Hair Porosity
Hair Porosity is topic that has surfaced on many of the natural hair websites as well as on many of today's YouTube videos. As a natural it has become very important to understand what hair porosity really is and how it is important in every ones natural hair journey. In order to understand hair porosity and its importance one must understand what the term really means. Hair Porosity-Is your hair's ability to absorb moisture and is broken down into three categories: low, medium and high. Once you are able to understand this term then it is important to understand what each sub category really means and which category your hair type falls under.
LOW POROSITY: This type of hair is usually considered healthy, and is often very shiny, especially when it's dark in color. Low porosity hair repels moisture when you try to wet it and is hard to process since it resists penetration of chemicals. Low porosity hair requires moisturizers rich in emollients such as shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil and mineral oil. Choose lighter, liquid-based products such as hair milks that won't sit on your hair and leave it oily or greasy. Lastly make sure that you Use moderate heat with protein-free deep conditioning treatments to help open up the tightly bound cuticle.
MEDIUM POROSITY: Hair with medium porosity often requires the least amount of maintenance. Hair with normal porosity tends to hold styles well, and can be permed and colored with predictable results. Over time, however, these processes can damage your hair and increase its porosity. Deep conditioning treatments with protein conditioners can benefit medium porosity hair, but proteins should not be included in your daily regimen.
HIGH POROSITY: High porosity hair has gaps and holes in the cuticle, which let too much moisture into your hair and leave it prone to frizz and tangling in humid weather. Even simple acts such as bathing, swimming and shampooing can create more damage and breakage due to the amount of moisture highly porous hair can absorb. Because highly porous hair can also lose moisture easily, it's important to use leave-in conditioners,moisturizers and sealers. Layering these products will help your hair hold on to the moisture you're giving it. You can even follow up with a heavy hair butter to help fill the gaps in your damaged cuticles and further protect your hair from loosing too much moisture.
How To Find Out Hair's Porosity:
There are two methods you can use to find out how porous your hair is.
The Float Test: Take a couple of strands of hair from your comb or brush and drop them into a bowl of water. Let them sit for 2-4 minutes. If your hair floats, you have low porosity. If it sinks, you have high porosity.
The Slip'n'Slide Test: Take a strand of hair and slide your fingers up the shaft (toward the scalp). If you feel little bumps along the way, this means that your cuticle is lifted and that you have high porosity. If your fingers slip smoothly, then you have low porosity hair.
Knowing the different types of porosity and how to determain your hair individual hair's porosity is a great way to know how to better care for your hair. Also with knowing your porosity will help you better develop a proper moisture routine, giving your hair not only more shine but making it less prone to dryness and breakage.