Saw a huge boost in my balayage after switching to low-porosity hair prep

I used to just section and paint without thinking about the hair's condition. Then about 6 months ago, I noticed my color was fading way faster on some clients. I started doing a 20-minute protein treatment before the lightener on high-porosity hair, and the lift is way more even now. Has anyone else tried adjusting their prep based on porosity? I'm still figuring out the timing.

3 comments

3 Comments

miller.rowan22d ago

I did a 12 week test on exactly this with 6 of my regulars. The ones with high porosity hair who got the pre treatment had lift that stayed consistent through all 3 sessions, but the low porosity girls didn't need it at all. What's your timing look like for the low porosity side? Do you find you have to leave the lightener on way longer or do you bump up the developer instead?

diana61722d ago

My best friend's cousin had low porosity hair that was also super fine, like baby hair texture, and she swears by doing a 10 minute apple cider vinegar rinse before anything. She said it opened things up just enough that she could use 20 volume and get to a pale yellow in 40 minutes. But then I tried that on my sister who has low porosity hair that's thick like a horse's mane, and it did nothing. She ended up with a weird brassy orange after an hour and we had to tone it three times. It's like the porosity is only half the story, the actual strand thickness changes everything too.

phoenixw1122d ago

The porosity difference is real but I think everyone's missing the bigger factor which is the base color itself. Like if your low porosity girls are starting with a level 6 natural versus a level 3 that's been box dyed black for years, the timing and developer choice are totally different games. I had this one client with low porosity level 2 virgin hair and 20 volume with 45 minutes got her to a perfect orange, no pre treatment needed. But my other low porosity girl who had henna in her hair from two years ago, I had to bump up to 30 volume and still only got her to a level 5 after an hour. The cuticle structure matters but what's sitting inside those cuticles matters way more in my experience.