Ever wonder why some hair turns into *Monica Geller in Barbados* when it's humid out and other hair stays glossy and silky smooth? Or why different hair reacts differently to hair products? Or why your hair just cannot hold a curl?! Hair probs like these are answered by your hair's porosity level. Hair porosity is essentially the amount of moisture your hair follicle can absorb and hold. While hair porosity tends to be more of a concern for those with curly and/or coily hair, knowing your porosity level will help you to choose the right hair ingredients and products to better take care of your mane. The more you know, the better.
How To Determine Your Hair Porosity?
Our favorite way to test your hair's porosity level is with a floating test! All you need is a bowl of water and some clean, dry hair strands for the test. Make sure you have no hair products in your hair! This can skew the test results.
This test tells you your porosity level by showing the amount of moisture your hair absorbs and holds. The more it absorbs, the further the hair will sink.
Place a few strands of hair in the bowl of water and let them sit for about 5 minutes. If your hair strands float towards the top of the bowl, that means you have low porosity hair. If it sinks to the middle of the bowl, you have medium porosity hair. If it sinks to the bottom, that means you have high porosity hair. Boom!
The Hair Porosity Levels: Low, Medium & High
Low Porosity
Low porosity hair has tightly closed hair cuticles with scales that lay flat on the cuticle. This level of porosity is typically shinier and considered healthy. Low porosity hair types repel most moisture since the cuticle is so tightly shut. Since it repels most moisture, this makes it more prone to product buildup since the product doesn't end up absorbing into the hair, causing the product to just sit on top of the hair cuticle.
To detox the scalp from product buildup, our Scalp Revival Charcoal + Coconut Oil Micro-Exfoliating Shampoo is going to be your go-to. This shampoo infuses Binchotan charcoal to draw impurities from the scalp and hair follicle to provide the foundation for optimal scalp health. It utilizes vegetable-derived micro-exfoliators to remove dead skin cells and product buildup from the scalp for a clean, balanced and healthy scalp.
Low porosity hair craves light oils and humectants such as avocado oil, coconut oil, honey, etc. You don't want anything too heavy, such as a hair milk, because it can weigh the hair down and possibly make it feel greasy. For the humectants to be able to penetrate the hair follicle, it's usually best if you expose your hair to heat to open up the cuticle (such as taking a hot shower).
Medium Porosity
Medium porosity hair actually requires the least amount of work in comparison to the other two levels (lucky locks). The hair cuticle is a bit looser than low porosity hair. This means those scales on the follicle are slightly raised, allowing for more moisture to penetrate the hair while also not letting too much moisture escape the strand. This porosity type tends to hold styles well, but can be more susceptible to damage over time.
Since medium porosity hair is more low maintenance, the hair doesn't tend to be as picky with products! As always, make sure not to put too much heat or chemicals on the hair. We don't want that medium porosity turning into high porosity if we can avoid it. A great shampoo and conditioner duo to keep these locks soft and healthy is our Be Gentle, Be Kind Superfoods Banana + Coconut duo. This nutrient-rich everyday shampoo and conditioner combo will make sure your locks are getting all the essential vitamins and minerals they need for optimal hair health.
High Porosity
The scales on the hair cuticle are highly raised, meaning it lets in a lot of moisture, sometimes leaving the hair frizzy and tangled (especially in humid climates). High porosity hair also expels the hair of moisture quickly as well, but it retains more moisture than it lets go.
Since high porosity hair retains more water than it releases, it's best to use extremely moisturizing products that also won't weigh down your mane. This means avoiding hair products with ingredients like silicones, sulfates, parabens, etc. Deep conditioning masks are essential for those with high porosity locks. While high porosity hair can result from genetics, a lot of the time it actually results from too much heat and/or chemical processing. This is why you want to only be using reparative, good-for-you ingredients only. Our favorite product for high porosity hair? Our Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask will change your hair game. With its light-weight yet nourishing formula, it's the perfect mask for restoring essential hydration and enhancing the hair's resilience to protect against future damage.
P.S. If your hair needs extra TLC, our Don't Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Hair Cap System Kit is the way to go. This unique cap system combines the proven reparative power of our deep conditioning mask with a turbo-charged repair essence to provide the most extensive deep conditioning experience.
