What’s the deal with hair porosity?

When it comes to hair care, one size does not fit all. Every individual's hair is unique, and understanding its porosity is key to achieving luscious locks. Hair porosity refers to your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. This characteristic plays a vital role in determining the most effective hair care routine and the right products for your specific needs. In this article we’ll talk about how to determine your hair porosity and how to treat your hair based on its porosity. Let’s dive in!

Hair porosity is an indicator of your hair’s ability to hold and retain moisture.

The outer layer of your hair is called the cuticle and it is a flexible outer layer. When the cuticle is raised it means that moisture and product can get into your hair, but it also means that it can leave your hair. When the cuticle is laying tightly flat, it is difficult for moisture to enter the hair and when it does, it’s difficult to leave the hair.

Hair porosity is mostly genetic however there are also grooming habits that can alter the porosity of your hair. Knowing your porosity will help you determine the types of products you need and how to better care for your hair type.

How to test your porosity

There are a few methods you can use to test your hair porosity.

The Float Test: The most common method you will see on social media. But I'm not a fan of this method because I find it inaccurate. Soooo, let’s ignore it because there are much better ways to test your hair’s porosity.

The Slip ‘n Slide: Take a strand and run your fingers up the strand towards your scalp. Low porosity hair will feel smooth, medium and, especially, high porosity hair will feel bumpy.

The Soak Test: When washing your hair, how long does it take for your hair to get wet. Low porosity hair can take a bit longer to get fully soaked whereas high porosity hair will absorb the water quickly.

The Drying Hair Test: After your wash day, how long does it take for your hair to dry? If you’re looking at 3 hours plus you could be in the medium-low porosity space

Why are there so many ways to test?

Because aside from porosity, the density of your hair is important. i.e., If you have thick hair, if you have a lot of hair. These factors can alter your results so it’s a good idea to try out a few tests to see what you’re working with.

Also, you can have different porosities. Its quite common for the hair at the top of the scalp to be higher porosity than the hair at the bottom next to your neck.

Let’s visual what the porosities look like

Take a look at the diagram below which will help you visualize the various porosities.

You’ve tested your porosity, now what?

Here are some recommendations for what you can do based on your hair porosity 

From my personal experience

It is possible to have multiple porosities. My top layer of hair (exposed to UV rays and a beating from blow-drying) leans more towards high porosity whereas the hair closer to my neck is more toward medium porosity. This helped me realize that I need to treat my hair at the top differently from my hair at the bottom. Over time I have managed to change the high porosity nature of the hair at the top understanding that it needs more conditioning, and it is a lot softer than it used to be.

In Conclusion

The hair care industry is slowly getting more personalized and hair porosity is a great determining factor on personalizing your hair care regimen. It’s the key to ensuring your hair stays healthy, moisturized, and vibrant. By tailoring your regimen to your hair’s unique needs, you will have a much easier experience taking care of your hair.