Hair Porosity Tests The Float Test: Take a few strands of clean, dry hair and place them in a bowl of water. If your hair floats, you likely have low porosity hair. If it sinks slowly, you have medium porosity hair. And if it sinks quickly, you have high porosity hair.
The buoyancy of hair in water is not a reliable indicator of its health. Healthy hair may float, but many other factors influence whether hair sinks or floats, such as its density, moisture content, and whether it has been damaged or treated with products.
If your hair floats to the top, you are noted as having low porosity, meaning the cuticle is very tight and water is hard to enter. If your hair sinks to the bottom, you are noted as having high porosity, meaning your cuticles aren't tightly closed and water is absorbed quickly.
If your hair floats, you have low porosity hair -- Low porosity hair has tightly bound closed hair cuticles, it does not absorb or lose water easily and it is prone to product build up.
Oftentimes, flyaways indicate that your hair has undergone breakage or is experiencing new growth. Sometimes, flyaways can also result from untamed frizz or even product buildup.
If your hair immediately sinks to the bottom, then it's highly porous. If it floats in the middle, then it's in the medium to normal porosity range, and if it sits on top, then it has a low porosity.
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.
Protein treatments can help repair the hair cuticle and reduce hair porosity. Hair is made from a protein called keratin. Using a protein treatment can help fill in the areas in your cuticle that have damaged cells. This can help smooth the cuticle down and create a protective coat over the hair shaft.
Dry hair is hair that's lacking in moisture – it can't retain hydration, and it's not getting enough on a day-to-day basis. Dehydrated hair often looks frizzy and dull – when you touch it, it may feel brittle and straw-like, and flyaways and split ends may become noticeable when you look in the mirror.
Hair that floats in water is hydrophobic and resists attracting moisture. Hair that sinks is not hydrophobic and attracts moisture. I assume the ends of the hair are sinking, because they are more damaged.
These tests are not guaranteed to give an exact result however they will certainly help you understand how porosity works. The Float Test: Take some strands of hair from your brush or comb (be sure to use clean hair as products can alter the results) and drop them into a glass of water.
Place a clean strand of hair with no product in a glass of room-temperature water. Let the strand sit undisturbed for three minutes without touching it. If your strand floats, it indicates low porosity.
How do I know if I have dead hair? Look for signs like extreme dryness and brittleness, weak and thin ends, increased shedding and tangles, and a lackluster appearance. If your hair feels like straw, lacks shine, and breaks easily, even after moisturizing, it might be severely damaged.
The cup test. Take a cup of water and a clean piece of hair and place it into the water for 2-4 minutes. The results will show what porosity type you have: Low porosity > the hair floats to the top of the water.
Steaming is a great way for low-porosity hair to absorb moisture. It opens up hair cuticles, allowing better absorption of moisture and nutrients from conditioners or treatments. You can use a handheld steamer or simply take a warm shower. Just let the conditioner sit in your hair while you shower.
Rosemary hair growth oil is quite effective in curbing hair loss and promoting blood circulation in the scalp, which helps improve hair growth. However, it should never be used in a concentrated form but should be diluted using Coconut Oil or any other hair oil that suits your hair to offer better results.
Avoid Heavy Products and Buildup 🧴
Heavy creams, thick oils, and butters are the enemies of low porosity hair. These products tend to sit on the surface of your hair and cause buildup, making it harder for moisture to get through.
We often get asked this and yes, frizzy hair is usually a sign of high porosity.
High-porosity hair is already prone to becoming oily — you don't want to make that problem even worse! Instead, you should look for products that don't contain too many oils. You should also avoid products that contain alcohol. Alcohol can dry out your hair even more, especially if you have porous hair.
Unlike traditional layers, which are more visible and can create a choppy effect, ghost layers are buried underneath the top layer of hair making them almost undetectable to the untrained eye.
Unfortunately you can't fix split ends once they appear - there's no way of encouraging the two parts of the split to reattach to each other. The only way you can 'fix' split ends is to ask your stylist for a trim, and they can cut off the damaged hair.