All You Need To Know About Hair Porosity

Hair Porosity is defined as how well your hair absorbs moisture.

A lot of natural hair problems stem from a common problem which is a lack of moisture. It’s not that we aren’t moisturizing our hair, some of us don’t know how to moisturize our hair. Depending on how porous your hair is, it can be categorized as high, low, or medium. Once you know then you’ll be better able to moisturize your hair. We are here to help!

But first, we have to do a hair porosity test.

HOW TO DO THE HAIR POROSITY TEST:

Doing a hair porosity test, lets you know what category you fall into. Then, you can get the right products and familiarize yourself with the right technique to moisturize your hair. Here is how to:

1. Take a couple of hair strands from your brush or your comb
2. Place the hair strands in a bowl of lukewarm water
3. Wait for 5 to 15 minutes, and see where the hair falls, settles, or rises.
4. Results: -
   TOP – Low Porosity
   MIDDLE – Medium Porosity
   BOTTOM – High Porosity

Once we know the category, then we’re able to moisturize your hair properly.

TYPES OF HAIR POROSITY:

LOW: If your hair settles at the top, then you have low porosity hair.
Low porosity hair strands cuticles are tightly closed. Therefore, it’s difficult for moisture to get into the hair strands. So, if our hair is dry, you can’t just apply moisturizer to your hair. It will just sit on the hair strands and cause product build-up. However, once it gets in it’s even harder to get out. So how do we properly moisturize our hair?

The best way to get moisture into low porosity hair is by using warm or hot water. The heat will lift the cuticle layers open so that the product (moisturizer) is better able to absorb into the hair strands. Then, once your hair strands cool then the cuticle layer is closed so that no moisture escapes.

MEDIUM:  If your hair falls into the middle of the water, then you have medium porosity hair.
Medium porosity hair is deemed to be ‘best.’ The hair strands are slightly opened and closed. So, you’re able to moisturize your hair quickly once it becomes dry.

HIGH:  If your hair falls to the bottom, then you have high porosity hair.
High porosity hair strands cuticles are always open. Therefore, it’s difficult for moisture to stay locked into your hair strand. Once the moisture gets in, then it gets out. High porosity hair arises when your hair is damaged from thermal, chemical, or mechanical damage. SO, the cuticle layers are damaged so they don’t function as they should.

The best way to moisturize your high porosity hair is by locking in the moisture using butter or creams. Butters, Oils, and creams are great sealants for keeping the hydration locked into your hair strands. After applying liquid using a water-based moisturizer or a spray bottle of water, follow up to seal with an oil/butter/cream. It will keep the cuticles locked so that moisture has no way of escaping.

Now that you know how to test your hair porosity as well as what the results mean, it is time to act. Your hair needs to stay moisturized for it to thrive. And the best way to do this is by knowing exactly what to do.