What is Hair Porosity? Different Types of Hair Porosity: How to Test It?

Knowing your hair’s porosity can be a game-changer. It's the secret to choosing the right products, maintaining moisture, and achieving that elusive, perfect shine. Let’s have a look at what’s hair porosity, its types, and its benefits.

Hair porosity is all about how well your hair absorbs and holds onto moisture. Imagine it like a sponge—some hair is like a dry, dense sponge that barely takes in water, while others are more like an airy sponge that soaks everything up in seconds.

Knowing your hair’s porosity helps you understand how it reacts to moisture, which is the foundation of a successful hair care routine. Let’s see more detail about his topic.

Structure of Hair and the Science Behind Porosity

Each hair strand is composed of three layers:

• Cuticle: The outermost protective layer, made up of tiny overlapping cells. This layer’s health is key to determining your hair’s porosity.
• Cortex: The middle layer, is responsible for hair’s strength, color, and elasticity.
• Medulla: The innermost part, usually only present in thicker hair.

Now let’s see the types of porosity and its benefits in detail.

Types of Hair Porosity

Hair porosity falls into three main types: low, medium (or normal), and high. Each type has unique characteristics and care needs:

1. Low Porosity Hair

Low porosity hair has cuticles that are very tightly bound, which means moisture has a tough time getting in. However, once hydrated, it stays moisturized for longer.

• Water and products sit on the surface before absorbing.
• Takes longer to dry.
• Resistant to chemical treatments.

2. Medium Porosity Hair

Medium porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly raised, allowing moisture to enter more easily. It’s typically low-maintenance and requires less effort to keep hydrated.

• Absorbs and retains moisture well.
• Low maintenance with versatile styling options.
• More resilient to damage than high porosity hair.

3. High Porosity Hair

High porosity hair has raised cuticles or even gaps in the cuticle layer, often due to damage or genetics. It absorbs moisture quickly but also loses it just as fast, which can lead to dryness.

• Absorbs products quickly but requires frequent moisturizing.
• Dries quickly.
• Prone to frizz, tangling, and breakage.

Benefits And Hair Care Based On Your Hair Porosity

Knowing your hair porosity lets you customize your hair routine. It informs you about which products, treatments, and techniques work best to achieve healthy, hydrated, and manageable hair.

1. Benefits for Low Porosity Hair

Low porosity hair benefits from lightweight moisturizers and oils that don’t weigh it down.

• Recommended Hair Care: Lightweight leave-ins, liquid-based moisturizers, and heat-activated treatments.
• Tips: Use a steamer or warm towel to help open the cuticle for deeper hydration.

2. Benefits for Medium Porosity Hair

With medium porosity hair, maintenance is easier, but consistency is key to avoid shifting towards high porosity over time.

• Recommended Hair Care: Balanced formulas, regular conditioning treatments, and protective styling.
• Tips: Protect hair from over-styling or chemical treatments to maintain its natural porosity.

3. Benefits for High Porosity Hair

High porosity hair needs products that create a barrier to prevent moisture loss and protect the open cuticles from damage.

• Recommended Hair Care: Heavy creams, oils (such as argan or castor), and leave-in conditioners.
• Tips: Limit heat styling and try protective styles to reduce breakage.

Try Onion Black Seed Oil from the brand ForMen It’s a standout choice for nourishing and strengthening hair. This high-quality oil suits all hair types, from low to high porosity, offering benefits like improved scalp health, reduced hair fall, and enhanced shine. With its unique blend of black seed and onion oil, this product penetrates deeply, helping hair retain moisture and resilience. Whether your hair struggles to hold moisture or absorbs it too quickly, ForMen’s Onion Black Seed Oil balances hydration, making it the best choice for healthier, manageable hair.

How to Check / Test Hair Porosity?

Ready to find out your hair porosity? Here are three popular tests you can try at home.

The Float Test

This is one of the simplest ways to test hair porosity.

Studies indicate that this test can be influenced by residues, so always start with a clean strand for more accurate results (Lee et al., 2019).

• Step 1: Clean a strand of hair (free from any product).
• Step 2: Place it in the glass of water.
• Step 3: Wait for 2–4 minutes and see if it floats or sinks.

Results:

• Floats: Low porosity.
• Sinks Midway: Medium porosity.
• Sinks to the Bottom: High porosity.

Is it Possible to Change the Hair's Porosity?

Yes, it is possible to alter hair's porosity over time, but these changes are usually due to external factors that can damage the hair cuticle, making it more porous. However, you cannot completely change your natural porosity permanently or reverse damage once it’s extensive.

Here’s how hair porosity can change and ways to manage it:

Understanding Natural Hair Porosity vs. Altered Porosity

Natural Porosity: Everyone has a baseline hair porosity level based on genetics, which affects how open or closed the hair cuticles are. For example, some people naturally have low-porosity hair with tightly closed cuticles, making it harder for moisture to penetrate.

Altered Porosity: However, this natural porosity can change due to factors like chemical treatments, heat styling, environmental exposure, and even certain types of hair care practices.

Factors That Can Increase Hair Porosity

Chemical Treatments: Hair dye, bleaching, perms, and relaxers work by opening up the hair cuticle to change the structure or color of the hair. These processes can raise porosity levels by permanently altering the cuticle, often leading to increased moisture absorption but also quicker moisture loss.

Heat Styling: Frequent use of hot tools (like flat irons, curling irons, or blow dryers) can weaken the cuticle layer, causing it to become more porous over time. Heat essentially lifts the cuticle scales, leading to a rougher texture and increased porosity.

Environmental Exposure: Prolonged exposure to UV rays, salty seawater, or chlorine can also increase hair porosity. These environmental factors strip natural oils from the hair, making the cuticle layer weaker and more prone to damage.

Physical Damage: Aggressive brushing, rough towel drying, and even wearing tight hairstyles can cause mechanical damage to the cuticle. This, over time, can contribute to higher porosity.

Knowing your hair porosity is a game-changer for your hair care routine. It helps you pick the right products, keep moisture balanced, and get healthier, shinier hair. While porosity is mostly genetic, it can be affected by things like heat and chemical treatments. Adjusting your routine to match your hair's porosity makes all the difference in achieving strong, resilient hair.

FAQs

Q) Which Hair Porosity is Considered "Good"?

A) Medium porosity is often seen as the most manageable, as it naturally holds moisture well, requiring less maintenance. However, each porosity type has its strengths, and with the right care, all types can be healthy.

Q) What are the Main Types of Hair Porosity?

A) The three types are low, medium, and high porosity. Low porosity hair is moisture-resistant, medium retains moisture well, and high absorbs moisture quickly but loses it fast.

Q) Can My Hair’s Porosity Change Over Time?

A) Yes, factors like chemical treatments, heat styling, and environmental exposure can increase porosity, leading to changes in how your hair holds moisture.

Q) Does Hair Porosity Affect How Often I Need to Moisturise?

A) Yes, low-porosity hair generally needs less frequent moisturising, while high-porosity hair requires regular, deep hydration to prevent dryness.

Also Read the Following Articles:

• Top 3 Amazing Benefits of Onion Juice for Hair Growth
• Top 8 Best Hair Growth Serums for Men
• Top 10 Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men

*** This Article is Written by Swetha Ramala.