If you’ve been doing a little research into curly hair techniques, you might have come across people talking about what porosity their hair is, suggesting tests to find out yours, and people asking for product recommendations based on their hair’s porosity.
I hope this isn’t controversial, but…I don’t think that knowing whether you have low, normal or high-porosity hair is always super helpful. Not only that, but unless you have obviously damaged hair, it’s pretty hard to say for sure what porosity your hair is. Here’s why!
What is hair porosity?
The outside of our hair strands, the cuticle, is made up of multiple “scales” of cells that stack over each other kind of like roof tiles. When we wet our hair, the cuticles swell. When our hair is damaged, it means that there are more “holes” in the cuticle layer, meaning that more water can get past the cuticle and into the lower layer, the cortex, causing further damage and strain to our strands.
The porosity of our hair is therefore linked to how damaged it is. The more damaged your hair is, whether that’s heat, chemical, environmental or mechanical damage, the more porous it becomes. For healthy hair, we want to help plug those gaps in the cuticle and make our hair less porous. We can do this with conditioners and other products that smooth and coat the hair strand. For super-damaged hair, there’s nothing else to do but cut it off – there’s only so much damage you can hide!
Why the “strand of hair in a glass of water” test is flawed
There are a few at-home porosity tests floating around the internet that claim to show you what porosity your hair is, the most popular being the “glass of water” test. Simply take one of your hairs and drop it in a glass of water – the theory goes that if it’s low porosity, it will float, as it is resisting the water, and if it’s high porosity, it will sink, as it is taking on the water.
Unfortunately, this test is super flawed in many ways. Not only are there so many other variables that could interfere with the hair strand – such as what products were on the hair strand already, or even the type of water you use – but it is also possible to have different porosities on different parts of your head! Essentially, the only true way to be sure of your hair’s porosity is to examine the cuticle with a very good microscope.
Another way to think about your hair’s porosity
If you are sure what porosity your hair is (i.e. it’s obviously damaged, so it’s definitely high porosity), great! But don’t stress if you’re not sure. I was so certain my hair must be low porosity because I never dyed and rarely straightened it – but then I realised that it didn’t exactly act like low-porosity hair. For example, I lose moisture in certain parts of my hair quite quickly! People often also assume that frizz is caused by dry hair, which isn’t always the case. I gave up trying to label my hair’s porosity and started just paying attention to how it behaves instead.
It’s also completely normal to have a little bit of damage, due to going out in the elements and brushing our hair, and so on. Most people are likely to have normal/medium porosity, or a mixture. So instead of stressing about what porosity your hair might be, think about it this way instead…
How long does it take to get your hair wet?
Your hair needs to be properly soaked in order for shampoo and conditioner to work properly. Make sure you’re wetting your hair for a good minute – or even two.
If you know your hair takes a long time to get wet, try employing “squish to condish” (squishing in palmfuls of water when conditioner is applied to your hair) to make sure your conditioner is applying properly to your hair.
How long does it take for your hair to dry?
If your hair starts drying pretty much as soon as you leave the shower, it’s losing moisture quickly. You may benefit from using a leave in or curl cream to further condition your hair and help seal in a bit of that moisture.
If it takes hours for your hair to dry, consider diffusing more often than not, so that you aren’t damaging your hair and scalp by keeping it wet for so long.
Does your hair lose moisture quickly?
If your curly hair feels dry and rough on day 2 or beyond, consider finishing off your styling with a light oil or serum to further help seal the strands. Stronger-hold gels can also help.
You might also find that refreshing with steam or a little water helps you reintroduce some moisture to your curls between washes. And if you know for sure that your hair is damaged, incorporate deep conditioning into your routine, or perhaps a bond-building treatment like Olaplex, every couple of weeks.
Do some areas of your hair behave differently?
Since porosity is linked to damage, it’s very possible to have lower-porosity hair at your roots (the newer hair) and higher porosity down the lengths or at the ends (that has experienced more wear and tear). Take this into account when you wash – with extra conditioning on the older parts of your hair if needed, and perhaps lighter products at your roots.
I hope that some of these tips help you tweak your routine and remind you that once again, it’s not as simple as fitting your curls into one specific labelled box (unfortunately)!
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References:
Gavazzoni Dias MF. Hair cosmetics: an overview. Int J Trichology. 2015 Jan-Mar;7(1):2-15. doi: 10.4103/0974-7753.153450. PMID: 25878443; PMCID: PMC4387693. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4387693/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022202X15526559#bb0065
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