Determining Hair Porosity & Finding Your Best Products
Porosity refers to how readily your hair absorbs moisture. Knowing the porosity of your hair matters because it'll help you choose the products best suited to your hair's unique characteristics. Afro/coily hair can be either high, medium or low porosity, however, it is possible for there to be multiple porosities on one head of hair.
Characteristics of Low Porosity Hair
You have low porosity hair if leave-in conditioners, butters and creams sit on top of your hair and weigh it down instead of being absorbed. This is because the hair cuticles tightly hug the hair's cortex which prevents moisture from easily penetrating. Because of this, low porosity hair will need light yet penetrating moisture, like our Burdock Root Butter Cream, to keep it soft throughout the day without it feeling heavy or greasy.
Characteristics of High Porosity Hair
High porosity hair readily absorbs moisture but also releases it quickly due to its raised cuticles, which causes the hair to feel dry again shortly after product application. You'll need to use products that are not only capable of adding moisture to the hair but of locking it in as well. Use a rich oil blend like our Castor & Moringa Softening Serum to trap moisture in and keep it from leaking out. An intense moisturizing cream like our Amla & Olive Heavy Cream also works wonders on high porosity hair, keeping it soft and hydrated for days. There's one way to determine your hair's porosity with certainty once and for all: drop it into a glass of water and watch if it sinks or floats. Sinking hair indicates high porosity while floating hair indicates low porosity. Hair that hovers in the middle is medium porosity hair.
Hair Types
3A? 4B? 4A? Which one am I? Type 1 and 2 hair is straight to wavy. Type 3 hair refers to hair that has a slightly tighter wave or curl pattern. Type 4 hair covers the range of afro hair textures from zigzag to coily.
Curly hair is described as hair that contains bends. Each letter that describes curly hair refers to how close each bend is along the hair strand. For example, a strand of 4C hair will contain numerous, closely spaced bends and twists along its length while the bends and twists along 4A hair will be spaced further apart. The closer and more angular the bends, the kinkier the hair will be.
Products that Work for Your Hair
You're not destined to have dry hair. In fact, knowing the porosity of your hair can help guide your product selections and help you reach your hair goals more quickly.
If you have low porosity hair, the trick is to get the products past tight cuticles so they can do their job. For this, you'll want to stick with products that attract moisture (humectants), and avoid products that have a low pH as these will seal the cuticle even more. Products containing vegetable glycerin and olive, coconut and moringa oils offer softness, slip and lubricity and moisturize the hair without weighing it down. Applying products while your hair is wet will also provide some additional moisture to lock in.
The use of our Burdock Root Butter Cream, Moringa Tree Conditioning Ghee and Coconut & Green Tea Softening Serum will give your low porosity hair the pampering it needs. All three products contain the nutrients and moisture ratios best suited for low porosity hair.
The trick to moisturizing high porosity hair is to keep the moisture in once you've applied it. Whether your cuticles are naturally raised or raised due to heat damage or chemical processes, you'll want to choose hair products that have a lower pH to flatten the cuticle. Thick butters and oils help serve as an additional protective layer. Our Amla & Olive Heavy Cream is ideal for high porosity hair as it contains heavy oils like olive and castor that attract and retain moisture. Our Amla & Olive Heavy Cream also contains nutrient rich botanicals that support healthy hair growth and help grow out brittle and damaged hair. You'll also need a rich, creamy detangler to help flatten your cuticles and make detangling with a wide tooth comb easier and painless and our Castor & Moringa Softening Serum to lock in the moisture and keep your hair soft and supple, even overnight. Pure castor and moringa oils are perfect for high porosity hair and are rich in fatty acids.
