It’s one of the more confusing natural hair concepts, but with an understanding of the various hair porosity types — namely low porosity and high porosity — you can really transform the way your hair behaves and how it responds to certain natural hair products. The answer to why your hair gets dry, soaks up your curl cream, or is easily weighed down by a hair moisturizer has a lot to do with whether you have porous hair. While it makes sense to assume that your hair porosity is directly related to your curl type, this isn’t always the case. Before your next wash day, take a hair porosity test and find out how to adjust your routine based on how porous your hair really is.
There’s a distinct difference between low vs. high porosity hair. On the other end of the spectrum, if your cuticle is hard to open, a.k.a. you have low porosity, not a lot of moisture can get in at all. Tighter hair textures may have cuticles that overlap with each other, causing hair to have a low porosity. In this case, you’ll naturally start to notice that your hair feels and looks really dry.
With low porosity hair, you may notice that product or even water from your shower just beads up on top of your hair. This is because with low porosity hair, the cuticles are shut so tightly that the moisture cannot absorb. Whereas high porosity strands have more space between the cuticles or less layering, high porosity is often the driest of the bunch because water just flows in and right back out. Medium porosity is most ideal since moisture is able to penetrate but doesn’t easily escape — essentially it’s the best of both worlds.
Now that you’ve identified your hair porosity type with this easy hair porosity quiz, let’s dig into how to care for your hair.
Now, what can you do about your hair porosity? Is coconut oil good for low porosity hair? Not quite. You’ll actually want to steer clear of oils like coconut and castor oil and other products that are made to seal the cuticle because they’ll work against your efforts to get moisture inside. Other ingredients to steer clear of if you have low porosity hair include highly acidic products like an apple cider vinegar rinse. This is generally used to keep the cuticle closed, so they’re not ideal for hair with low porosity either. You need the right low porosity hair routine.
Keeping your hair at an ideal medium porosity takes some effort. Try not to go overboard with chemical processes or heat-styling too frequently. These are practices that over time can compromise your hair’s porosity.
Looking on the bright side, it’s a lot easier to seal a cuticle once open than it is to open up a closed one. Repairing products like the Born to Repair Nourishing Conditioner saturate the hair with a buttery, lucious formula that can help close the cuticle. Adding a few drops of the Born to Repair Reviving Oil will only moisturize deeper and keep frizz and flyaways at bay.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that there could be permanent damage to a cuticle in some cases that even a deep moisturizing treatment or oil can’t close. Other solutions like more acidic products and protein-based porosity hair care treatments can also help heal and seal a compromised cuticle.
Ready to start styling based on your porosity? Check out the Best 20 Natural Hair Products To Try.
What Is Hair Porosity?
In the simplest terms, porosity is your hair’s ability to soak up and hold in moisture and products. There are three levels of porosity: low, medium, and high. Each strand of your hair has an outer shell of cuticles that kind of look like shingles on the side of a roof. These cuticles are like doors that open and close to absorb moisture and then seal it in. These stacked layers open up when things like heat hit them and close when you smooth a product on top or soak your hair with cold water. They’re different whether you have low hair porosity, high hair porosity, or something in between.What Types Of Hair Porosity Are There?
Hair porosity types are determined by how open or closed those shingle-like cuticles are. It’s important to note that your hair’s porosity can change for either the good or the bad. Products, certain styling practices, and hair dyeing are all things that can leave your hair in an open and vulnerable state where the cuticles stay open. So, while moisture is free to enter, without the cuticles closing to seal it in, it basically just runs right back out — this is high porosity.There’s a distinct difference between low vs. high porosity hair. On the other end of the spectrum, if your cuticle is hard to open, a.k.a. you have low porosity, not a lot of moisture can get in at all. Tighter hair textures may have cuticles that overlap with each other, causing hair to have a low porosity. In this case, you’ll naturally start to notice that your hair feels and looks really dry.
With low porosity hair, you may notice that product or even water from your shower just beads up on top of your hair. This is because with low porosity hair, the cuticles are shut so tightly that the moisture cannot absorb. Whereas high porosity strands have more space between the cuticles or less layering, high porosity is often the driest of the bunch because water just flows in and right back out. Medium porosity is most ideal since moisture is able to penetrate but doesn’t easily escape — essentially it’s the best of both worlds.
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How Hair Type and Porosity Relate
Curlier hair tends to be drier because of how difficult it is for scalp oils to make their way through the coils from root to tip, but this doesn’t always mean that all highly textured hair has the same porosity. This means you can’t ask, “Is 4C hair low or high porosity?” and get one clear answer. Two people, both with 4C hair, can have very different porosities.How to Test Hair Porosity?
Do you find yourself asking, “What is my hair porosity?” Luckily, it’s pretty easy to find out with a quick hair porosity test. Here’s how.Start By Filling a Glass With Water
Since porosity is all about moisture retention, you can test how well your hair absorbs moisture by analyzing your hair in water.Grab One or Two Strands of Hair and Drop Them In The Glass
As previously mentioned, your hair’s porosity can change depending on your styling habits and the types of products you use. You likely also have different curl patterns around your head, so it’s best to gather strands from different parts of your head.See Where It Lands
If your hair immediately sinks to the bottom, then it’s highly porous. If it floats in the middle, then it’s in the medium to normal porosity range, and if it sits on top, then it has a low porosity.Now that you’ve identified your hair porosity type with this easy hair porosity quiz, let’s dig into how to care for your hair.
How To Care For Low Porosity Hair and Low Porosity Hair Products
What does low porosity hair look like? Just as there isn’t one hair type that will have less porous hair, you can’t expect low porosity hair to have a specific look. What you may see is that hair with low porosity looks weighed down. This is because when you put products on low porosity hair, they just sit on top of the strands.Now, what can you do about your hair porosity? Is coconut oil good for low porosity hair? Not quite. You’ll actually want to steer clear of oils like coconut and castor oil and other products that are made to seal the cuticle because they’ll work against your efforts to get moisture inside. Other ingredients to steer clear of if you have low porosity hair include highly acidic products like an apple cider vinegar rinse. This is generally used to keep the cuticle closed, so they’re not ideal for hair with low porosity either. You need the right low porosity hair routine.
Try a steam treatment
What does help are steam treatments which lift the cuticle so products and moisture can seep in. The best low products for low porosity hair include a deeply nourishing shampoo like the Born to Repair Nourishing Shampoo. It’s loaded with moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, babassu oil and Amazonian nut oil. Not to mention, it’s proven to make hair 10 times more moisturized than other shampoos.Layer with moisturizing products after you cleanse
After you shampoo and condition your hair, it’s time to choose a product cocktail that’s chock-full of moisture. Already dry strands make high and low porosity hair look less than its best. So add a layer of moisture after your shampoo. The Born to Repair 60-Second Moisture Treatment was formulated to give strands a boost of moisture in just one minute. Yep, you read that right. In just 60 seconds, thirsty strands will be quenched. Simply spritz from root-to-tip, wait the minute and continue your styling routine from there. No need to rinse.How To Care For Medium Porosity Hair
Ideally, you want to find the right balance of moisture when you have medium porosity hair. This means that your hair is not only able to take in moisture, but it can hold it for longer. It’s best to keep other normal porosity hair care products on longer, so leave-in conditioners, heat protectants, and other hair moisturizers that help keep hair healthy can absorb well and stick around to work their magic. Use a styling cream that isn’t too light or too heavy. A medium-weight formula like the Born to Repair Defining Cream imparts moisture without the weight. And while it does make curls plump and bouncy, it can work on wavy strands, too.Keeping your hair at an ideal medium porosity takes some effort. Try not to go overboard with chemical processes or heat-styling too frequently. These are practices that over time can compromise your hair’s porosity.
How To Care For High Porosity Hair
While there is an upside and a downside to having highly porous hair, it quite often means that your hair is damaged. Things like coloring, too much heat, and certain product ingredients may have disrupted the cuticle, so it no longer lays down or closes up as it should. The good thing is that hair easily soaks up moisture and product, but it isn’t always able to hold it in. That’s where the Born to Repair collection comes in to save the day.Looking on the bright side, it’s a lot easier to seal a cuticle once open than it is to open up a closed one. Repairing products like the Born to Repair Nourishing Conditioner saturate the hair with a buttery, lucious formula that can help close the cuticle. Adding a few drops of the Born to Repair Reviving Oil will only moisturize deeper and keep frizz and flyaways at bay.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that there could be permanent damage to a cuticle in some cases that even a deep moisturizing treatment or oil can’t close. Other solutions like more acidic products and protein-based porosity hair care treatments can also help heal and seal a compromised cuticle.
Does Hair Porosity Matter?
Yes, in case it wasn’t obvious, your hair porosity matters! Porosity should have a lot to do with the types of products you use, as well as your styling practices, so it’s good to know or have an understanding of what yours is. If you don’t have time for a porosity test, you can tell how well your hair is absorbing or resisting moisture by how it interacts with your products. Also, note that, much like your curl pattern, you may have different porosities on your head, so when testing, swipe a few strands from different areas. This could help you learn to better style your curls if different areas of hair require different types of products.Ready to start styling based on your porosity? Check out the Best 20 Natural Hair Products To Try.
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