The Ultimate Guide to Hair Porosity

Picture this: you feel like you’ve tried every hair product under the sun, and followed countless tutorials, yet your hair still refuses to cooperate.

Could it be that you're overlooking a fundamental aspect of hair health? Enter hair porosity 👀 – the often overlooked yet game-changing factor in your hair care routine.
Let's demystify porosity together and empower you to take control of your hair journey like never before.

Now, let's start with a bit of hair structure analysis to understand what hair is like; that way, the issue of porosity will make sense to you.

Hair Structure

Hair porosity refers to the hair's ability to absorb water. This ability also determines how it absorbs hair products. The picture below shows what our hair looks like on a magnified scale.

It has three layers:

1. The Cuticle: The outer layer of a hair strand. The cuticle protects the hair with its scale-like pattern of dead cells that overlap. These cells are defenses that control the water content in the hair fiber. They also shield the inner structure of the hair from damage.
2. The Cortex: The thickest middle layer of the hair strand. It contains the fibrous proteins and the pigment (melanin) that determines your hair color.
3. The Medulla: The soft, fragile inner layer of the hair. Think of the medulla as the marrow of the hair shaft.

With this information at the back of your mind, let's discuss the types of porosity.

Types of Hair Porosity

1. Low porosity
2. Medium porosity
3. High porosity

Low Porosity Hair

The cuticle of low porosity hair is closed and flat, which means water (moisture) cannot be absorbed easily.

This hair type is difficult to obtain moisture but when it does, it keeps it in and stays moisturized. Tapping from Byrdie’s interview with Trichologist Dr. Chamber Harris, “Low porosity [hair] is actually healthy hair that is not being moisturized correctly. The cuticle layer is intact, but you're not moisturizing it properly, so it becomes dry and tangled”

So, how do you properly moisturize low porosity hair? First, let's see the distinct characteristics of this hair

Characteristics of Low Porosity Hair

1. Your hair takes time to get saturated by water, especially when you wash or re-moisturize.
2. Hair products don't absorb easily they sit on top of your hair
3. Air drying your hair seems to take forever

This hair requires moisture above all things. So, how do you get moisture in? How do you take care of your hair?

Low Porosity Hair Care Tips

1. Choose protein-free conditioners

Protein-free conditioners are easily absorbed into your hair shaft and likely eliminate product build-up. Also, use conditioners that contain humectants (products that draw in moisture) like glycerin, honey, and Aloe vera.

2. Make water your best friend

Nothing beats water when it comes to hair care, so use moisture-rich products. Most importantly, don't forget that haircare isn't only about outer care; remember to
hydrate from within. Drink a lot of water.

3. Apply conditioner to wet hair

The idea is to combine the power of water and conditioner to make absorption of moisture into the cuticle easier.
Remember, low porosity hair holds on to any moisture that penetrates in, so you want to take advantage and use liquid-based conditioners that pair well with water.

You might want to use conditioners with lightweight oils sparingly. This is because oils are also water-resistant (they don’t mix with water), so using them might not help with the goal of absorbing moisture into the cuticle. If you have to use them, apply heat or steam.

4. Use heat when you condition

To be clear, use mild heat from a steamer, heat cap or hooded dryer. Heat can help open up the cuticle and help with absorbing moisture when you condition your hair.

If you don't have any of those heat tools, cover your hair in a shower cap and then wrap with a towel to trap the heat.

Medium Porosity Hair

The cuticle of the medium porosity hair isn’t too open nor is it too closed. It allows steady and moderate in-flow and out-flow of moisture through your hair.
Medium porosity hair has a cuticle opening balance that's “just right”, so most people call it “normal porosity hair” (I’m not a fan of the name either).

Even as a genetic trait, bad hair care practices,, from heat damage or chemical processing can cause this porosity type to change.

Characteristics of Medium Porosity Hair

1. Moisture penetrates easily and it retains that moisture for a longer period of time.
2. Usually looks glossy and shiny as it absorbs moisture and products.
3. Air drying doesn't take too long.
4. Styling or even colouring is easy and lasts for a good amount of time.

Medium porosity hair can lose it's characteristics, so you want to be careful how you style or treat with chemicals.

Medium Porosity Hair Care Tips

1. Balance deep conditioning with protein and moisture

Since medium porosity hair tends to absorb moisture and products easily, find a balance between moisture and protein. You can try deep conditioning with protein once a month. While you deep condition with moisture, one to three times monthly. This solely depends on your hair; play around with it and see the frequency your hair likes.

2. Use leave-in- conditioners

To maintain the balance of your medium porosity hair, you want to use leave-in conditioners in-between wash days to boost hydration and preserve your hair balance.

3. Focus on your scalp and roots when you shampoo

Always use a sulphate free shampoo for your hair (no matter the porosity type) that gently cleanses your hair without losing its natural oils. When you shampoo, focus on the roots and scalp more to remove excess oil or product build-up especially if you style with lots of products.

High Porosity Hair

High porosity hair is at the extreme of the porosity spectrum. Its cuticle is widely open so water easily penetrates in and goes out as fast.

So, moisture comes in easily but it doesn't stay long enough to nourish your hair. This trait tends to leave your hair feeling dry quickly.

While high porosity hair can be genetic certain factors can damage the cuticle creating gaps and making it more porous than normal. UV rays, bleaching, extreme heat styling practices, bleaching, and other chemical processes can make your hair become high porosity.

Characteristics of High Porosity Hair

1. It absorbs products and moisture fast.
2. Air drying is super fast when compared to other types
3. It usually looks and feels dry, frizzy and brittle. It's prone to breakage.

High Porosity Hair Care Tips

The goal for high porosity hair care is to help your hair retain moisture and reduce or reverse the damage done to the cuticle.

1. Use protein conditioners to restore hair strength

Use conditioners that contain keratin, silk protein and wheat to fix the brittle nature of this hair type and restore strength.

2. Use oils and butters

Heavy oils and butters can help seal the cuticle gaps and protect the hair layer. Choose products that contain shea butter, honey, almond and argan oil to help seal,
moisturize and nourish your hair.

Check out the product reviews on oils and butters that you can use

3. Use gentle, cleansing shampoo

Use a shampoo that cleans your hair without drying it out. Again, don't use sulphate shampoos, they are bad for hair TLC (tender loving care) business. Choose shampoos that'll clean, maintain and strengthen your hair to prevent breakage.

How do you know what type of porosity you have?

Tests to Know Your Hair Porosity Type

Here are 4 simple tests you can use to determine your porosity type at home:

1. Float test
2. Slip and Slide test
3. Absorption or Spray bottle test
4. Dry test

1. Float test

How to do the float test

1. Get a transparent glass of clean water
2. Take a clean hair strand (preferably freshly washed) from your comb or brush
3. Drop the strand into the glass and allow it to sit for about 3-5 minutes.

The result

1. Low Porosity will keep floating when the time is up.
2. Medium Porosity will float somewhere in the middle of the glass.
3. High Porosity will sink right down to the bottom

Tips
The float test must be done with hair that is product-free, with no conditioners, butters or oils. The presence of products can alter the result.
If you repeat the test for hair on different parts of your head. You might notice that the hair at the back of your head might give a different result. Record these results; they'll help you master your hair care.

2. Slip and Slide Test

This test uses texture to determine porosity. You can pair this test with the float test to determine the type you have

How to do the Slip and Slide test

1. Hold a strand of your hair on your head between your dry fingers (index and thumb)
2. Slowly glide your fingertips on the hair strand towards your scalp and take note of how your hair feels.

The result

1. Low porosity hair feels smooth as you move your fingers through the strand.
2. Medium porosity hair feels slightly bumpy, and the distance between the bumps isn't as close because the cuticle isn't raised like in the latter.
3. High porosity hair feels bumpy to the touch. This is because of the raised cuticles

3. Absorption or Water shed or Spray bottle Test

The absorption test requires you to observe how long your hair absorbs water and products.

How to do the Absorption test

1. Fill your spray bottle with water.
2. Spray water on a small section of your hair and observe your hair.

The result

1. Low porosity hair - You'll notice water beads on your hair. Your hair slowly absorbs the water in
2. Medium porosity hair- You'll notice the water sits on your hair for a couple of minutes and then absorbs it.
3. High porosity hair- You'll notice water absorbs fast. It feels like it sucks it all in quickly.

4. Dry Test

The dry test is probably the most interesting test to read about and try at home. It compares the time it takes for your hair and body to dry. This test requires more patience when compared to the rest. So you might want to try it when you are not in a hurry.

How to do the Dry Test

1. Wash your hair with shampoo and rinse. Don't dry, we'll be using air to dry.
2. Don't apply any hair products yet.
3. Pour water on a part of your body. E.g your arms, legs or thighs (anywhere you like)
4. Observe which dries first- your hair or your wet body.

The result

1. Low porosity- the body dries out first before hair
2. Medium porosity- there is a balance between the time it takes for both hair and body to dry.
3. High porosity- the hair dries out first before body

There you have it! Try out these tests at home and record the results. Feel free to pair more than one test.

If you're still having issues knowing your porosity type, don't worry. Take the hair test to help you figure it out easily

Question: Can I change my hair porosity?

It is largely a genetic trait. But with the best hair care practices, you can manage your hair and boost its look, despite the porosity type.

Wrapping Up

Porosity, just like other hair characteristics (texture, type) is important to determine the best hair practice.

Don't be afraid to try out the recommendations and see which tips your hair loves 😍 or those that it dislikes 🤮. Once you find that “sweet spot” in your hair care routine, stick to it.

Do you have product recommendations that work for your hair type? Check out the review page and leave your product reviews. Share your experience to build the community!

Let's talk hair!