Not sure what your hair porosity is? There's an easy test you can do at home. Simply take a strand of your hair and place it in a cup of water. If the strand sinks, you have low porosity hair. If it floats, you have high porosity hair. If it sinks but then floats back up, you have medium porosity hair.
It is common knowledge that low porosity strands do not easily absorb moisture. Thus, when you use any hair moisturising products, they may still sit on the surface. For instance, when you apply hair oil, your tresses don't absorb it easily, and your strands appear oily for a long time.
Lower porosity is generally great. It is still true that higher hair porosity absorbs water and product quickly and just can't hold on to it while lower porosity hair maintains better moisture.
Additionally, your hair's natural oils struggle to travel from the roots to the ends due to the tightly packed cuticles. As a result, low porosity hair tends to be: Dry and/or frizzy, especially at the ends. Prone to product build-up, resulting in weighed-down or limp hair.
As Washington notes, this is because low porosity hair cuticles are “already smooth, and protein smoothing treatments may cause a buildup of protein on the surface of the strand.” You'll also want to avoid silicones and products with heavy butters.
Determine your hair porosity by looking at how long it takes for your hair to dry when you let it air dry: High porosity hair : dry within 2-4 hours. Medium porosity hair : dry between 4 and 6 hours. Low Porosity Hair : Needs more than 8 hours to dry.
Easy! The Slide Test: Take a strand of hair and slide your fingers up the shaft from the ends towards the scalp. If you feel little resistance and your fingers glide smoothly, your hair is likely high porosity. If you feel some resistance but can still slide your fingers easily, you have medium porosity hair.
Low Porosity Hair:
Hair may feel weighed down or greasy if over-washed. - Wash Frequency: Low porosity hair typically requires less frequent washing, approximately every 1-2 weeks or as needed.
Depending on your genes, you can be born with naturally higher or lower porosity hair. Due to their dry nature, all curly hair types in their virgin state are naturally higher in porosity than straight hair. Therefore, the curlier a strand is, the higher porosity it tends to be.
If it does feel pretty bumpy, it means you have higher porosity. If you run your hand down the strand the opposite way (from end to root instead of root to end) and it feels and sounds squeaky, this means you have low porosity.
We tend to think of curly hair as dense and prone to dryness. Low porosity curls tend to be looser, wavy, or S-shaped. The curls are distinct with a tight, flat cuticle that prevents moisture from entering and exiting the hair. This is why low porosity hair can often look limp or flat.
We often get asked this and yes, frizzy hair is usually a sign of high porosity.
In the case of low porosity hair , the cuticles are naturally closed, leaving little room for moisture to penetrate naturally. Low porosity hair can also be difficult to style, as it tends to get oily quickly and doesn't last long.
Here are some things that low porosity hair should avoid: Products with silicones: Silicones can create a barrier on the hair, making it difficult for moisture to penetrate. Look for products that are silicone-free or use water-soluble silicones.
Additionally, it's hard for moisture that is absorbed to leave, which can lead to scalp and product build-up over time. Low porosity hair is generally considered to be really healthy and is usually very shiny. Think under processed, uncolored hair where the cuticle hasn't been damaged over time and is fully in-tact.
For low porosity hair, light oils like jojoba, argan, avocado, and almond oil are ideal as they easily penetrate the tightly bound cuticles without weighing the hair down.
The first is the glass of water test. Simply take a clean, product-free strand of loose hair and put it in a glass of water. If the hair floats at the top then it is low porosity, if it sinks slowly or settles in the middle it is medium/normal porosity, and if it sinks straight to the bottom then it is high porosity.
High porosity hair's ability to retain moisture is low, so it is constantly thirsting for hydration. This can make hair look and feel dry. It also causes hair to dry extremely quickly after getting wet, because it absorbs all of the water almost instantly.