Knowing my natural hair porosity was my breakthrough regarding my natural hair regime. There are tons of information to help us retain moisture. However, knowing your hair’s porosity can help you to create the best natural hair regime. Believe me.

What is Hair Porostiy?

Hair porosity is the hair’s ability or inability to absorb water and retain moisture. Our hair is naturally porous but the degree of porosity varies. Due to different styles we have worn in the past like relaxer, permanent coloring and harsh styling we have crack the shield of our hair „cuticle“. So our hair became less able to absorb water and hold the moisture in. Older hair is more porous than newer hair.

There are three types of hair porosity: low, normal and high.

Low Hair Porosity:

I would consider my hair as low porosity. My hair is not really able to absorb moisture. The products seem to sit on the hair as the cuticle layers are extremely compact means tightly close. But once the moisture is in, it does not leak out easily. Low porostiy hair looks generally quite healthy but it does not really bounce well. However, the hair is not easy to work with. Sometimes, it repels moisture than to absorb it. In order to let moisture in you have to raise the cuticle.

Normal Hair Porosity

This is obviously the happy porosity where cuticle layers are loser. The right amount of moisture can get in and out easily. The hair is healthy and is able to hold styles for a long periods of time. Normal porosity hair is easy to deal with as it allows normal handling.

High Hair porostiy

High porostiy hair is caused by excessive mechanical abuse like heat-styling tools, sun damage, harsh ingredients, relaxers and colors. The cuticle layer can absorb too much moisture however on the other hand it can also let it out. That means high porosity hair absorbs more water when it is wet but loses even more as it dries. Hair porosity hair is dry and has less shine. Once you have high porosity hair you have to take care as it can easily damage more than in its current state. Keeping this type of hair moisturized is a never-ending story as such hair is always dry.

 

 

Why do you need to know your hair porosity?

Knowing your hair porosity is an important factor in creating your natural hair care. This knowledge was my breakthrough. I spent a lot of money and time trying different products and styles however after I did the test and created the best natural haircare routine for me. Because moisture defines and shape your hair. You have to know how your hair reacts to moisture in order to gain the maximum out of your hair regime. That means if you don’t know your hair’s porosity, you won’t be able to find the best hair product that works on your hair to retain moisture. Not knowing your porosity can cause frizzy, breckage, dryness and dull hair. Different degrees of porosity can be found in all Afro textured hair.

What is your hair porostiy?

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