Hair care, when you really dive into it, is complicated.
Then you could have dense hair or sparse hair.
you’re free to have a thick strand diameter or you’re free to have thin.
One of the most critical things to know about your hair is its porosity.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
Hair porosity: What is it, and why does it matter?
To understand hair porosity, you should know a bit about the hair structurespecifically the outermost layer.
“The outer layer of the hair strand is called the cuticle layer.
Thus hair that is “more porous” has more pores between the cuticles for water to get through.
Now, hair porosity is a spectrum, ranging from high to low.
But it also means it evaporates easily.
Hair that has low porosity has dense cuticles.
It also takeslonger to dry after getting wetas it’s holding all that water in.
Porosity matters because it will affect how you care for and style your hair.
We tend to think of hair care just in terms of hair key in.
Or, we may even consider our scalp pop in or how thick or thin our hair is.
That’s why it’s so important to test yours.
Hair porosity test.
Don’t have time at the moment to try the water test, but want a quick indicator?
If it’s smooth, then it’s not porous.
However, we still recommend doing the water test.
High porosity
So your strand sank.
Now you know you have porous hair, in which water tends to flow more freely in and out.
So hair absorbs water easily, as noted above, but it also means it evaporates easily.
It also becomes dry and brittle easily, needing moisturizing agents between washes.
And when you do apply products, your hair will “drink” it up.
Hair that has high porosity also tends tofrizz easierand has a more matte appearance.
Low porosity
Hair that has low porosity has dense cuticles.
If you want a full list of hair care tips, just visit our full guide tolow-porosity hair.
Quick tips, here:
The takeaway.
Luckily, there’s a very easy test to try, which will guide you in the right direction.
