The importance of porosity when it comes to natural hair care
I often get asked what hair porosity is and whether it really matters. The bottom line: Porosity – the rate at which hair can absorb water – is important for any texture and type of hair because it directly impacts moisturization, which is vital to maintaining healthy hair.”
Porosity refers to how well your hair is able to absorb and hold moisture. It is affected by the flexible outer hair layer called the cuticle, which determines how easily moisture and oils pass in and out of your hair. For most, porosity is genetic, but it can also be affected by external factors such as exposure, heat treatments and chemical processing. Knowing your hair’s porosity can help you choose the right products to keep your hair well-moisturized, supple, strong and shiny.
DETERMINING HAIR POROSITY
There are two methods you can use to find out how porous your hair is.
The Float Test: To determine where your strands fall on the porosity meter, conduct a float test. Place a few clean strands of hair on top of room temperature water in a clear glass, making sure they aren’t overlapping or touching the edge. Let them sit for 2-4 minutes. If your hair floats, you have low porosity. If it sinks, you have high porosity.
The Slip’n’Slide Test: Take a strand of hair and slide your fingers up the shaft (toward the scalp). If you feel little bumps along the way, this means that your cuticle is lifted and that you have high porosity. If your fingers slip smoothly, then you have low porosity hair.