Top 6 Shampoos and Conditioners to Moisturize Low Porosity Hair in 2024

Published by Aida Turner

Low porosity hair is a hair type that does not easily absorb water and hair care treatments due to its structure. This hair type features compact cuticles with fewer and smaller pores that create a barrier against moisture, making it a challenge for hydrating elements to penetrate and nourish the strands. You have probably experienced yourself as well, that products often just sit on top of your hair rather than being absorbed. These challenges can lead to dryness, brittleness, and difficulty in managing and styling your hair.

According to L’Oréal Paris, shampoos and conditioners designed for low porosity hair have clarifying properties to remove buildup and lightweight, hydrating ingredients that facilitate moisture absorption without weighing the hair down. Penetrating, hydrating, nourishing and sealing your hair is the name of the game.

For us ladies with low porosity hair, finding the right products to buy can be a royal pain in the noggin. Factors such as hair thickness, curl pattern, scalp health, and individual hair care routines can all influence what type of shampoo and conditioner will work best for you.

Hair porosity was a common issue at the hair salon I worked at so I’ve selected six great shampoos and conditioners that address common low porosity hair concerns and are great value for the money.

6 Shampoos and Conditioners Proven to Work for Low Porosity Hair

Here are the six best shampoos and conditioners that enhance your low porosity hair care routine and leave your follicles feeling silky-smooth after every shower!

1. A moisturizing shampoo and conditioner optimal for low porosity hair

Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate Shampoo + Conditioner

It contains vital ingredients that help your hair achieve a moisturized state, including the following:

• Hibiscus water
• Passion fruit
• Watermelon
• Aloe barbadensis leaf juice

What I liked most is that it promotes healthy hair without stripping off natural oils since it is a sulfate-free shampoo, forgoing surfactants like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES).⁴

Another good thing is that it is lightweight and ideal for a suitable low-porosity hair shampoo. This means it will not leave a significant amount of product on your hair, and your smaller pores can absorb it. 

Moreover, the Maui Moisture shampoo for low porosity is designed to lock in moisture for those with dreadlocks, natural curls, and other braid styles.

Personal experience – review

When I used Maui Moisture Lightweight Hydration Hibiscus Water Shampoo on my clients the results were remarkable.

Three key benefits I’ve noticed for my low porosity hair clients are:

1. The sulfate-free formula provides a gentle yet effective cleanse, which is perfect for low porosity hair. It prevents dryness and damage while still removing dirt and product buildup.
2. The lightweight hydration offered by this shampoo doesn’t weigh down their hair, maintaining its natural bounce and volume.
3. After using the shampoo, my clients’ hair looks shiny, soft, and healthy, making it a great choice for enhancing their hair’s overall appearance.

2. A protein-free shampoo and conditioner to prevent protein buildup

SheaMoisture Low Porosity Protein-Free shampoo and conditioner

Here’s what makes this SheaMoisture duo an essential:

• Baobab Oil: This acts as a significant hydrator, ensuring that even the driest strands regain their shine and softness.
• Tea Tree Oil: With its invigorating properties, it helps in promoting a healthy scalp, ensuring the roots get the care they deserve.
• Shea Butter: This time-tested moisturizer ensures that curls stay defined and frizz-free throughout the day.

Describing it simply as a hair care product would be an understatement; this duo is a spa treatment for your hair. The added benefits of antioxidants ensure that your hair remains protected against external aggressors.

Personal Experience – Review

During a recent appointment, I tried the SheaMoisture Low Porosity Protein-Free Set on Jessica, who has beautiful coily hair but often found many products to be too heavy.

Three key benefits she observed were:

1. Gentle Cleansing without Residue: The unique blend of oils in the shampoo delicately cleaned her hair, ensuring it was free from any product buildup, which is essential for coily hair types.
2. Lightweight Formulation for Lively Curls: Unlike other products, this set didn’t weigh down her hair. The results were buoyant, lively curls that showcased their natural beauty.
3. Enhanced Shine and Manageability: Post-use, Jessica’s hair wasn’t just more manageable but also exhibited a shine that was hard to miss. Moreover, the brand’s ethical stance and community commitment made her feel positive about her choice beyond the evident hair benefits.

3. Best shampoo and conditioner for 4C hair type

Mielle Pomegranate & Honey Shampoo and Conditioner

Here’s why the Mielle Organics duo is a must-have for those with 4C low porosity hair:

• Pomegranate Extract: A rich source of antioxidants, pomegranate helps protect hair from environmental damage, ensuring your strands remain strong and healthy.
• Honey: A natural humectant, honey attracts and retains moisture, making it an essential ingredient for those looking to hydrate their 4C hair.
• Babassu Oil: Known for its lightweight properties, babassu oil hydrates without weighing hair down, ensuring that curls and coils remain bouncy and full of life.

With 4C hair being inherently dry and prone to breakage, the pre-detangling feature of the shampoo is a game-changer. It sets the stage, ensuring that subsequent conditioning is seamless, reducing the likelihood of hair damage during wash day.

Personal Experience – Review

When I introduced Jade, a loyal client with low porosity 4C hair, to the Mielle Organics set, the transformation was evident.

Three key benefits Jade noticed were:

1. Gentle Yet Effective Cleanse: The gel-based shampoo formulation was kind to her hair, ensuring that natural oils were retained. This was especially valuable for her hair type which tends to be naturally dry.
2. Ease of Detangling and Frizz Control: Jade’s wash days became considerably simpler with the set’s pre-detangling features. The conditioner worked wonders in terms of manageability, eliminating the long hours she previously spent trying to detangle her hair and manage frizz.
3. Shiny and Bouncy Hair with Ethical Commitment: Beyond the evident softness and shine, Jade felt good about using a product from a brand that emphasizes empowerment, and the use of natural and organic ingredients. This holistic approach made her experience all the more rewarding.

4. Best for low porosity curly hair

Briogeo Superfoods Apple Matcha Kale Replenishing Shampoo and Conditioner

Here’s why this Briogeo duo stands out:

• Matcha: A powerhouse of antioxidants guarding against environmental damage.
• Kale: Bursting with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids to fortify hair from root to tip.
• Apple: An excellent source of procyanidin, supporting a healthy scalp.

This duo isn’t just a hair care product; it’s akin to a refreshing green juice for your locks. Packed with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, it revives parched strands, ensuring they’re bursting with life and health.

Personal Experience – Review

After recommending the Briogeo Superfoods Replenishing Duo to Maria, a regular client with dry and dull wavy hair, the transformation was remarkable.

Three key benefits Maria experienced were:

1. Vitamin-Rich Revival: The shampoo, akin to a refreshing green juice, flooded her hair with essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, revitalizing her once tired strands.
2. Deep Hydration and Shine: The conditioner, mirroring the richness of a green smoothie, not only deeply moisturized her hair but also left it noticeably shinier and healthier.
3. Tailored Care with an Invigorating Scent: Beyond the impressive hair transformation, the duo catered specifically to Maria’s wavy texture, and the fresh apple and matcha fragrance elevated her entire hair care routine to a luxurious, spa-like experience.

5. Low-cost drugstore shampoo and conditioner for low porosity hair

Garnier Whole Blends Hair Remedy Shampoo and Conditioner

Here’s why the Garnier Whole Blends duo stands out in the drugstore aisle:

• Power of Nature: Combines honey’s moisture-retention, beeswax’s protective barrier, and floral extracts’ rejuvenating properties.
• Eco-Conscious: Garnier’s Cradle to Cradle certification and use of sustainably sourced honey underline their environmental responsibility.
• Clean Formulation: Free from sulfates, parabens, and other harmful ingredients for gentle hair care.

For budget-conscious individuals seeking an effective haircare regimen, particularly when dealing with damage, this Garnier duo offers a solution that both the hair and wallet will appreciate.

Personal experience – review

Introducing this drugstore find to Maria, a regular client, I noted significant improvement in her previously lackluster wavy hair. The product not only revitalized her locks but also provided the benefits of a much pricier product, cementing its position as a top drugstore choice. The delightful floral and honey aroma added a sensory pleasure to the experience.

6. A good clarifying shampoo for all low porosity hair types

Moroccanoil Clarifying Shampoo

• Argan oil
• Lavender extract
• Chamomile extract
• Jojoba extract
• Keratin

Most importantly, I am drawn to this because it cleanses the strands while not producing damage, as it is sulfate-free, phosphate-free, paraben-free, and safe for color-treated hair.

Personal experience – review

Lisa came to my salon with low porosity hair that was constantly feeling dry and lifeless. I recommended she try the Moroccanoil Clarifying Shampoo, as I had seen positive results with other clients in the past. After using the shampoo for a few weeks, Sarah was ecstatic about the improvement in her hair’s overall health and appearance.

The three most positive testimonies about the Moroccanoil Clarifying Shampoo for low porosity hair are:

1. It effectively cleanses the hair without stripping it of its natural oils, which is essential for maintaining moisture in low porosity hair.
2. The shampoo lathers well and leaves the hair feeling smooth and manageable, reducing the need for additional conditioning products.
3. The fatty acids derived from coconut oil in the shampoo nourish and hydrate the hair, providing essential nutrients for low porosity hair.

Key shampoo ingredients to look for if you have low porosity hair

Ensure that your shampoo has at least a few of these key ingredients to get the most out of it:

Almond oil

Almond oil is rich in vitamins A, B, and E, which are essential nutrients that nourish, moisturize, and strengthen low porosity hair. These vitamins promote hair growth, improve texture, and reduce hair loss.

Almond oil also has a lightweight texture, making it an ideal choice for low porosity hair that requires non-greasy hydration.

Avocado oil

Avocado oil is packed with monounsaturated fats, which are known to deeply penetrate the hair shaft, providing hydration and nutrients to low porosity hair.

This oil is also rich in vitamins A, D, and E, which help to repair damaged hair, improve elasticity, and promote growth.

Argan hair oil

Argan oil, derived from the kernels of the argan tree, is loaded with beneficial nutrients like vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids.

These nutrients help to protect low porosity hair from environmental damage, like UV rays and pollution, while also improving elasticity, reducing frizz, and boosting shine.

Check the indispensable and best oils for low porosity hair!

Aloe vera

Aloe vera is a succulent plant with powerful moisturizing and soothing properties. Its gel-like consistency is easily absorbed by low porosity hair, providing hydration without causing buildup.

Additionally, aloe vera contains enzymes and amino acids that can help to maintain a healthy scalp and promote hair growth.

Aloe leaf juice

Aloe leaf juice, extracted from the aloe plant’s leaves, shares many of the same benefits as aloe vera, including moisturizing and soothing properties.

It is particularly beneficial for low porosity hair due to its lightweight nature, which allows it to hydrate the hair without causing any buildup or heaviness.

Jojoba extract

Jojoba extract is derived from the seeds of the jojoba plant and closely resembles the natural oils (sebum) produced by the scalp. This similarity allows jojoba extract to effectively moisturize and nourish low porosity hair without causing excess buildup. Furthermore, jojoba extract is rich in vitamins B and E, which help to strengthen hair and promote growth.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil is a versatile ingredient that can benefit low porosity hair when used in moderation. Its small molecular structure allows it to penetrate the hair shaft more easily than other oils, providing deep hydration and preventing protein loss.

This helps to maintain the hair’s strength, elasticity, and overall health. However, it’s important to note that excessive use of coconut oil can weigh down low porosity hair, so it’s best to use it sparingly.

Honey

Honey is a natural humectant, which means it attracts and retains moisture. This makes it an excellent ingredient for low porosity hair that struggles to absorb and retain hydration. By drawing moisture into the hair shaft, honey helps to keep low porosity hair moisturized, soft, and manageable.

Additionally, honey contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can improve overall hair health and protect it from damage.

What ingredients to avoid to keep your hair healthy and manageable?

You must avoid certain ingredients in a shampoo for low-porosity hair to keep your hair manageable and healthy. I’ve listed all of the ingredients to look out for in this section.

Butter

You must avoid heavy products like shea butter and use gentle hair shampoo for low-porosity natural hair. 

In this case, butter is thick in nature, especially shea butter. This means it cannot help with deep cleansing or deep conditioning of low-porosity hair because it prevents moisture from getting in.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Irritation can occur with low-porosity curls or hair, and non-lauryl-sulfate-free clarifying shampoos and hair products can significantly escalate this situation.

As shown in a study involving 1,600 patients, SLS caused skin irritation in 42% of the population as the chemical penetrates the skin, not just the hair cuticle.³

Drying Alcohol

In your hair care regimen and shampoo ingredients, avoid drying alcohol as it can dehydrate the scalp and strands.

Always remember that with low porosity hair, you already have to deal with minimal moisture entry because of your pores. Adding drying alcohol will make it worse (e.g., unmanageable hair).

Silicones

Silicones can moisturize hair and make hair soft to the cuticles. However, given that you have low porosity hair and this characteristic is already apparent, you can conclude that you don’t need silicones.

Even with high-porosity hair, you should still avoid products with this ingredient.

Mineral Oil and Castor Oil

Other heavy products that should not be applied to your hair are heavy oils, such as mineral oil and castor oil. 

These oils can keep hair hydrated, but at the same time, their thickness can contribute to the build-up of products that smaller pores cannot absorb.

Protein-Rich Ingredients

Like the previous explanations, protein-rich ingredients are prone to build-up in the scalp and hair, leading to stiffness.

How to Manage Low-Porosity Hair

Although low-porosity hair is often deemed unmanageable because it can produce frizzy and dry hair, there are still ways of managing it properly. Here are the steps you can take to manage low-porosity hair.

1. Choose the Right Type of Shampoo

To ease the issues and visible physical manifestations of having low-porosity hair, the right shampoo can be of immense help.

So, here are the best shampoo types for low porosity hair to guide you!

Protein-Free Shampoo

First on the list is protein-free shampoo. A protein-free shampoo can work magic for low porosity hair as it hydrates hair directly at the roots and provide these advantages:

• Manageable hair
• Quality texture
• Stronger strands

Clarifying Shampoo 

With the best clarifying shampoos for low porosity hair, the product build-up in your hair due to having tiny and unabsorbent pores will be washed away.

Cleaner pores gained with clarifying shampoos will help create new moisture on the scalp and remove excess oil, sebum, and other product build-ups.

Also, a clarifying shampoo makes the hair look and feel healthy.

Moisturizing Shampoo

Last but not least, a moisturizing shampoo can work wonders for low porosity hair by providing much-needed moisture to the shaft and cuticles, producing healthy hair.

It also retains the natural oils in your scalp to strengthen hair through lightweight hydration.

Ensure your moisturizing shampoo contains the following nourishing ingredients:

• Essential oils
• Aloe vera juice
• Apple cider vinegar
• Tea tree oil

2. Do Steam Treatment

You can also undergo a steam treatment. Most customers do this once every three weeks to open the pores or hair follicles and help moisturize products, vitamins, and other essential oils enter the roots.

3. Use Lightweight Hydration Oils and Products

Low porosity hair means taking care of it using lightweight hydration products, such as those I listed in the previous section.

With lightweight products, your follicles and roots get their most awaited nourishment, as these can sip through the tightly-closed pores.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know what factors lead to low hair porosity and the problems it presents, what to avoid, and what hair products to purchase and usew, you know how to properly manage and fix your natural hair with low hair porosity.

Just make sure you always select butter (shea), silicone, and sulfate-free products filled with nourishing ingredients when you’re caring for your hair, just like those listed in this article. There’s very expensive and very cheap options, but price doesn’t always correlate with results!Apply all these tips and tricks, and have the best hair day ever with any of the shampoos on this list!

FAQ

How to Test if You Have Low Porosity Hair

Testing if you have low porosity hair requires several different methods. Here can you find the scientific methods of testing that you can try to confirm your suspicions: Hair Porosity Test: Unlocking the Secrets of Your Hair.

Apart from the scientifically-recognized methods, there is a straightforward way of identifying if you have low-porosity hair, and that entails following these steps:

1. Clean your hair with shampoo and water (e.g., clarifying shampoos)
2. Dry your hair using a towel or a blow dryer
3. Get lukewarm or cold water and place it in a clear glass
4. Get a strand from your hair when combing, and drop it into the water
5. Observe the hair’s floating behavior

If the hair floats for quite some time on top of the glass of water before it falls, then you most likely have low-porosity hair.

Author of this article: Aida Turner

Founder & Hair Care Consultant

Aida is a cosmetologist and hair care consultant with over 7 years of experience in the beauty industry. Aida has worked with various top salons and smaller hair care brands, offering her product development, formulation, and testing expertise.

Her extensive knowledge of hair care ingredients and their effects on hair health enables her to provide thorough, well-researched, and unbiased reviews on a wide range of shampoos and hair care products. In her spare time, Aida enjoys experimenting with new hair care routines, blogging about her experiences, and helping others achieve their hair goals.

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