How to Determine Your Hair Porosity, According to Pros

We all know that taking care of your hair isn't exactly straightforward. For starters, you need to consider your curl type—not to mention, the thickness of your hair. Then, you have to factor in whether or not your hair is chemically relaxed and/or color-treated. In some cases, you may even have a scalp condition—like psoriasis—that has to be catered to. And if that weren't enough, you also have to think about hair porosity.

"Hair porosity" essentially refers to how well or poorly your hair absorbs and retains moisture. This is important as your hair's porosity is an indicator of its health. Low porosity hair is typically considered healthier, whereas high porosity hair is more damaged. Depending on what you currently have, your haircare routine may or may not be making matters better or worse.

So, to better understand what hair porosity means, how you can determine which type you have, and how to cater to it, we tapped three experts. Below, they break down everything there is to know about porosity so you can achieve your best hair ever.

What Is Hair Porosity? 

Essentially, porosity determines how your hair can retain and absorb moisture. "Porosity can be broken down into three categories: low, normal, and high," explains Groover. "Low porosity hair has cuticles that are bound very close together, normal porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly less bound, and high porosity hair has cuticles that are more widely spread out."

How to Measure Hair Porosity at Home

There are two simple ways to test your hair's porosity at home.

1. Float Test: For this, you just need a a glass of water (use a clear glass) and a strand of hair. It is recommended that you try this after washing the product and build-up from your strands to get the most accurate reading. Grover says to start by combing your hair to release strands that are shedding, and then take those stands and drop them into your glass of water. " If it sinks you have high porosity. If your hair stays in the middle of the glass or bowl, you have medium porosity. If your hair floats, you have low porosity," affirms O'Connor.
2. Cuticle Test: Another way to test your hair's porosity is to take a strand of hair and gently brush against it in the reverse direction to feel the bumpiness of the cuticle. O'Connor shares that the bumpier the cuticle, the higher the porosity.

How to Care for Low Porosity Hair 

If you have low porosity hair, Chambers-Harris says that it means your hair is technically in a healthy state, which goes against the common myth that low porosity hair is unhealthy. "I love to tell people [it's a myth]," she shares. "Low porosity [hair] is actually healthy hair that is not being moisturized correctly. The cuticle layer is intact, but you're not moisturizing it properly, so it becomes dry and tangled."

Chambers-Harris likes to use a straw to explain low porosity hair. "If you have a straw and put holes in it, you can take in the liquid easily, but you can't retain the liquid. Once you take it out of the liquid, it's all going to run out of the straw."

One of the easiest ways to ensure your hair is getting the moisture it craves is to wash and condition it once a week (twice a week, tops). "When you're thirsty, you don't drink conditioner or oil—you drink water." Aside from washing your hair weekly, she shares a pro-tip that can help get your wash day off to a good start: "Use an oil that can actually penetrate your hair strands before you shampoo. If you look at ancient cultures, they always tended to oil their hair before [cleansing]." We like Alodia Hair Care Nourish & Grow Healthy Hair and Scalp Oil.

She says pre-pooing can not only help moisturize the hair, but it can prevent nicks in your strands. "It's called hygral fatigue," she explains. "When you just jump in the shower, and you're putting warm water on your hair, your hair swells and will contract really quickly, which causes nicks to happen in your strands." Be sure to select a pre-poo oil that won't sit on top of the hair. Dr. Chambers-Harris recommends NaturAll Club Pure Avocado Oil. "It's an amazing emollient oil, and it actually will penetrate the hair strands, and it helps to moisturize it from within."  

For the rest of your haircare, look for water-based products with lower protein to ensure that the product can be absorbed easily, especially since those with low porosity tend to have product buildup. "Looking for products that include ingredients such as glycerin and honey, like Matrix's A Curl Can Dream Collection, will help as they are natural attractors for moisture in the air," says O'Connor. Furthermore, she recommends applying products in direct heat to open up the hair and allow products to penetrate. 

How to Care for "Normal" Porosity Hair

Normal porosity hair is the easiest hair type to maintain because the hair cuticles tend to be looser, and because of that, moisture penetrates the hair with ease. If you're lucky enough to have medium porosity hair, Groover recommends a deep conditioning mask to maintain your hair health. "Incorporating deep conditioners in your regimen to maintain hair health and increase product absorption is key to achieving the best styling results," says Groover.

She recommends a mask that balances and moisturizes like African Pride's Moisture Miracle Moroccan Clay & Shea Butter Masque. "The Moroccan clay works to balance the hair by removing impurities and product build-up, while the shea butter works to strengthen and replenish moisture."

How to Care for High Porosity Hair

If your curls are experiencing excessive dryness, frizz, and snap easily, these may be a sign that you have high porosity hair, or hair that has a raised and porous cuticle. "With high porosity [hair], you can take in water, but you can't retain the water," explains Chambers-Harris. "Because the protein structure of your hair, the cuticle layer is damaged from coloring, relaxing, etc. and you can't hold onto it." As such, O'Connor says to look for ingredients such as oil and butter in shampoo and conditioners to close the cuticles.

Chambers-Harris says how you treat your hair can affect your hair's porosity. "Let's say you have dyed your hair, you have a relaxer, or you're out in the sun a lot, then [the hair] tends to be high porosity." She says that doing anything that is damaging the cuticle layer often—even coloring the hair once or getting too much sun or chlorine—could leave you with high porosity hair.

Apart from ultra-moisturizing products, O'Connor says to minimize the frequency of washing the hair (once every four to seven days, on average), to wash with lukewarm water, and to always use a heat protectant to help seal the cuticle and further protect the hair from heat damage from hot tools.

Tips for All Types of Hair Porosity

No matter the porosity of your hair, Chambers-Harris has four tips for all hair types. "Use an oil before you shampoo, use a non-sulfate shampoo, use a deep conditioner with equal amounts of protein and moisture to balance out your hair strands, and follow up with a water-based moisturizer."

She leaves us with one more word of advice: "You always have to remember your hair strands are dead. You really have to help to keep them from getting damaged." Keeping your routine consistent and simple is a great way to keep the hair moisturized and looking its best.