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“Look for products that offer intense hydration and nourishment.” Groover adds that steam therapy is another way to create moisture miracles so that products are able to connect to the strands. High porosity hair is prone to frizz because it’s more damaged and cannot retain moisture as well. If you have high porosity hair, it means that water, oils, and other types of products can be easily absorbed by your hair. On the flip side, because your hair is highly porous, it may not be able to retain moisture as well as other types of hair.
How High-Porosity Hair Responds to Hair-Care Products
This affects how well oils and moisture pass in and out of the outermost layer of your hair, known as the cuticle. If going natural taught me anything, it's that I don't know everything there is to know about my hair—no matter how many YouTube videos I watch. According to YouTube, I have a 4c hair type, and according to how coarse and dull my hair gets after some time (mainly due to my laziness), my hair veers toward the dry side. But what I didn't realize is that I could adopt different methods and use a bevy of products to give my hair its best life, but none of that matters if I don't understand my hair's porosity. Other maintenance of this hair type revolves around combatting dryness and ensuing breakage.
What causes low or high hair porosity?
High-porosity hair differs from other hair types in that it quickly absorbs and loses moisture due to a raised or open cuticle layer. This stands in contrast to low-porosity hair, which has a tightly closed cuticle layer that makes it more resistant to moisture absorption. Medium-porosity hair falls somewhere in between, with a moderately receptive cuticle layer. High-porosity hair can be a bit of a diva—it does a great job of soaking in moisture that’s applied to the hair, but then loses that moisture too quickly. “The cuticle, or outermost layer of the hair, has what would best be described as scales coating it,” explains Paul Cucinello, a celebrity stylist, beauty expert, and founder of Cucinello Beauty.
Protein Treatments
Additionally, be sure to steer clear of products that are clarifying or high alcohol content sprays, since these also zap moisture. "Spritz a section of clean, dry hair with water," Park says, "If the water beads up and takes a while to be absorbed, your hair may have low porosity. If it quickly soaks in, it suggests high porosity." Here are some examples of conditioners that may be especially helpful for highly porous hair. These types of treatments can damage your cuticles, causing them to lift or separate. This can create gaps between your cuticles and, as a result, your hair may be more porous than it would normally be. If you’re unsure which type of hair you have, there are a few experiments you can try at home to get a general idea of whether you have low, average, or high porosity hair.
High Porosity Hair Care
He recommends plant-based oils like coconut and sea buckthorn oil, which are hydrating to the hair, as well as moisturizing ingredients like shea butter and manuka honey. Dr. Garshick suggests Andalou Naturals Argan Oil Conditioner, as it contains a blend of argan oil and avocado oil, as well as shea butter and vitamin E to both moisturize and condition the scalp. If you have highly porous hair, you can expect lots of frizz, especially during humid weather, dullness and tangles. Your hair will also likely be prone to breakage and damage, and may look and feel dry. There are multiple factors that can cause high-porosity hair—the biggest one being genetics.
Protective styling involves braiding your hair, wearing wigs or adding hair extensions to your hair. Anything that reduces constant manipulation of your hair is basically protective styling. Natural hair clip-ins, for example, help you to have fuller, longer hair without much manipulation. Deep conditioning treatments are especially helpful for adding moisture, nourishment, and softness to highly porous hair. High porosity hair can be genetic, which means that it runs in your family. Many times, though, it’s caused by hair processing and styling treatments like straightening, blow-drying, bleaching, and other chemical applications.
Signs of High-Porosity Hair and How to Choose Products - Shape Magazine
Signs of High-Porosity Hair and How to Choose Products.
Posted: Thu, 29 Dec 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Styling products
An intense treatment like this only needs to be applied once, and you must follow all directions carefully to avoid further damage. Less severe damage can be managed with maintenance protein products like Ouidad's Curl Quencher Moisturizing Conditioner ($24). Protein may strengthen your hair, but it might also be drying—apply a protein mask once a month to condition without breakage. "Products that restore moisture, reduce frizz, seal in moisture, and protect the hair from heat are great products for high porosity hair." To revive your hair, drastically minimize your heat usage, and having chemicals applied only (if at all) in a salon setting can be a great help.
This can cause your hair cuticles to become raised and open, which may make it harder for your hair to retain moisture. "High porosity hair usually needs more protein or oil to help seal in moisture. Some conditioners have more protein in them, so look for conditioners with keratin, wheat, or silk protein for added strength," she explains. Stevens suggests using an egg, which is packed with proteins, to help strengthen weakened strands. Cleansing, on the other hand, isn't based on any porosity but how much build up in on the hair.
How to determine your hair porosity
Products with those types of chemicals are a big NO NO as they pull essential moisture from your hair. The most popular way to confirm if you have high porosity hair is to do a strand test on clean hair. All you have to do is take a strand of your hair and drop it in a glass of water. If your hair sinks very quickly to the bottom, you have high porosity hair.
Unlike low porosity hair, which has an extremely flat cuticle layer, making strands less likely to absorb water and products, high porosity hair has a more open cuticle layer. However, it's harder for high-porosity hair to retain moisture due to the cuticles' openness. To learn more about how to care for high porosity hair, we turned to top dermatologist Joyce Park, MD, as well as hair specialists Alicia Bailey of Design Essentials and Leigh Hardges of Maxine Salon. This conditioner (and its corresponding shampoo) is made with high porosity hair in mind, specifically targeting concerns like breakage, split ends, frizz, and damage from heat tools and hair color. It promises to smooth out dreaded frizz in even the most humid locales, and to improve elasticity so you can find less hair in your comb after each brush.
“These scales are raised when the pH level of the hair is high, and sealed tight when the pH of the hair is low.” High porosity hair has a noticeably dull appearance, a higher pH than average, and a more coarse texture, too. High porosity hair has a more openly sealed cuticle layer, making it receptive to moisture absorption yet prone to moisture loss. "This type of hair may feel rough and is prone to frizz," according to Park. Whether due to genetics or hair damage, high porosity hair allows moisture to be absorbed into the hair shaft easily, yet it isn’t able to retain moisture for long. Therefore, having high porosity hair means hydrating strands, doing damage control, and ameliorating frizz and breakage. Protein treatments are also important to add to your routine, when you have highly porous hair.
As high porosity hair is fragile and subject to breakage, incorporating protein will help to fortify it. Processing your hair or styling your hair like straightening, blow-drying, bleaching or using other chemical applications can all lead to high porosity hair. Individuals with high-porosity hair encounter several challenges when striving to maintain hair health.
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