Hair porosity refers to how easily your Hair can absorb and retain moisture. It can be classified according to how porous your Hair may be.
High porosity hair means that oils, water, and other products can easily be absorbed. Your Hair may only retain as much moisture if it is porous.
This article will help you understand highly porous Hair and how to care for it.
What’s high porosity hair?
It helps to understand hair porosity by knowing a little about its structure.
Three layers make up each strand of Hair:
- cuticle outermost layer
- cortex: The middle layer
- The medulla, The innermost layer
Your hair shaft’s outermost layer comprises tiny cuticles, which are challenging to see with your naked eye. These cuticles protect your Hair’s inner layers by controlling the amount of moisture and products that can be absorbed.
It can block moisture from reaching the skin by causing too many cuticles to be too close together. This is low porosity.
It can cause the opposite effect. Moisture can easily penetrate the Hair but doesn’t stay long enough to nourish your Hair. This is high-porosity Hair.
High porosity hair may be genetic. This means it can run in your family. It can be caused by hair styling and hair processing, such as straightening, blow drying, bleaching, and other chemical treatments.
These treatments can cause your cuticles to become damaged and lift or split. This can cause gaps between your cuticles, making Hair more porous than usual.
What are some characteristics of Hair with high porosity?
If your Hair is very porous, it could be a sign that you have high porosity.
- Dry Looks and Feels
- Frizzy tends to be a common trait
- Tangles are easy
- Breakage
- air dries very quickly
- absorbs products quickly
- Rarely does it look shiny
What kind of porosity are you experiencing?
A dry, freshly washed hair strand and a glass of water can be used to test your Hair’s porosity.
Test for hair porosity
- Fill a glass or bowl with water.
- Put a strand of Hair in the water.
- You can see the speed at which it sinks to its bottom.
Results
- High porosity will quickly sink to the bottom.
- Medium porosity will likely float in the middle of the glass for a while before falling to the bottom.
- Low porosity will float to the top for a while before sinking slowly.
Understanding your Hair’s porosity will help you take steps to manage it properly and use products that are suitable for your Hair.
How to take care of high porosity hair
High-porosity hair care involves reducing and reversing damage to the cuticle and helping Hair retain moisture.
Choosing the right product for your hair type is essential to nourish, moisturize, and repair porous Hair. This typically means using hair care products with heavier ingredients, such as oils and butter.
Here are some recommended products and ingredients that work well with high-porosity Hair.
Shampoo
These shampoos are great for cleaning your Hair and not drying it.
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- Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo.
Conditioner
Conditioners with oils and butter may be able to seal the cuticle and protect it.
These conditioners may be beneficial for Hair with high levels of porousness.
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Deep conditioner
Deep conditioning is a great way to add moisture, nourishment, and softness to porous Hair. Deep conditioners should be used at least once to twice per week.
These deep conditioners are great for porous Hair:
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Styling products
High-porous Hair can be damaged by heat and styling treatments. You should protect your hair from further damage.
You can add these products to your beauty bag:
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How to make your Hair grow
High-porous Hair can lead to hair loss and breakage.
These tips can help reduce hair loss, in addition to using hair care products that nourish and moisturize.
- Avoid silicones, parabens, and sodium laureth-sulfates.
- Only use lukewarm water to wash your Hair and condition it. Too hot water can cause damage.
- Dry Hair with a cotton T-shirt. A towel or too much heat can cause friction and breakage. A cotton shirt made from a smoother fiber can soothe your Hair and protect it from damage.
- Reduce heat styling