Do you know what hair Porosity means? If you don’t do not feel ashamed, I learned about Hair Porosity back in 2019. Hair porosity is your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture, in other words, how easily moisture can penetrate your hair shaft. There are three levels of porosity, low, medium, and high. Understanding your hair’s porosity is important because it can guide you on which products you should use, and dictate your hair care regimen, which can result to healthy hair.
Low porosity hair tends to take a longer time to absorb water and products, it can be challenging to moisturize, however low porosity retains hydration and moisturizing compounds pretty well once it makes It through the cuticle. Low porosity hair can feel brittle and appear dry if it’s not taken care of. Prior to dying my hair, I had normal porosity, but, since dying it to honey blonde it’s turned into low porosity, what I believe worked for me was sitting under a hooded hair dryer for 40 minutes to an hour, every 2- 3 weeks using PBL ( Peju’s Beauty Line) Lavender & Mint deep conditioner , I also replaced my shampoo with Ghassoul Clay mask during that time. As a result, I now have normal porosity hair as long as I maintain that hair care regimen while my hair is colored.
Medium hair porosity is also known as normal porosity, your hair strands have looser cuticles, hence, you experience little to no difficulty absorbing or retaining water, products, and moisture. Maintenance for this hair type is quite simple, keep it clean, always condition your hair after cleansing, add deep conditioning to your hair care regimen and lastly, ensure your hair is moisturized.
High porosity hair easily absorbs water and products quickly but has a tough time retaining the absorption. The cuticle for this hair type is open and rough, which makes it difficult for moisture to penetrate the hair fiber. High porosity hair appears frizzy, constant hair tangling, lack of shine and extreme dryness. Caring for this hair type requires, sulfate free shampoo which is known to strip away too much moisture, trim your hair regularly, maybe every four months which has helped me, reduce styling and manipulating your hair, begin protective hairstyles that doesn’t cause too much tension, deep condition your hair under a hooded dryer, and stay away from moisturizers that contain petroleum jelly, PBL’s Gro Grease provides high levels of moisture that can help keep your hair rich in moisture and prevent dryness.
Testing your hair’s porosity can be done at home with a few simple steps. Before testing ensure your hair is cleansed from product build up. Pluck a random strand of your hair and place it in a glass cup filled with room temperature water, if it rapidly sinks to the bottom its high porosity, if it remains floated its low porosity and if it sinks to the middle, it’s medium porosity. This test is called the float test.
Your hair porosity can change, depending on what’s done to it. Harsh chemical treatments, such as perms, bleach, and dyes can cause damage to the hair. It can also be damaged by direct heat such as, the sun’s UV rays, blow drying, and curling/ straightening irons. All of that causes damages to the cuticle layer and causes your hair to lose moisture. Even excessive brushing or styling can make your hair more porous, according to research. Protective hairstyles in my opinion are honestly a better option for healthy hair.