Hair Porosity
11:21One of the properties that i didn't know existed when it came to hair, became one of the most important traits once i discovered it.
if you have been reading blogs, keeping you hair moisturised is probably the most stressed point, so then OBVIOUSLY understanding how your hair reacts to moisture would be pretty great thing to know right?... Right! Well exactly what hair porosity is.
Hair porosity refers to how well your hair absorbs and retains moisture. Hair porosity is mostly genetic, but external factors like heat and chemical treatments can affect it.
Hair porosity refers to the outer cuticle layer and how easily it allows moisture and oils to pass in and out of your hair. Understanding your porosity will not help you decide which products and oils will work for you, but will how to moisturise your hair (I will discuss the different moisturising methods in another post).
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How To Determine Your Hair Porosity:
There are three tests you can do to determine how porous your hair is.
Test 1: The Slip 'n Slide test
Hold a single strand if hair between two of your fingers and slide from the tip to the root.
- If your hair feels slick and your fingers slide quickly up the strand, you have low porosity hair.
- If your fingers slide smoothly up your hair, then you have normal hair.
- If you feel little bumps or catches like you are roughing up your hair, then you have high porosity hair.
I will be honest with you, this test kind of confused me at first, but after a few tries i kinda got it. Also note that you have to this on freshly washed, product free hair.
Test 2: The Float Test
This test involves you taking a few strands and placing the in a cup/bowl of water. Make sure you don't push the hair strand into the water. Wait 2-4mins and see the position of the hair.
- If after the time has lapsed, your hair is still floating.
- if your hair strand sinks slowly, you have normal hair.
- If your hair sinks immediately / sinks quickly, you have high porosity hair.
Please note your porosity can differ throughout your hair so you can take strands from the front, middle and back and test each section separately. If you feel pedantic you can divide your hair into 6 sections (front left, front right etc).
Test 3: The Wet hair Test
Wash your hair and see how quickly it dries. Don't dry your hair or your body. The quicker it dries, the higher the porosity.
- If your body dries before your hair, then you have low porosity hair.
- If your hair dries before your body, then you have high porosity hair.
Now i understand sitting there with a wet bod can lead to pneumonia, so you can just see how quickly your hair without relating it to your body.
- If your hair takes forever to dry, i.e. you are able to style you hair and your hair is still damp, then you have low porosity hair.
- If your hair is dry while you are styling and needs you to spray it water, then you have high porosity hair.
Now you know your porosity, now what does it mean????
Low Porosity
Low porosity has a very tight bound cuticles that overlap each out and lay flat. This makes the hair resistant and repels moisture meaning it is harder to moisturise as it does not allow moisture into or out of the hair shaft. This hair is also hard to chemically process as it chemical penetration.
So?
- Avoid protein rich conditioners as low porosity hair is prone to protein build up which can leave your hair feeling straw like and stiff
- Humectants such and glycerine are your friend as they attract moisture.
- Use moisturisers that are rich in emollients such as shea butter, argan oil (FAV!!!) , jojoba oil, coconut oil etc
- Use moderate heat when deep conditioning. You do this by getting a heating cap or by wrapping your head with a warm towel.
- Add glycerine to your daily spritz
Products recommended for low porosity hair
Shampoo
- Earth Sap Tea Tree Shampoo (Available on Faithful to nature)
Conditioners
- Cantu Shea Butter Leave-in Conditioning Cream (its AMAZING)
- Redken Frizz Dismiss Rinse Out Mask Treatment
Stylers/ Moisturizers
- Cantu Shea Butter Moisturising curl Activator
- Cantu Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque
****Cantu Products are available at selected Dischem and Clicks stores. If you struggle finding them, you can order online from******
Oils/Sealants
You are lucky if you normal porosity hair as this hair requires the least amount of maintenance as the cuticle layer is positioned in such a way that the right amount of moisture enters while preventing too much from leaving.
High porosity hair is normally damaged hair due to over processing or excessive use of heat or damage from the environment. It can also be due to genetics. The cuticle has gaps which means it allows too much moisture it, leaving it brittle and prone to frizz and tangling, especially in humid weather. It also tends to lose moisture quickly, so it can look dull and feel dry.
Shampoo
Conditioners
Oils/Sealants
Products with the above heavy oils in the top five ingredients are great for overly porous hair.
*****Please note that this a merely a guideline so if a product not included in the list works for you, continue using it. If a product list on the list does not work for you, then stop using it. *****
Oils/Sealants
- Argan
- Sweet Almond
- Jojoba
- Grapeseed
Normal/Medium Porosity
You are lucky if you normal porosity hair as this hair requires the least amount of maintenance as the cuticle layer is positioned in such a way that the right amount of moisture enters while preventing too much from leaving.
So?
- Not really much to change. Doing protein rich deep conditioners every now and then is advisable.
- Use conditioners with hydrolyzed proteins and mix your conditioners with Aloe Vera Juice
- Use heat protectants when using heat on your hair as damage while styling can increase your porosity and life will stop being so easy.
- Creamy moisturisers with olive oil, coconut oil and jojoba. If you cannot find one with jojoba, just use jojoba afterwards.
- Mixing you spritz with a little glycerine, aloe vera juice and water.
Products recommended for normal/medium porosity hair
Just keep using the products you are using.
High Porosity
High porosity hair is normally damaged hair due to over processing or excessive use of heat or damage from the environment. It can also be due to genetics. The cuticle has gaps which means it allows too much moisture it, leaving it brittle and prone to frizz and tangling, especially in humid weather. It also tends to lose moisture quickly, so it can look dull and feel dry.
So?
- The LOC (Liquid, Oil, Cream) method is your best friend.
- Heavy Creams and butters are also great at filling the gaps in the cuticle, preventing the moisture from leaving.
- Use anti humectants in hot and humid to seal the liquid and prevent it from absorbing excess liquid
- Avoid heat
- Deep condition or do a protein treatment every two weeks.
- Rinse your hair with cold water to help close the cortex of the hair
- Mix conditioner with Aloe Vera Juice
- Use a mixture of glycerine, aloe vera juice and water.
Products recommended for high porosity hair
Shampoo
- Cantu Moisturizing Shampoo
- Apple Cider Vinegar rinse will return your hair to a neutral ph and help close the cuticle.
Conditioners
- Cantu Sulphate Free Hydrating Cream Conditioner
- Redken Extreme strength builder plus fortifying Hair Mask
Oils/Sealants
- Olive Oil
- Castor Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Hempseed Oil
Products with the above heavy oils in the top five ingredients are great for overly porous hair.
*****Please note that this a merely a guideline so if a product not included in the list works for you, continue using it. If a product list on the list does not work for you, then stop using it. *****
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