream. One walks away with glossy, springy definition. The other is flat and greasy by the second day. Same product, same molecule, opposite result. That one observation is the thing the entire “good silicone versus bad silicone” list cannot explain, and watching it play out over […]
Curly Girl Method Ingredients to Avoid: What the List Gets Wrong
I came to the Curly Girl Method the way most people do: frustrated, with damaged hair and a sudden long list of ingredients I was afraid of. Sulfates, silicones, certain alcohols, anything labeled the wrong way. I read the back of every bottle like a nutrition panel and cut out everything the method told me […]
17 Best Conditioners for Low Porosity Hair (Hint: Your Hair Is Not Moisture-Resistant)
If you have low porosity hair, you have probably been taught to treat it like a fortress: cuticles “sealed shut,” moisture that cannot get in, conditioners that need heat, steam, or special penetrating ingredients to break through. Here is the truth that changes how you shop: low porosity hair is not moisture-resistant hair. It is […]
17 Best Leave-In Conditioners for Low Porosity Hair (No Protein-Free Rules Required)
If you have low porosity hair, you have almost certainly been handed one rule above all others: keep it protein-free. Protein-free shampoo, protein-free conditioner, protein-free everything, or your hair will supposedly turn stiff and snap. Here is the problem with that rule: it is not true. Low porosity simply means your cuticle is smooth and […]
Ingredients to Avoid for Low Porosity Hair: Myths vs. What Actually Matters
You have seen the infographics. Two smiling cartoon women, two columns, low porosity on one side and high porosity on the other, each with its own tidy list of oils to use and oils to avoid. I am going to ask you to unlearn most of it. I wrote the original version of this post […]
Medium Porosity Hair: Characteristics, Care Tips, and the Best Products
You have probably heard that medium porosity hair is the lucky one. The low-maintenance middle child that drinks up product just right, holds onto moisture perfectly, and barely needs a routine at all. It is a lovely story. It is also not quite how hair works. Here is the part most guides skip: porosity is […]
How to Moisturize High Porosity Hair: What Actually Helps
The struggle with high porosity hair is real: persistent dryness, frizz that will not quit, and curls that fall flat by midday. For a long time I thought the fix was to moisturize harder, to finally find the product that would pump water into my strands and lock it there. Working with my friend, a […]
Wavy Hair Routine for 2A, 2B, and 2C: The Step-by-Step Guide
Wavy hair is the texture everyone underestimates, including the people who have it. It is too wavy to behave like straight hair and too loose to follow curly hair rules, so most wavies get handed advice built for somebody else’s texture and end up with limp roots, stringy ends, or frizz by noon. Here is […]
16 Best Deep Conditioners for High Porosity Hair (That Actually Help Dry Curls)
If you have high porosity hair, you have probably been told it is permanently thirsty: that it drinks up water and product, never holds onto anything, and just needs richer and richer formulas to seal moisture in. I believed that for years. Working through the science with my friend, a hair scientist and cosmetic formulator […]
Hair Porosity Guide: What Low and High Porosity Hair Really Mean
For years, many of us in the curly hair community treated porosity as one of the most important things we could learn about our hair. We took float tests, hunted for low-porosity routines, bought products marketed for high-porosity hair, and tried to explain nearly every problem through the lens of porosity. We were not completely […]