Humectants

Humectants, few examples include:•

Glycerin• Propylene glycol• Honey• Agave nectar• Sorbitol• Sodium PCA• Panthenol• Hydrolyzed silk protein• Fructose

Low porosity likes humectants to draw moisture into the hair. But you have to be careful, In times of low dew points when there is not much water or moisture in the air, humectants can do more damage than good, as they are not particular in where they draw water from, so if there is no water in the air they will leach the water out of the hair strands on which they have bound themselves to.

In more normal weather, low porosity likes humectants to attract water into the hair and high porosity likes more oils to seal in moisture inside the hair. However, the weather can affect things so be aware of these conditions. La looks gel has humectants, but I seal hair with shea moisture or coconut oil underneath and my hair is not sticky like before in my humid climate.

Low humidity conditions are those such as cold, dry winter air. In this case, if you use products that contain a lot of humectants, there is not a lot of water in the air for the humectants to attract to the surface of your hair. What can occur is that the humectants in your products may prevent the evaporation of water from the hair into the air. However don’t look for ultra-moisturized hair from humectant use in this type of climate because it’s just not going to happen. In fact there is a chance that humectants may remove moisture from the cortex of the hair into the air. Remember diffusion? Moisture will move from areas of high concentration (in this case the hair) to areas of lower concentration - the air! This can result in dry, icky feeling hair. Not cool!

With high humidity conditions such as warm or hot summer air, there can often be A LOT of moisture in the air. Some moisture is good; a lot of moisture – not so much. If your textured hair is dry, damaged and overly porous it can absorb a lot of water from the air. This can lead to swelling of the hair shaft, lifting of the cuticle, tangling and frizz. Combine this situation with a product that is high in humectants (especially glycerin) and you have a situation where a lot of water is attracted to the surface of the hair. This can lead to hair that always feels wet, takes forever to dry and is a sticky, tangled mess. In other words, cotton candy hair. Not hot at all!


Products: KCCC, KCKT, As I am leave in, GVP MAtrix Conditioning balm from Sally's


Sources:
http://curly2kinky.com/clinic/humectants/
http://www.curlynikki.com/2012/12/humectants-weather-and-hair-care-part-1.html?m=1