Understanding the different hair porosity types, specifically low porosity and high porosity, will help you make significant changes to the way your hair behaves and how it reacts to particular natural hair treatments. If you have porous hair, this will play a big role in why your hair gets dry, absorbs your curl cream, or becomes easily burdened down by a hair moisturizer. While it stands to reason to believe that your hair porosity and curl type are intimately associated, this isn’t always the case. Take a hair porosity test before your subsequent wash day to determine how to modify your procedure based on how porous your hair actually is.
What is meant by hair porosity?
The word “hair porosity” may have caught your ear and left you wondering what it meant. In essence, hair porosity refers to your hair’s capacity to take in and hold moisture. Your hair’s porosity influences how easily moisture and oils may enter and leave the cuticle, the outermost layer of your hair.
Types of Hair Porosity
Hair porosity is typically divided into three broad categories:
- Low – Moisture is difficult to absorb yet simple to retain once it does.
- Medium – It’s simple to absorb and hold onto moisture. Has the lowest maintenance requirements.
- High – Although moisture is easily absorbed, it rapidly leaves the hair.
Low porosity characteristics:
The cuticles are closely spaced and densely packed in hair with low porosity. As a result, moisture has a difficult time penetrating the hair strand.
You might have hair with low porosity if:
- hair products tend to sit on your hair rather than being quickly absorbed.
- washing your hair makes it difficult for water to fully saturate your hair.
- air drying your hair takes a long time.
Medium porosity characteristics:
The cuticles of hair with medium or regular porosity are neither excessively open nor too close together. This makes it simple for moisture to seep in and also makes it simple to keep moisture in for a longer period of time.
You might have hair with medium porosity if:
- if you have hair that is simple to style and holds styles well.
- if your hair frequently appears glossy, healthy, or sleek.
- air drying your hair doesn’t take too long.
Hair with normal porosity might change over time as a result of heat damage and other chemical processes.
High porosity characteristics:
High porosity hair permits moisture to be absorbed into your hair strands quickly, however it is unable to maintain moisture for very long owing to genetics or hair damage. This is due to the fact that cuticles typically have openings or holes between them.
You might have hair with high porosity if:
- your hair absorbs water and other moisturizing treatments rapidly.
- your hair frequently breaks.
- your hair is used to being dry and frizzy.
- if air drying your hair doesn’t take a lot of time.
You might not have heard the term “hair porosity” before. However, being aware of the type of hair porosity you have can enable you to manage, treat, and take better care of your hair. And that might result in thicker, more robust hair.