Have you ever heard the term “hair porosity” before but weren’t quite sure what it means? Or perhaps you’re already familiar with it, but don’t know how to determine your hair porosity level.
If either of these scenarios resonates with you, then you’ve come to the right place. Understanding your hair porosity is the key to unlocking your ability to properly care for your hair.
In this post, we’ll be breaking down the basics of what makes up hair porosity and how it affects the overall health of your locks.
If you’re curious about how your hair is actually absorbing the products that you’re applying to it, then you need to take a deeper look into hair porosity.
Simply put, porosity is a measure of how well your hair absorbs and holds moisture. Most people’s hair falls somewhere on the spectrum of low, medium or high porosity.
Low porosity hair resists absorption of moisture due to its tightly compacted cuticles that don’t allow for easy absorption of products. On the other end, high porosity hair has an increased capacity for holding onto product because its cuticles are raised and much more open.
Medium porosity hair lies somewhere in between these two extremities.
The best way to find out is to take the water test: simply fill a container with room-temperature water and place one single strand of clean hair into the water.
From there, look to see what happens to the strand.
If your strand floats on the water surface, then you have low porosity. This means that your cuticle layer is tightly closed- which is actually great for moisture retention.
If your strands move around and eventually sink halfway through the duration of the test, then you have medium porosity hair. This level is considered normal as it’s neither too high nor too low.
If your strands immediately sink towards the bottom, then you definitely have high porosity hair. This means that your cuticles are open, which can make it hard for moisture to be retained in your hair.
Low Porosity Hair
Low porosity hair can be a challenge if you want your hair to look and feel its best. The drawbacks of having low porosity hair can include lack of moisture absorption and a higher risk of heat damage.
It is also susceptible to product buildup which can lead to dry, brittle hair that’s difficult to style.
Medium Porosity Hair
Medium porosity hair is generally considered the healthiest and easiest type to maintain. However, its porosity can rise if hair strands are exposed to excessive heat styling, bleaching, dyeing, frequent washing and perming.
Here’s some tips to keep your medium porosity locks healthy:
High Porosity Hair
If you’ve already determined that you have high hair porosity, there are some advantages to your hair’s makeup despite the fact that moisture retention may be a problem.
High porosity hair is highly effective in taking in products and hair treatments like color, as it can process them quickly.
If you take care of your hair correctly, high porosity strands are more likely to look healthy and vibrant. Here’s a few tips to keep your high porosity hair looking healthy:
Following these tips for your respective hair porosity can improve the health of your gem hair and make it easier to maintain. In the meantime, let us know what kind of hair porosity you have and how you take care of it in the comments below!