POROSITY 101: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT POROSITY LEVELS
What is hair porosity?
Porosity is your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. It’s measured in three ratings: low, normal, and high. Your hair’s porosity level is determined by the condition of your cuticles, or the outermost layer of your hair strands. These cuticles can be damaged by excessive heat and chemical treatments.
Why should you care? Knowing your hair porosity will help you choose the right products that will work for you and keep your hair healthy. You can put the most expensive, best product ever created on your hair, but for example, if you have low porosity, your hair won’t be able to receive or absorb any of the nutrients in that product.
How to measure your porosity..
Porosity Test
Fill up a cup of water. Find your hair brush and take one or two strands of your hair out of it, then place them in the cup of water. If the hair strands float, you have low porosity. If they sink to the bottom of the glass, you have high porosity. And if they linger in the middle of the glass, you have normal porosity.
Low Porosity Hair
If you did the test and found out you have low porosity, this means that your cuticles' scales are closed shut so tightly that they're not taking in any water or moisture. This explains why those strands would float in a glass of water, because they're not absorbing moisture.
So if you use moisturizing products but don't feel like they're making any difference, this is the reason why. If your hair has low porosity, it will resist oils and moisture. What should you do about this? You need to use products with ingredients that will raise your cuticles to a healthy level, bringing your porosity back to normal. Steamers are great tools for aiding with cuticle lifting, as well. Try avoiding products loaded with oils, as oils serve as sealants for the cuticle and may work against your efforts to lift them. And when applying products, make sure your hair is damp, as you'll need all the moisture you can get!
To Repair Low Porosity hair use restorED - reconstructive masque treatment. This reconstructive hair care product is infused with Keratin and nutrients that restores hair back to proper health. It repairs, rebuilds elasticity, conditions, and controls frizz. Also adds moisture and leaves hair deeply nourished, smooth and shiny without weighing it down. It's safe for colored, straightened and chemically-treated hair.
Normal Porosity Hair
If you ran the tests on your stands and found out you have normal porosity, congratulations, you have healthy hair! It means your strands allow for easy moisture inside the cuticle.
Now the struggle is to keep it that way, because hair porosity can definitely change over time. Avoiding heat and chemical treatments is a great way to start protecting your hair. Normal porosity is the goal we should all be trying to reach, because it means that your cuticles take in just the right amount of moisture for an extended period of time. It will also hold moisture and shine for a longer period of time. It's essentially considered a very desirable and low maintenance hair type. However, be aware that regular chemical processes, including heat, can change the hair's porosity over time. Healthier ingredients, regular deep conditioning, moisturizing and little to no heat regimens will help keep normal porosity strands at optimum health.
High Porosity Hair
Did you do the tests and find out you have high porosity? If so, this means that you strands contain tears and holes that allow too much moisture to come in. This is why they sank to the bottom of the glass, if you chose to do the test.
Having high porosity means that you hair absorbs moisture too quickly and is prone to frizz. Oddly enough, high porosity hair can lose moisture extremely easily. So although it absorbs a lot of moisture, it doesn't hold on to it for too long. Thicker butters and products with more oils are helpful for this hair type as they seal the cuticle and even serve as a protective layer. You want to use things with a low pH, which are acidic, and will help tighten the open cuticle. Proteins treatments are also recommended to temporarily patch the gaps.
To Repair High Porosity hair use strengthenED - intense argan oil masque treatment. It's an intense treatment enriched with Shea Butter and Moroccan Argan Oil. Penetrates the cuticle deeply to rebuild strength, restore elasticity and hydrate dry and damaged hair. It controls frizz, conditions, and softens hair. It's even excellent for extensions and safe for colored, straightened and chemically-treated hair.
Still Unsure...
If you are still unsure about which porosity type of hair you have, you should still consider strengthening your hair. You need a product that will eliminate breakage and replenish your strands. The repairED - deep conditioning treatment is a great option because it works great for all hair types to get your porosity back to normal. This Keratin-infused deep conditioning treatment, super-charged with proteins and extracts, restores moisture, strengthens, stops frizz and reduces breakage. Improves the results of Keratin treatments. Like the others, it is safe for colored, straightened and chemically-treated hair.
We highly recommend you try this test and if your porosity ranked anything but normal, start these treatments today!
Still have questions on hair porosity? Contact Us and we'll answer your questions.
~Stephanie Renise