Hair Porosity 101 Quiz

In the natural hair community, there are many things that contribute to the way you wear your hair, the washing and moisturizing routine, and more. 

One of the most recent investments is understanding what your hair porosity is.  IT seems like a bit much, I mean, the wording is even a lot.  Yet, it is actually one of the most important aspects of understanding how to properly care for your hair. 

What is Hair Porosity? 

Essentially, porosity determines how your hair can retain and absorb moisture. "Porosity can be broken down into three categories: low, normal, and high," says Groover. "Low porosity hair has cuticles that are bound very close together, normal porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly less bound, and high porosity hair has cuticles that are more widely spread out.

Low Porosity Hair

If you have low porosity hair, Chambers-Harris says that it means your hair is technically in a healthy state, which goes against the common myth that low porosity hair is unhealthy. "I love to tell people [it's a myth]," she shares. "Low porosity [hair] is actually healthy hair that is not being moisturized correctly. The cuticle layer is intact, but you're not moisturizing it properly, so it becomes dry and tangled." Chambers-Harris likes to use a straw to explain low porosity hair. "If you have a straw and put holes in it, you can take in the liquid easily, but you can't retain the liquid. Once you take it out of the liquid, it's all going to run out of the straw." She says one of the easiest ways to ensure your hair is getting the moisture it craves is to wash and condition it every week. "When you're thirsty, you don't drink conditioner or oil—you drink water." Aside from washing your hair weekly, she shares a pro-tip that can help get your wash day off to a good start: "Use an oil that can actually penetrate your hair strands before you shampoo. She says pre-pooing can not only help moisturize the hair, but it can prevent nicks in your strands. "It's called hygral fatigue," she explains. "When you just jump in the shower, and you're putting warm water on your hair, your hair swells and will contract really quickly, which causes nicks to happen in your strands." Be sure to select a pre-poo oil that won't sit on top of the hair. Dr. Chambers-Harris recommends avocado oil. "It's an amazing emollient oil, and it actually will penetrate the hair strands, and it helps to moisturize it from within."

 

Normal Porosity Hair

Normal porosity hair is the easiest hair type to maintain because the hair cuticles tend to be looser, and because of that, moisture penetrates the hair with ease. If you're lucky enough to have medium porosity hair, Groover recommends a deep conditioning mask to maintain your hair health. "Incorporating deep conditioners in your regimen to maintain hair health and increase product absorption is key to achieving the best styling results," says Groover. She recommends a mask that detoxifies and moisturizes like African Pride's Moisture Miracle Moroccan Clay & Shea Butter Masque. "The Moroccan clay works to detox the hair by removing impurities and product build-up, while the shea butter works to strengthen and replenish moisture."

High Porosity Hair

If your curls are experiencing excessive dryness, frizz, and snap easily, these are a few of the key traits of high porosity hair, or hair that has a raised and porous cuticle. "With high porosity [hair], you can take in water, but you can't retain the water," explains Chambers-Harris. "Because the protein structure of your hair, the cuticle layer is damaged from coloring, relaxing, etc. and you can't hold onto it." Chambers-Harris says how you treat your hair can affect your hair's porosity. "Let's say you have dyed your hair, you have a relaxer, or you're out in the sun a lot, then [the hair] tends to be high porosity." She says that doing anything that is damaging the cuticle layer often—even coloring the hair once or getting too much sun or chlorine—could leave you with high porosity hair. No matter the porosity of your hair, Chambers-Harris has four tips for all hair types. "Use an oil before you shampoo, use a non-sulfate shampoo, use a deep conditioner with equal amounts of protein and moisture to balance out your hair strands, and follow up with a water-based moisturizer." She leaves us with one more word of advice: "You always have to remember your hair strands are dead. You really have to help to keep them from getting damaged." Keeping your routine consistent and simple is a great way to keep the hair moisturized and looking its best.