How Hair Porosity Can Change Your Whole Hair Routine
“How Hair Porosity Can Change Your Whole Hair Routine”
Knowing your hair porosity is beneficial to the start of a healthy hair journey. While many focus
on purchasing products based on their hair type, it is the knowledge of your hair porosity that will
optimize the performance of those products.
Think of hair porosity vs. hair type the same way you think about going to the doctor. Finding a
doctor with great reviews is relatively important, but it doesn't help if you find a great oncologist
when you actually need a gynecologist. The same goes for finding products for hair. If your friend recommends a
fantastic conditioner for high porosity hair, but your hair is low porosity, then you are likely not going to get
desirable results.
When you use products properly and factor in your level of porosity, your hair will reap the benefits
necessary for proper nourishment. Now, let’s talk about the different types of hair porosity.
Low Porosity
What does it mean to have low porosity hair? Basically, the structure of your hair doesn’t easily
allow for moisture to be absorbed by the shaft and can be weighed down by product due to the
closed nature of the cuticle. Think of your cuticles like shingles on a roof. With low porosity they are laying down flat and tight which means its hard for water and product to get in or out.
Things to Know:
●Weekly or bi-weekly wash days are essential. Low porosity hair tends to be prone to
product buildup; therefore, you should not rely heavily on cleansing conditioners and
co-washes. Try using a clarifying shampoo or a nice rinse such as our Aloe Apple Cider Rinse and even eliminating co-washing from your
hair regimen. Our Glorious Growth Cleansing Cream is a gentle but effective shampoo to use as well.
●Use heat when conditioning hair. Try using a steamer or hooded dryer when deep
conditioning. The heat will open up the cuticles of the hair allowing for ingredients and
moisture to get to the shaft.
●When rinsing use lukewarm water instead of cool water, this helps keep your cuticles open longer to absorb products.
●Be aware of using protein based conditioners too often. Protein heavy products can cause the hair to stiffen from protein overload.
●Avoid going overboard on heavy butters and oils. Low porosity hair can quickly accumulate product
buildup do to the lack of absorption. Ultimately, the buildup can cause limp heavy hair.
Try using light oils and refreshers for sealing and refreshing of the hair. Our Quench Hydrating Spray is a great option.
●Use a satin pillowcase or bonnet. It is vital to retain moisture, and cotton tends to
absorb the necessary moisture of the hair.
●Color may NOT be your friend. Due to the closed nature of the hair cuticles, it may be
difficult for your hair to take on the color from color treatments.
●Braids & damp styling ARE your friends. Try styling when your hair is damp (not
soaking wet) to help minimize breakage. Braids are a great style option because they
tend to help retain moisture due to the fused nature of the style.
Medium Porosity
Medium porosity is considered the ideal level of porosity. The cuticle is open just enough that
hydration can get to the hair shaft, but closed enough not to release all of its moisture. With
medium porosity hair, it is about maintaining a balance in its care from products to chemical
treatments.
Things to Know:
●Predictability with chemical treatments. Medium porosity hair allows chemical
treatments and hair color to return predictable and desirable results. However, overdoing
it can result in the hair becoming more porous.
●Least amount of maintenance. Less work is required to care for medium porosity than
low or high porosity. Light products are great, but heavier oils will not overload the hair
with product buildup.
●Seasonal hair treatment. While medium porosity hair can be easier to manage, it
tends to adapt to the elements and requires one to adjust their hair routine accordingly.
High Porosity
Lastly, there is high porosity hair, which is on the opposite end of the spectrum to low porosity.
High porosity has open cuticles that tend to drink up water and product. While in contrast to low
porosity hair, that has a hard time getting hydration to the shaft, open cuticles may sound great.
However, because high porosity causes the hair to absorb the product so quickly, it also has a
hard time holding onto it so the hair can quickly become dry.
Things to Know:
●The cool water is your friend. Cool water rinses at the end of a wash are beneficial to the hair
because it will help close up the cuticle and retain the hydration put into the hair. Also,
avoid the hairdryer, allow for your hair to air dry.
●Color and chemical treatments can be an enemy and a friend. When chemically
altering your hair, it can cause the hair to become more porous; thus the hair will appear
drier and frizzy. However, the high porosity will drink up color treatments and deliver a
better result than low porosity hair.
●Prone to breakage and split ends. It is essential that you use oils to help seal the
cuticle of the hair. The natural state of high porosity hair makes it more susceptible to
damage.
●Balance is important. Regular deep conditioning treatment with a balance of moisture
and protein is necessary for repairing and healing the hair. Our Glorious Growth Strengthening Mask is a great protein based deep conditioner.
Hair porosity like hair type is initially based on genetics; however, styling or damage can cause low or medium porosity hair to become high porosity. It is important to know that your
porosity can be impacted by your hair routine. So protect your hair as much possible.
How can I find out my hair porosity
I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year and I noticed I’m losing hair, weight and energy
Thanks for the information on porosity hair I’m trying to figure out my hair type . My biggest problem is my edges it been scarred badly ,but I can see a hair coming back slowly . I have try everything and u are my last resort . I haven’t started to use ur product yet but I will soon . Thanks for listening Janice
I don’t know what my porosity is, ?