Porosity- Learn What Your Hair Wants

Porosity- Learn What Your Hair Wants

Knowing your porosity is helpful for picking product. For instance, Shea butter may be heavy and not penetrate the hair shaft for many low porosity hair types. Glycerin is a strong humectant and can be a problem for porous type 2-3 curlies and may cause frizz in the summer and dryness in the winter because it can cause the hair to swell up to the moisture in the air and frizz in the summer and pull the moisture out of the hair in the winter when the air is very dry. Low porosity hair loves humectant based product to draw moisture into the hair. High porosity loves oils and butter to trap the moisture into the hair, unless you are very fine or wavy.

If you are unsure of your porosity, there's easy tests. These are guidelines and don't always work on everyone. 

Easy version:

1. Run your fingers down a strand of hair, if it's rough it's porous. If it's smooth it's low porosity.

2. Put your hair that has no product on it in water, if it sinks all the way it's high porosity. If it floats it's low or medium. If it's in the middle, it's medium.

3. Squeeze your index and thumb finger tightly and run backwards up the hair by pulling the hair down through your fingers, if it squeaks it's low porosity.

4. How quickly does your hair get wet in the shower? If it gets wet quickly and sucks up water, it is high. If it's hard to get the hair wet it, it's lower.

5. If your hair dries slowly, it is probably low porosity. If it dries quickly, it is probably high, unless it's very thick.

More info:

Test 1: When washing your hair notice how long it takes for your hair to become saturated and fully wet. Hair that wets easily is porous, much like a new sponge. There is also a possibility that you hair could be covered with to many hair care products such as oils and conditioners. Additionally consider how long it takes your hair to dry, hair that dries quickly is porous as the cuticle layers are open and allow air flow.

Test 2: Wash and condition your hair as normal. Towel dry (do not add any other products). Gather one strand of hair and run your index finger and thumb along the shaft starting from the end of the hair strand to the root. Low porosity will feel slick, normal porosity will feel smooth, and high porosity you will feel catches as you move your fingers down the shaft.

Test 3: Take a few strands of hair (from comb or hair brush) and place in a bowl of water. If the hair sinks to the bottom of the bowl in less than a minute or two, it is porous. If only a part of the strand sinks your hair is porous in certain areas and this is quite common.

Low porosity like humectants to draw water into the hair. High likes oils to seal moisture into the hair. Unless you are very fine or wavy.

Curls need moisture, it creates hydrogen bonds in the shaft to help the curls, like tightening a spring. Unless you are finer, wavy, or overconditioned. In that case, there's too much water weight on the spring weighing the spring down.

High porosity needs to be sealed with antihumectants (natural oils) or it will lose moisture and frizz. Too much humectants (which attract water into the hair) on porous hair will cause it to swell, frizz up, and become tangled. That's why some porous people can use heavier shea products to help seal. I use a humectant gel, but I use it over my sealed hair. Before when I used it without the natural oils under, my hair was a dry frizzy crispy mess. 

Medium porosity can use products with both anti humectants and humectants sometimes.

Low porosity needs humectants to help draw the water into the hair because the cuticle scales lie flat and aren't open. Usually, the heavier oils block water from going into the hair...you can seal with a lighter oil if you need to seal in the the moisture but since it's a lighter oil it allows water to still pass into the hair slightly...the hair is sucking in water from the air more than it's letting it out. Also, since low porosity won't let anything in or out, you need conditioners and humectants to draw the moisture into the hair if it is dry and lighter oils or ones in milk form to allow moisture into the hair.

This doesn't always work, but it's a starting place. Also if your hair feels smooth it's low, rougher is high. I did protein treatments to rebuild my hair gaps. It's making my hair shinier, less frizzy, and curlier (strengthening my natural curl pattern). My hair has bleach, brushing, straightening, and heat damage, thus creating gaps in the hair cuticle (surface area). I'm also noticing I'm needing less condish and less Shea because my cuticles aren't needing as much sealing and they're retaining moisture better.  After being CG for  year, I have have some hair that is low porosity in the unbleached healthier areas and the dyed and bleached hair is higher porosity. I am finally able to use more humectants and glycerin in my products and leaving all my condition in is helping seal the porous areas of my hair much better.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Do-You-Know-How-to-Check-Your-Hair-Porosity%3F&id=6207835

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ist/?next=/science-nature/why-humidity-makes-your-hair-curl-21127724/

http://www.chocolatehairvanillacare.com/2012/05/humectants-what-they-are-and-when-we.html

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