5 Things to Know About Hair Porosity

Updated on August 23, 2022

The capacity of your hair to hold on to and absorb moisture is referred to as its porosity level, and this level can be split down into three different categories: low, normal, and high. Discovering your hair’s porosity should be one of your priorities when searching for the perfect hair routine for your needs.

If your hair has low porosity, it implies that the structure of your hair does not readily enable moisture to be absorbed into the hair shaft. This might be a problem if you want your hair to retain moisture. When your hair is washed, the water may have more difficulty penetrating your strands because of this.

Because this kind of hair tends to reject moisture, it may also be more difficult to treat and style. This is especially true for curly hair. Let’s take a more in-depth look at the important facts that you need to know about low porosity hair.

Products Sit on Your Hair

If your hair has low porosity, you may discover that the products you use on it tend to just sit on top of it rather than being absorbed into it. For example, you may put some oil or moisturizer on the tips of your hair before you style it.

After half an hour, you could see that the product remains on the surface of your hair, especially if you just washed it off. If you touch it, there is a possibility that it may come off on your fingers.

Washing and Drying Take Longer

When you have hair that has poor porosity, washing as well as drying it might take much longer than usual. It may be challenging to get your hair properly wet and for the water to thoroughly permeate your hair because water is not readily absorbed. If you find this to be the case, try using a conditioner that contains glycerin. You may also consider looking for other smoothing products for frizzy or unruly hair.

Causes of Low Porosity Hair

The porosity of an individual’s hair is largely determined by one’s genetic makeup. However, there are many important factors to consider outside of genetics. For instance, over time, the hair cuticles may become progressively open and elevated if they are damaged in any way, through the use of heat styling tools, bleaching, or washing your hair with harsh chemicals. The capacity of the hair to retain moisture is reduced as a result of this. An increase in hair porosity is another side effect of prolonged exposure to UV radiation.

What the Float Test Can Tell You About Hair Porosity

Low-porosity hair will float to the top for a time, then sink to the bottom of the glass. The porosity of the hair is most likely to be medium if it floats somewhere in the center of the glass. It’s a good indication that the hair is more porous if it goes to the bottom of the glass rather rapidly. This indicates that the porosity is rather high.

How to Care For Low Porosity Hair

Cuticles often overlap one another and are closely packed together in hair that has low porosity. Because there are no gaps between the cuticles, it’s more difficult for water and other treatments, such as oils and conditioners, to transport moisture to the hair shaft. That’s why it’s important to maintain healthy cuticle spacing.

If your hair has low porosity, you could be tempted to use a bigger amount of a product on it, or perhaps more than one product on your hair at the same time in an attempt to completely soak your strands with conditioner or other hair care products.

However, no matter how much you apply, very little of the substance will enter the cuticles due to how closely they are packed together. Finding products with the right composition for low porosity hair is the most important step in the process. These products will feature components that have the capability of penetrating your hair more easily.

It’s best to apply products to damp and warm hair, as this creates the optimal environment for the absorption of the ingredients. Also, the cuticle layer of the hair may be lifted by heat, which makes it easier for oils and moisture to go into the shaft of the hair.

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.