What does hair porosity mean?
Hair porosity is your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. While porosity is mostly genetic, factors such as heat, environmental stress and chemical treatments can cause your hair to age and significantly alter its structure.
Your curls needs moisture, oils, and proteins to stay healthy and happy. It's a delicate balance, and too much of a good thing can leave your strands dried-out, weighed down, or damaged. That's where your hair cuticle comes in: Its entire purpose is to keep the peace, opening up to allow some ingredients to absorb or evaporate, and closing down to keep some inside.
There are three types of hair porosity.
- Low Porosity – Cuticles are tightly clamped down, preventing moisture from entering the hair. Low porosity hair often takes longer to saturate with water, including natural oils. As a result they sit on the hair, causing buildup.
- Normal Porosity – A delicate balance between low and high porosity, this type of hair can hold moisture for an extended period of time. Therefore, it holds styles well and accepts color more easily and evenly.
- High Porosity – Highly porous hair has raised cuticles, allowing moisture to go in and out quickly. This type is often characterized by frizzy, straw-like hair.
How to perform your porosity test?
- Shampoo and rinse your hair to remove any product buildup.
- Fill a glass with water.
- Once your hair is clean and dry, drop a single strand of your hair into the glass of water.
- Watch the strand to see if it sinks to the bottom of the glass or floats at the top.