What is hair porosity? its different types and why is it important
Hair Porosity is one of the important ways to know why your hair is always frizzy and feels damaged. We all know that there are various different types of hair including thick hair, straight hair, thin hair, and many more. But the type of hair is not only the thing to consider while going for a hair care routine. Each hair strand present on your head has porosity.
The level of porosity differs from one person to the other depending upon the hair routine you follow. If you are confused that what type of hair porosity you have then don’t worry we are here to let you know. Continue reading and learn how you can do a porosity test and know the levels of your hair's porosity.
What is Hair Porosity?
The capacity of our hair to absorb and retain moisture is known as Hair Porosity. Just like your skin hair also consist of pores but they all are different. These pores are responsible for holding on to the moisture and making the strand look smooth as well as long.
The cuticle present on our hair is the protective layer that determines the amount of liquid that will go into the hair. If the cuticles are open then the hair might lose its moisture fast and make hair look frizzy.
If the cuticle is closed then the hair strand is able to hold liquids and hydrate them enough. Knowing your hair porosity makes choosing the appropriate hair products much simpler.
Hair Porosity mostly depends on the genes but there are a few factors affecting it including chemicals and environmental damage.
What are the different types of Hair Porosity?
There are various studies that help in recognizing the Porosity of hair and here are three types of porosity including:-
High Porosity
High porous hair when the cuticles are raised and they are not able to able to hold in the moisture. This causes your hair to look frizzy and makes it more prone to damage or breakage.
If your hair takes a longer time to get dry, is more prone to split ends, or gets tangled easily then your hair is highly porous.
Medium Porosity
If you have medium porosity then you have great hair and your cuticles are loose. This means that your hair is able to hold onto the liquid. Your hair might not need high maintenance and can be managed through the least hair products. This type of hair does not dry out easily and looks more healthy as well as lustrous.
Low Porosity
In this type, the cuticles feel quite firm and clamped, here the hair is not able to absorb the moisture. This causes the hair to look dry as well as damaged, it is not easy for this type of hair to absorb oils for a long time.
If your hair is dry and it is difficult for your scalp to hold on to the water then it is due to low porosity.
How to test Hair Porosity at home?
Here are several quick tests you may run to determine the porosity of your hair, including:-
Spray Test
Just spray some water with the help of a spray bottle on the small section of your hair. If the water beads stay on the hair then you have low porosity, if your hair is able to observe the moisture then it is due to high porosity, and if it takes a few minutes to get absorbed then its due to medium porosity.
Floating Test
Take out a strand of hair from your head and put it into a glass of water. If the strand floats on the surface then it's due to low porosity, if stayed in the middle then you hit the jackpot and that is you have medium porosity.
If the strands hit the bottom of the glass then you have high porosity.
How to improve Hair Porosity?
For High Porosity Hair
This type of hair needs more care, as it is more to get tangs, and dried, and can break easily as well. Here are some tips that can help you to protect them including:-
Using a good conditioner on the hair can help you lock the moisture and prevent the hair to get dry.
Massaging the scalp with a good oil like Jojoba oil, coconut oil or olive oil can help the hair to get nourished as well as moisturized.
Avoid using hot water to wash your hair; instead, use lukewarm or cold water. Avoid heating equipment like a dryer or straightener on the hair on a regular basis.
Low Porosity Hair
Heating and steaming the scalp can help the cuticle get relaxed, this helps the hair to hold the moisture from the inside out. Applying shampoo and conditioner is quite helpful after this.
Apply hot oil for treating the scalp and this includes olive oil or coconut oil.
Always go for hair care products that have fewer chemicals in them.
Medium Porosity Hair
Conclusion
It is essential to know the hair porosity of hair in order to know which right hair product is to be applied to the hair. It becomes important especially when your hair is not in a good shape.
After getting to know the hair porosity it becomes important for you to use the right hair care routine in order to get stronger and longer hair. This is a fantastic opportunity to revive the health of your hair if it is dry and fragile.
FAQs
Q. What causes the hair porosity to be high?
Ans. There are two main causes resulting in high porosity including too much sun exposure and bleaching the hair quite often.
Q. Which hair porosity is good?
Ans. Hair with medium porosity is the one which is considered to be good as it allows the moisture to penetrate inside making the hair healthy and frizz-free.
