A lot of people are obsessed with hair typing that they forget what's important about hair care. I've had people argue with me on what my hair type is and it always makes me wonder if the hair is mine or their's. If we talked about hair porosity as much as we talk about hair types then more people will learn how to properly care for their hair. It’s important to know your hair porosity level to enable you take care of your hair and keep it healthy. Everyone has a unique level of porosity and I’ll be explaining hair porosity in detail.



What is Porosity? 
Porosity is the hairs ability or inability to absorb and retain moisture. Everything you do with your hair increases its porosity e.g. Constant styling especially with heat, frequent combing and Brushing, Excessive washing, and even dry hair can contribute to increasing your hair porosity.

There are three types of porosity, High porosity, Low porosity, Normal/Medium porosity.

High porosity: The cuticles are open and lifted thereby letting in moisture into the hair but also letting it out as fast. This simply means your hair will be moisturized but it will also lose its moisture quickly. High porosity hair lacks shine, lustre, moisture and also lacks protein.

Products to use

Low porosity: The cuticles are closed thereby not letting anything enter the hair strands. This means Moisture stays in hair and does not dry out fast. In low porosity hair, Products just sit on your hair. Hair is shiny and Looks very healthy but it lacks elasticity. It can be difficult to process. This hair type is protein sensitive as it already has a lot of protein. Focus on products that are rich in moisture e.g.

Products to use

Normal/medium Porosity: This Hair type Absorbs and retains moisture. It looks healthy and it’s also elastic.

Products to use

How to check your hair porosity level
There are 3 different ways to check your hair porosity. These tests are not 100 percent accurate but it’s a good way to figure out your hair porosity.

Float test: After washing your hair, save a few strands of shed hair. Porosity levels can be different throughout your hair so select shed hair from the front, back and sides. Fill 4 glass cups with room temperature water and Place the strands in glass bowls. Do not push the strands into the water with your fingers.

• If your hair floats down to the middle, it means your hair is medium or normal porosity.
• If your hair sinks to the bottom of the water in less than 1 to 2mins, it means you have high porosity hair, The sooner your hair sinks, the more porous it is
• If your hair sits at the top of the water that means you have low porosity.

Strand test: Gently select a few strands of your hair. Using two fingers, slowly slide your fingers up the hair strand from the tip to your scalp.

• If you feel any resistant or overall uneven texture as you move up the strands, you have high porosity hair. 
• If you don’t feel any resistant at all, that means you have low or normal porosity hair

Dry Test: After washing and conditioning your hair without adding any leave in or moisturizers, with your body soaking wet, step out of the shower and sit around for a while. Do not dry your hair or your body.

• If your hair dries faster than your body, then you have high porosity hair. 
• If your body dries faster than your hair, then you have normal or low porosity hair

I hope this explains porosity and how to properly care for your hair. If you have any questions please comment below and don’t forget to subscribe.

Till next time… Love your kinks.