Hair care is more than combing your hair two times a day and buying expensive hair products. It’s also about knowing and understanding your hair type so that you can take care of it the right way.
But wait, you must be wondering if there is a wrong way to take care of your hair. Yes, there is. You’re doing haircare wrong if you aren’t sure about your hair type and just using products and techniques the world is using. When it comes to hair care, you cannot follow the herd. Everybody’s hair is different, so a haircare routine and products should also be unique.
So, first things first, you must know about your hair’s porosity. It may not be a word you have heard for the first time. Haircare experts and brands are now focussing on hair porosity. But what exactly is hair porosity and why does it matter?
We will tell you all about it, just keep reading the blog.
Why should you know your hair porosity?
Who doesn’t want strong and shiny hair? Everybody does. But getting such hair is the difficult part because we do not focus on hair porosity. Understanding hair porosity is essential because you want to feed your hair exactly what they need. If you lack vitamin E, you’d want to feed your body vitamin E, likewise, you’d want to feed your hair the right hair products.
What is hair porosity?
To state it simply, hair porosity is your hair’s ability to lock in moisture. There are three types of hair porosity, differing on the levels of moisture strands hold. Each hair strand has an outer layer of cuticles that open up and close to take in and seal moisture. These cuticles open up when your hair is exposed to heat, and close when you use a hair product or are exposed to cold water.
Talking about the levels of hair porosity, let’s look at them in detail.
Low porosity hair:
Low porosity hair does not absorb much moisture because the cuticles are firmly closed and clamped down. It is less capable of taking in water and hair treatments. Consequently, hair products may accumulate on the surface.
Some of the characteristics:
- Low porosity hair may take longer to get dry
- The buildup of products is common. So, you may observe your hair getting greasy quickly.
- Hydration becomes difficult.
- This type of hair is more prone to breakage and split ends
- The hair lacks volume or elasticity
Medium porosity hair:
This type of hair retains the right amount of moisture. It’s the sweet spot, where your hair doesn’t require much maintenance.
Some of the characteristics:
- Hair looks healthy
- Requires little maintenance.
- Doesn’t take long to dry or to get wet
- It can easily absorb and retain moisture inside the cuticle
- Minimal breakage and split ends
High porosity hair:
This type of hair has raised cuticles that cannot hold moisture for long. This makes your hair frizzy and susceptible to breakage and damage. The lack of moisture can make the hair texture dry and coarse.
Characteristics of high porosity hair:
- Quickly absorbs water as it’s highly porous
- May take longer to dry
- Your hair loves protein
- More prone to breakage and split ends
- Easily tangled hair
How to know your hair porosity?
- Wash your hair with shampoo
- Fill a glass with water
- Take a strand out once your hair is dry and put it into the glass.
- Observe if the strand floats at the top or sinks at the bottom.
- If the strand floats at the top, you have low-porosity hair. If the hair is somewhere in the middle, you have medium porosity hair. If the strand sinks to the bottom, you have high porosity hair.
Closing thoughts
So, what is your hair porosity? Whatever it is, your hair care routine should be focused on the particular hair type.
Now is the time to formulate your own hair-care routine and get your hair the right treatment and care it deserves.
