Best Way To Determine Your Hair Porosity.
In the world of hair care, understanding the concept of hair porosity can be the key to a perfect hair routine. This factor is important in how your hair looks, feels and behaves.
Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked.
In this blog, I will discuss hair porosity, how it affects hair's moisture balance, and why it's essential for adjusting a perfect hair care routine.
Best Way To Determine Your Hair Porosity.
Hair porosity indicates the hair's ability to absorb and retain moisture. Understanding your hair's porosity level is crucial as it influences the effectiveness of your hair care routine.
Porosity affects how your hair interacts with products, responds to environmental factors, and overall health and appearance.
By identifying your hair porosity, you can adjust your hair care routine to handle your hair's specific needs, making it much healthier. :)
There are 3 hair porosity types:
Low porosity hair
Medium porosity hair
High porosity hair
Below, I'll cover all three types, describe their characteristics, and suggest suitable products for each type.
Low Porosity Hair
Characteristics of Low Porosity Hair
Mostly healthy, undamaged hair
Super smooth and silky on the touch.
It has tight cuticles, which do not let any moisture pass through.
It is really hard to moisturise and quickly weighs down.
It absorbs water very slowly.
Low Porosity Hair Care Needs
This hair doesn’t need much protein as there is nothing to repair.
If you add any protein, make sure it’s with amino acids, as they are much lighter and more suitable for this hair type.
Heat and steam treatments will help hair absorb products much better.
Medium Porosity Hair
Characteristics of Medium Porosity Hair
A.K.A. perfect hair
Usually, virgin, uncoloured hair or barely any damaging treatments are done.
Easy to style, has a natural shine, and strands are smooth.
It has looser cuticles that allow steady moisture flow in and out of hair.
Medium Porosity Hair Care Needs
This hair type is super easy to manage - be grateful if you have this hair type!!
This hair needs moisture and protein in moderation. Add a leave-in conditioner to your routine if your hair still feels slightly dry.
High Porosity Hair
Characteristics of High Porosity Hair
Cuticle has huge gaps and holes that let too much moisture in the hair but lose it quickly.
Frequently coloured, bleached, heat damaged.
This hair can quickly become overly moisturised and limp
It absorbs water fast and dries fast, too.
High Porosity Hair Care Needs
As this type has open cuticles, it’s losing nutrients quickly. That means that hair requires frequent moisture and protein.
Pre-pooing and weekly treatments will prevent worsening and rebuild the hair strand. Sealing oils and serums are used after hair is dried to seal everything.
If you have high-porosity hair like me, please check my previous blog, where I mentioned some products I use.
Conclusion
Knowing our hair porosity is crucial for our hair care routine. We can then know which products suit our hair and which we should avoid.
Remember to do a protein-moisture balance test before washing your hair so it doesn't get overloaded with protein or moisture.
Also, don’t forget to check out my previous blogs! I was diving into scalp and hair health and which steps I added to my routine to transform my hair.
Thank you for reading my blog!