A word you constantly hear about in the natural hair community but still unsure about what it means, no worries today's post is a simplified version about hair porosity and why it's so important to understand it in order to serve your hair needs better.
What is hair porosity?
Hair porosity is how easily your hair is able to absorb and retain moisture.
Knowing your hair porosity helps you pick point what type of products and tools you should invest in and what you should stay clear from. There are three types of hair porosity, low porosity hair, normal hair porosity & high porosity hair.we will focus mostly on high and low porosity hair as they require more attention compared to people with normal porosity whose hair easily absorbs and retains moisture. There are different types of tests that help you determine what your hair porosity is such as the cup test where you place a hair strand into a cup half-filled with water and wait to see if it sinks or floats, then there is the spray test where if the water seats on top of your hair like beads you have low porosity hair and if it instantly absorbs in water then your hair is high porosity and lastly the strand test where if your strand of hair feels smooth when you run your fingers up and down it then you have low porosity hair and if your hair strands feel bumpy its high porosity hair due to your open cuticles.
source: google
LOW POROSITY HAIR
Does your hair take a long time before getting wet when you're washing it? Does it look like there are beads of water sitting on top of your hair? Does it take at least two days before your hair completely dries up? If your answers are yes then you probably have low porosity hair.
Low porosity hair has thick cuticles hence makes it hard for water to easily sip into your hair shafts, using hot water tends to help open up your cuticles hence enabling water and products to sip in easily. Using lighter products such as hair lotions tends to work for people with low porosity hair compared to heavy butter which tends to seat on top of your hair and make your hair feel greasy. Use clay masks to clarify your hair to remove product build-up. Always use heat when deep conditioning or else it will just sit on top of your hair, Hot water and heat is honestly your best friend when trying to ensure your hair gets in enough moisture. Although it's hard to absorb in moisture, people with low porosity hair tend to be able to retain their moisture for long periods as your cuticles tend to close up fast.
HIGH POROSITY HAIR
High porosity is the complete opposite of low porosity hair. My hair is high porosity and I find it hard to retain moisture especially if I don't have any thick creams or butter that help seal in moisture. For people with high porosity hair, your hair cuticles tend to be wide open hence allowing moisture in but doesn't maintain the moisture unless it's sealed in properly. It's usually as a result of damaged or highly processed hair. Hair tends to dry quickly and easily gets frizzy and tends to tangle and shed a lot. Hair lotion and leave-in sprays are not your friends as they will just dry your hair out more but butter and oils and thick creams are the answer to seal in moisture ie layering products. Apply products on wet hair and avoid using heat on your hair to avoid further damage to your hair, air-drying your hair is a more sufficient way to dry your hair when it comes to high porosity hair. Avoid manipulating your hair too much it's better to find a protective style of your choosing that won't require you redoing your hair every single day I prefer to leave my hair in a wash and go. Always pre-poo your hair before shampooing especially if you are using a sulfate-based shampoo or any form of clarifying shampoo that may dry your hair out even more. Deep condition your hair as often as possible I prefer doing it twice a month to improve the porosity of my hair and close my hair cuticles more. Use cold water after moisturizing your hair to close your hair cuticles and help ensure your hair retains that moisture for long periods. People with high porosity hair find it easy to moisturize their hair but retaining that moisture tends to be the tricky part.
once you understand your hair porosity then trust me your wash days will be a breeze as you will be able to know what products work and don't work on your hair and also understanding your hair porosity helps you save your money as you don't have to waste it on products your hair doesn't need.