Hair porosity and why it matters.
It is highly likely that you have stumbled into the term 'hair porosity' while on your hair journey. But have you ever truly taken the time out to understand what it means and how it applies to gaining proper hair health?
Hair porosity means the ability of your hair to penetrate moisture and retain it. The porosity of your hair tells how well your hair strands are able to accommodate the motion of oils and water traveling to and from the cuticle.
As your interest in your hair care routine grows, it is also essential to gravitate to the benefits that come with understanding what hair porosity is, the different types and how knowing your hair porosity will impact your hair care.
Your hair's porosity is governed by your hair's actual ability to absorb natural oils and hydration and hold it within the stands.
Your hair porosity impacts the extent of how moisture penetrates and leaves the strands.
There are three main types of hair porosity, and these include:
Low porosity. In this hair porosity type, the cuticles are tight together. This makes it harder for your hair strands to become hydrated because moisture finds it difficult to penetrate deep within the hair strands. Instead, the hair products used daily act as a coating on the hair strands instead of becoming absorbed. Also, when washing your hair, you will notice that it takes a while before your hair gets wet and drenched with the water. Ultimately once the hair is now finally wet, it takes a while for it to air dry.
Medium or Normal Porosity. In this hair porosity type, the hair cuticles are not as tight and close together. This is almost referred to as the best hair porosity type as it allows for moisture to be penetrated easier within the cuticles. With the cuticles not being too tightly packed or not too open, water is able to be retained within the hair strands for longer, thus causing hairstyles to hold better and last longer. With this hair porosity type, your hair also tends to have a healthier glow, and less time is required for your hair to air dry.
High porosity. In this hair porosity type, cuticles are far more spaced and not tightly packed to each other. With this hair, porosity moisture is quickly soaked in without hesitation. However, the hair finds it hard to keep the moisture retained for long. This is said to be caused by the gaps present within the hair cuticles. High hair porosity tends to cause quick absorption of water or moisturizing products, easy hair breakage, frizzy and dry hair, and short air-drying time.
Note: Hair damage caused by heat or chemicals can easily alter the porosity of your hair.
The Hair Porosity Test
The glass water test is one of the easiest ways to test your hair porosity. Here are the steps to achieve accurate results:
- Wash hair to remove possible product buildup
- Fill a glass or cup with water
- When hair is shampooed and dry, pull a strand of hair and place it in the water.
- Pay attention to see if your hair strand floats or sinks to the bottom of the water.
The results are as follows:
Floats at the top of the water then sink – Low porosity.
Hair strand floating at the middle level in the water – Medium/normal porosity.
Quickly sinks to the bottom of the water – High porosity.
Note: Low porosity strands tend to feel relatively smooth, while high porosity stands tend to feel bumpy.
You can also take our Hair Porosity Quiz to get an idea as well.
The Possibility of Changing Your Hair Porosity
When the porosity of your hair is understood, the sentiment of many people is if there is a possibility for it to change over time. If your hair porosity type is a result of your genes, it is highly unlikely for it to be changed, but if it is a result of hair damage, it is possible that with treatments and hair care, it will go back to its true porosity overtime.
However, the aim of understanding hair porosity is not to seek a way to change it or feel discouraged based on your findings but rather to understand how to better care for it and receive the desired results based on your hair porosity type.
Low Porosity: Caring for this porosity type means including more conditioners without protein as this will help penetrate the hair easier while preventing product buildup. Also, conditioner should be applied to already damp hair to boost quicker hair absorption. Avoiding products with oils and instead including honey and glycerin will increase cuticle penetration. The use of added heat through steam caps and hooded dryers tends to boost moisture absorption.
High Porosity: The care for this hair type includes implementing shampoos and conditioners that contain butter and oils. These tend to boost the moisture within the hair strands.When washing your hair, it is also critical that room temperature water or slightly warm water be used as you don't want hair cuticles to open wider than they are currently. Leave-in conditioner and oil or butter sealants prove to be beneficial as it helps in the ability of hair to keep moisture. Lastly, it is also essential that a heat protectant is used before applying heating tools as these protect your hair from heat damage.
Final Thoughts
If, after testing your hair porosity type, it isn't particularly normal/medium, it doesn't mean your hair is broken. Still, instead, there should be necessary steps taken to improve and maintain the quality and health of your hair.
