Women with gorgeous, healthy locks always say that the key to beautiful hair is to keep your tresses moisturized. That’s why we see so many nourishing products in the hair care aisle at the beauty department, from argan oil finishers to coconut-rich deep conditioners.
But moisturizing the hair isn’t easy for everyone. Some people have high porosity hair that just won’t retain moisture and have to go through the motions of dry, rough, frizzy hair.
If that sounds like your hair, you need a daily dose of leave-in conditioner.
This is vital in restoring shine and lusciousness in your probably damaged hair.
What’s the best leave-in conditioner for high porosity hair anyway?
We’ll get to that in a minute.
Table of Contents
Signs of High Porosity Hair
People with high porosity hair have cuticles that are wide and far apart, which means moisture can soak in easily but leak out just as fast.
Because this type of hair can’t retain moisture properly, it results in chronic dryness and frizz.
Having gaps in your cuticles is sometimes genetic, but most of the time it’s caused by excessive stress on your hair.
Whether it’s from an obsession with heat styling or constantly processing your hair with dyes and relaxers, unnecessary treatments lift your cuticles, thereby damaging them.
Once your hair is super porous from all the damage, you’ll notice that it’s often dehydrated.
One sign of high porosity is your hair drying within minutes of getting out of the shower.
High porosity hair is notorious for being rough to the touch – almost straw-like and synthetic in texture.
It also tends to be tangly because the gaps in your cuticles snag at each other and form knots.
It’s prone to a ton of breakage and split ends too, since your hair needs adequate moisture to be strong, elastic, and resilient.
Benefits Of Using Leave-In Conditioners On High Porosity Hair
It’s not just dryness that high porosity ladies have to go through – their hair’s aesthetic beauty suffers too.
When your hair is thirsty for hydration, your locks become dull and lifeless, and any curls you have won’t be as springy and bouncy.
Leave-in conditioners are a great way to ensure that your locks are moisturized on the regular, even if you’re between wash days.
It’s beneficial for high porosity hair that needs a lot of help to stay hydrated.
Spritzing on some leave-in conditioner every day is a great way to refresh and add shine to your hair.
Leave-ins with protein also help strengthen and bring back bounce your hair, which you need a lot of if your locks are severely damaged.
It’s also a fantastic product to detangle your hair with since many leave-ins have amazing slip.
A leave-in is a must-have for smoothing frizz and eliminating pesky, intricate knots.
Best Leave-In Conditioner For High Porosity Hair
Using a leave-in daily is a quick and easy way to bring your hair back to life when it’s been feeling a bit dead and dry.
Just a few spritzes make a world of difference when you’re dealing with ratty, high porosity hair.
If you’ve been looking for the best leave-in conditioner for high porosity hair, the following review will be of great help.
AG Hair Moisture Fast Food Leave On Conditioner
This leave-in by AG Hair is dubbed “Fast Food” for a reason – it replenishes your hair with nourishing oils and botanicals in an instant.
It’s infused with Abyssinian oil and aloe extracts that moisturize the hair deeply.
It also has some honey that draws in fifty times its weight in moisture into your hair for extra hydration.
Lastly, there are keratin and silk proteins to strengthen your locks and boost elasticity.
All these work together to eliminate frizz so that you can get smooth, shiny hair back.
Pros
- Calms frizz and adds a natural shine back to dry hair
- Abyssinian oil, aloe, and honey nourish the hair
- Keratin and silk proteins strengthen your locks
Cons
- Quite heavy and can weigh down fine hair
Olaplex No 6 Bond Smoother
This Olaplex bond rebuilder is a holy grail for those who constantly bleach and color their hair.
It repairs your brittle hair strands to make them strong again.
This leave-in styling cream also moisturizes the hair, leaving your locks soft, smooth, and touchable.
It also tames frizz and pesky flyaways for up to 72 hours after application.
A little goes a long way with this product.
You only need a drop or two to nourish your hair adequately.
Pros
- Rebuilds broken bonds in the hair for strength
- Moisturizes the hair to leave it soft and smooth
- Tames frizz and flyaways for three days
- You only need a couple of drops per use
Cons
- Can be too heavy for fine hair
As I Am Long and Luxe GroYogurt Leave-In Conditioner
If you have long tresses prone to hair fall and breakage, you’ll love this leave-in by As I Am.
It’s formulated with biotin and proteins to strengthen your hair, helping to retain your length.
Its smooth, velvety formula makes detangling even dry and rough hair a breeze.
The conditioner also has botanical extracts and oils that hydrate the scalp, keeping flaking and itchiness at bay.
This leave-in makes your hair smell wonderfully fruity, thanks to pomegranate and passionfruit extracts.
Pros
- Makes detangling and combing your hair a breeze
- Has biotin and proteins to strengthen long hair
- Hydrates the scalp for less flaking
- Leaves your hair with a pomegranate and passionfruit scent
Cons
- Doesn’t provide that much hold for curls
Kinky-Curly Knot Today Leave-In Conditioner/Detangler
Detangling frizzy, coily hair is challenging, but not with this knot-defying leave-in.
It’s made with slippery elm and marshmallow root extracts, giving it amazing slip.
It helps smooth down the hair and detangle knots easily.
This detangling cream is versatile in that you can use it as either a rinse-out conditioner or a leave-in treatment.
If you use it for the latter, rest assured that it will feel lightweight in your hair and never leave a greasy, waxy residue.
Pros
- Slippery elm and marshmallow root extracts smoothen hair
- Has awesome slip to detangle knots easily
- Can be used as a rinse-out or leave-in conditioner
- Lightweight and never greasy
Cons
- Doesn’t have many moisturizing ingredients, so it can dry out hair after some hours
Innersense Organic Beauty Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner
This Innersense leave-in spray is infused with healing and strengthening tamanu oil and honey, which helps liven up damaged locks with a boost of hydration.
It also contains rice proteins to strengthen and fortify the hair, making it more resilient against the elements.
This leave-in has good slip, so it’s excellent for combing and detangling unruly hair.
It also has a pleasant and relaxing lavender scent, leaving your locks smelling fresh and floral.
Pros
- Tamanu oil and honey heal and moisturize damaged locks
- Rice proteins strengthen the hair to make it more resilient
- Makes combing unruly hair easier
- Has a pleasant and relaxing lavender scent
Cons
- Doesn’t absorb well on dry hair, so you need to apply it to your locks while they’re damp
Avlon KeraCare Natural Textures Leave-In Conditioner
This leave-in aims to seal your cuticles, giving you a smoother, sleeker finish after styling.
This helps preserve your hair’s elasticity and springy bounce.
It’s infused with Abyssinian and argan oils to nourish your hair without being heavy enough to weigh down your delicate locks.
These oils also add a healthy sheen to your hair.
Meanwhile, exotic amla fruit and shikakai extracts add extra hydration and strengthen the hair.
Pros
- Seals your hair cuticles to smooth down your locks
- Preserves your hair’s natural elasticity and bounce
- Abyssinian and argan oils moisturize and add shine to the hair
- Amla fruit and shikakai extracts add extra hydration and strength
Cons
- Can curdle when applied on top of gels and other styling products
Design Essentials Platinum Moisturizing Leave-In Conditioner with Coconut Oil
High porosity hair loves coconut oil because of its intensely moisturizing power, which is why this leave-in by Design Essentials is perfect for porous hair.
It’s formulated with coconut oil to provide deep nourishment.
The conditioner also locks in hydration and nutrients from your other styling products to ensure your hair is soft and smooth all day long.
It’s safe to use on chemically processed hair because it doesn’t have potentially harsh chemicals, such as sulfates, parabens, phthalates, and more.
Pros
- Coconut oil penetrates dry, damaged hair to moisturize it intensively
- Locks in hydration, so the hair is soft and smooth
- Lightweight and won’t weigh down your curls
- Doesn’t have harsh chemicals like sulfates, parabens, and phthalates
Cons
- Can be heavy on low-density, relaxed hair
Briogeo Farewell Frizz Rosarco Milk Leave-In Conditioner
This cult-favorite Briogeo leave-in milk is infused with holy grail hair oils like rosehip, argan, and coconut oils.
They provide ample hydration to leave your hair soft and bouncy throughout the day.
The formula is rich in vitamin E, which does wonders for strengthening and adding shine to your locks.
This leave-in is excellent for keeping frizziness at bay and keeping your hair sleek and tidy even when you’re in humid environments.
The milk is comfortable and lightweight, so it won’t weigh down fine, delicate strands.
Pros
- Rosehip, argan, and coconut oils provide ample hydration
- Rich in vitamin E to strengthen and add shine to hair
- Keeps your hair from getting frizzy in humid environments
- Super light, so it won’t weigh down even fine hair types
Cons
- Might be too lightweight for thick, coarse hair
Camille Rose Curl Love Moisture Milk
This Camille Rose leave-in is another holy grail for curly gals with dry locks.
It’s made with rice milk and thick, ultra-nourishing oils like castor, avocado, rosehip seed oils to provide intense moisture.
It’s also infused with aloe and green tea extracts to replenish the hair with even more hydration.
They also have antioxidants to protect and fortify the hair.
This leave-in has a milky and creamy texture, which makes it easy to spread in your locks.
It leaves curly hair soft yet uber-defined.
Pros
- Rice milk and nourishing oils provide intense moisture
- Aloe and green tea extracts hydrate and fortify the hair
- Has a milky, creamy texture for easy spreadability
- Leaves your curls soft yet defined
Cons
- Tends to coagulate when paired with thicker creams and gels
Oyin Handmade Hair Dew Daily Quenching Hair Lotion
If your thick, coily, thirsty curls need quenching, this leave-in lotion is just the treat for you.
It’s formulated with ultra-moisturizing olive squalene and castor oil, which high porosity hair is sure to drink up immediately.
The formula boosts hair pliancy and elasticity, making your damaged locks more resilient against breakage.
It also adds a luminous sheen to your hair, making it look healthy and sleek.
Pros
- Olive squalene and castor oil moisturize the hair deeply
- Boosts hair pliancy to make it more resilient against breakage
- Adds a lovely, luminous sheen to the hair
- Leaves your hair with a sweet vanilla cookie scent
Cons
- Might be too thick for fine and wavy hair types
Curls Dynasty Kalahari Smoothie Leave-In
This leave-in by Curls Dynasty is rich in thick, ultra-moisturizing oils, like coconut oil, shea butter, and the unique Kalahari seed oil.
These oils work to nourish the hair deeply.
They also aid in detangling stubborn knots so your hair is easier to manage during the styling process.
It’s also infused with silk proteins and vitamin B5 to fortify and rebuild weak and fragile strands, making it perfect for damaged high porosity hair.
Pros
- Coconut oil, shea butter, and Kalahari seed oil nourish the hair
- Silk proteins and vitamin B5 fortify your strands
- Detangles stubborn knots to make hair manageable during styling
- Doesn’t contain stripping ingredients like sulfates and parabens
Cons
- Tends to leave a waxy residue when too much product is used
Conclusion
High porosity hair needs an extra hand to ensure it’s soft and hydrated all day.
If you don’t commit to moisturizing your hair with high-quality leave-in treatment, you could be stuck with rough, frizzy, and parched hair – and no one’s ever gotten a confidence boost from hair looking like that!
If you suspect you have high porosity hair, save yourself the trouble of facing impending hair malfunctions by making it a habit to use a trusty leave-in each day.
It’s your secret weapon to bringing back luminosity, smoothness, and that beautiful bounce to your tired locks.