2b-c high porosity means...

e_m

what, in terms of how I care for my hair?

I've known my curl type, but couldn't figure out the porosity until I read two illuminating comments on various sites: 1) my hair takes forever and a day to dry and 2) when I dye my hair it always comes out 2 shades DARKER than what it is supposed to. Oh...I guess that makes sense...the hair shaft just keeps absorbing color. (Does this mean I can get by with a 10% developer?)

In any event, what are some tips for dealing with high porosity hair? (Even colored, it STILL takes ages to dry!)

rbb

high porosity hair loses moisture more rapidly since the cuticle is open. most people seal with oil or butter to help retain the moisture, use more emollient conditioners...
you can look over threads on the 'high porosity' forum for ideas.

curlyamaryllis

For coloring, you really want to strand test, because it's not so much the developer used, it's the time you keep it on. (You can get hair just as light with 10 volume as with 40 volume, the difference is the 10 v will take longer and do less damage.) I'd try testing a strand at half the recommended time and see what happens.

For general care, HP hair needs protein treatments to help it hold in moisture (iagirl's gelatin treatment is a great home made option) and loads of moisture overall. It's also important to protect it from things like hygral fatigue, which is essentially overwatering.

It took me a long time to understand why my hair hates glycerin so much. (I have HP hair, well, the damaged parts, anyway.) It didn't hit me until I used something containing glycerin and realized that the undamaged, normal porosity portions didn't look bad while the HP sections were frizzed out.

HP hair is more prone to hygral fatigue, I think, because the cuticle layer is more open, letting more water in. Glycerin attracts water to hair*, but HP hair allows too much water in, leaving it fuzzy. Which explains why I hate glycerin, but so many people swear by it. They probably aren't dealing with HP hair. (Or maybe not as HP. I really thrashed my hair before adopting the CG method.)

So, I'd recommend regular protein and deep conditioning treatments, but being careful with things like glycerin. Try them, they might be okay, but be aware of your hair's reactions.

*Unless the humidity is below 30%, in which case it will pull water from hair.

Therese1

I'm a little confused. If your hair takes ages to dry, then it is likely low porosity and not high porosity.

e_m

Hm...it could be because I have so much of it. I never could figure out what the porosity was, but the tidbit about the dye always turning darker than what it was supposed to really hit home.

My hair also loves oil.

CurlyZoey

I have high porosity hair (mostly 2c) and I find 100% jojoba or argan oil, just a few drops, to my crown and ends really helps with frizz without making my hair too heavy.