When it comes to looking after our hair, it’s important to know our hair’s porosity, as that affects how well the hair both absorbs and retains moisture.
There are three different porosity types; low, medium and high, and your porosity will affect how your haircare products interact with your hair from the hair’s hydration to the results you get when styling.
I’m going to share some helpful tips on how to know your hair’s porosity type, so you can develop the perfect haircare routine for the healthiest hair, and to ensure your products give you the best results.
What Does Hair Porosity Actually Mean?
Hair porosity is an important thing to know about, when it comes to looking after our hair, and it’s become somewhat of a beauty buzzword in recent year.
In a nutshell, hair porosity is about how well our hair absorbs and retains moisture, and the porosity is influenced by the structure of the hair cuticle.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, hair types can be categorized in three types:
Low porosity hair features tightly packed hair cuticles, which resist moisture absorption, making it more challenging for your hair products to penetrate. Whilst high porosity hair has gaps within the hair cuticle, allowing moisture to absorb quickly; but escape just as easily.
People with medium porosity hair strike a balance, both absorbing and retaining moisture without significant buildup.
How To Know Your Hair’s Porosity Type
One simple method for testing your hair’s porosity, is the “floating test” is the Float Test.
To do the floating test, place a clean strand of your hair into a glass of water. If you notice that your hair sinks inside the glass, you have high porosity hair, if the strand floats, you have low porosity hair, but if the strand hovers between the two, you have medium porosity hair.
You can also try the cuticle test. Take your finger and slide it upwards on a strand of hair. If you feel bumps, it’s a sign you have high porosity hair, but if there aren’t bumps and it’s just smooth, it suggests you have low porosity.
There’s also the TikTok favorite; the water spritz test, simply spritzing dry hair with some water, and seeing how quickly the water absorbs into your hair.
Can You Change Your Hair’s Porosity?
Hair porosity is primarily determined by genetics, so it’s not something you can easily fix by using specific products, or trying different styling methods.
We can however improve our hair’s condition and manageability. If you’ve done the above tests, and discovered you’ve got low porosity hair, opt for heat and specific conditioning methods to enhance the hair’s absorption of moisture.
If you’ve found out you have high porosity hair, you’ll need to seal the cuticles effectively to improve moisture retention.
How to Care for Low Porosity Hair
As I mentioned above, low porosity hair features tightly packed cuticles, and this makes the hair harder to absorb moisture.
You can try doing a “pre-poo” treatment, using penetrating hair oils (like coconut oil) before you shampoo, to help open the hair’s cuticle layer for extra hydration.
You can also try using humectant ingredients like glycerin and honey within your hair care routine, as they’ll both attract moisture, to enhance your hair’s hydration levels.
When it comes to conditioning, applying heat during deep conditioning treatments can also help with the moisture penetration, raising the cuticle layer, allowing our hair to absorb more moisture effectively.
If you’ve got low porosity hair, wash your hair weekly with a low-poo cleanser, to maintain a balance without overloading on products.
How to Care for High Porosity Hair
If you’ve got high porosity hair, we should effectively manage the hair, focusing on sealing the hair’s cuticles and retaining moisture.
You can use more moisturizing haircare products with oils and butters, to help seal in hydration.
Limit your hair washing to once every 4-7 days to prevent the hair from drying out.
Also, rinse your hair with cold after after applying your conditioner, to close the hair’s cuticles and reduce frizz – plus this works to make your hair super shiny too.
It’s also a good idea to use regular deep conditioning treatments to improve the health of your hair, minimize breakage and promote manageability.
