The capillary schedule is a popular in-home hair treatment among Brazilian curlies, and they have the prettiest curls ever! But the truth is that the capillary schedule works for all hair types and textures.
If your hair needs rehab or just maintenance, the capillary schedule can be your ally to have healthier hair!
Disclaimer: I’m not a hairstylist or any type of hair professional. Everything you read here is based on my own experience with my hair.
Heads up: this page may contain affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.
What is exactly the Capillary Schedule?
It is a customized hair treatment plan with 3 steps: hydration, nutrition, and reconstruction. Using your hair porosity level you can design your own schedule accordingly to your hair needs, and I will tell you how!
The duration of the treatment varies it will depend on how damaged is your hair, you can do monthly cycles and at the end of a cycle, you can reevaluate your hair’s porosity and decide if a new cycle is needed.
This can be perfect if your hair needs rehab or only if you want to maintain it healthy and strong.
Why should I consider the Capillary Schedule?
The Capillary Schedule is a formula that can be adapted to any type of hair and will address specific needs. Each person’s hair is different and naturally, and has different needs. Sometimes, the needs of your hair can change, you can bleach it and end up with damaged hair, which could be treated by doing a schedule that is focused on nutrition and reconstruction steps.
Regardless of your hair type or texture, if it is damaged or not, it will have a very specific need. And sorry sis, but the miraculous 10-in-1 hair mask won’t be enough in the long run.
I remember buying good-rated hair products that worked on my hair temporarily, or worse, didn’t work at all. And that happens because the product probably was only concealing the problem, not solving it.
No matter where your hair game is right now, if you want to make it shinier, smoother, and healthier, the Capillary Schedule is a great option for you!
If, by any chance, you are asking “okay but how will I know what my hair needs?” Don’t worry, I got you! Let’s talk about porosity first, and then how you can figure out what your hair needs.
What is hair porosity?
Your hair’s cuticles are the ones that tell your hair’s porosity level. Porosity is your hair’s capacity to absorb and retain moisture. It is classified into three categories: low porosity, medium porosity, and high porosity.
“Low porosity hair has cuticles that are bound very close together, normal porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly less bound, and high porosity hair has cuticles that are more widely spread out.”
explains Robin Groover, the founder of Atlanta-based Too Groovy Salon.
Aiming in the middle is ideal here. The cuticles aren’t so open that your hair can’t retain moisture or nutrients or so closed that nothing gets in.
Figuring out your hair’s porosity at home
Figuring out your hair’s porosity is simple. You will need a clear glass of water and one strand of your dry hair, smaller than the diameter of the cup you are using.
Testing: You will put the hair in the water and let it sit for about 3 minutes. After the 3 minutes compare your hair’s behavior with the image below.
- If your hair floats, it has low porosity and your schedule needs to be focused on hydration.
- If your hair is in the middle of the cup, not floating but not in the bottom, it has medium porosity and your schedule needs to be focused on nutrition.
- But, if your hair sinks to the bottom it has high porosity, meaning damage, and your schedule needs to be focused on reconstruction.
Capillary Schedule steps
Each one of these steps will be on your schedule, I listed some examples of the most common ingredients to help you know what to look for on the labels next time you shop for hair products:
- Hydration: the goal is to get moisture inside of your hair and get rid of that thirsty aspect.
- The most commons ingredients to look for are: D-Panthenol is also known as Vitamin B5, aloe vera, wheat germ, hyaluronic acid, lanolin, and seaweed.
- Nutrition: the goal is to feed your hair.
- The ingredients to be looking for are fatty oils: Omegas 3 and 6, olive oil, shea butter, avocado oil, and argan oil for example.
In the nutrition step, you also have the option to use humectation, also called pre-pooing, you can do it by applying vegetable oil to your hair and letting it sit for at least 4 hours before washing your hair.
You could even make it an overnight treatment the day before you wash your hair. Olive oil is my favorite, it’s good results and it’s budget-friendly.
- Reconstruction: this is a very important step for damaged hair. The reconstruction will help to rebuild the hair cuticles, making your hair stronger.
- The main ingredient to look for is protein: Keratin is the most usual but you can also look for vegetable proteins like wheat and soy proteins.
Time to create your Schedule
Finally, it is time to create your own schedule, you will consider:
- your hair porosity result
- what step you should be focused on
- how many times do you wash your hair weekly
Let’s say you wash your hair twice a week and you have high porosity hair. Your Schedule should focus on reconstruction.
So at least once a week, you should do a reconstruction, then alternate between hydration and nutrition on your other weekly washday. Just like the example below:
If you can’t fit these many washes into your routine because you know… life! It doesn’t mean the capillary schedule is not for you, remember the capillary schedule is totally customizable, you can combine both days and do them once a week (that is what I do 😉).
My favorite hair products
All of these products below are currently on my hair regimen and I’m just obsessed with them! They all carry more than one step of the Capillary Schedule, except for the CurlSmith Bond Curl.
CurlSmith Bond Curl is a pre-shampoo protein treatment, so I apply it before washing my hair, this mama here loves practicality.
Conclusion
Now you know what is a capillary schedule, your hair porosity level, and also what are the best ingredients to look for on your hair products. You are ready to take your hair game to the next level at the comfort of your home and without brake the bank!
I hope this post was helpful. I plan on writing more about affordable hair care, let me know in the comments what do you want to know next!
And if you are a curly-haired person you might like this post here too.
Have fun taking care of yourself, you deserve it.
Leave a Reply