What is porosity? It refers to how efficiently your hair can take in and hold moisture. High porosity curly hair can easily absorb lots of water. But, this type of hair can easily lose the moisture it gains too. High porosity hair is more prone to damage from harsh chemicals, dyeing, high heat, and harsh shampoos. If you have high porosity hair, this post can help you have a healthier one.
How to check hair porosity?
You can use one of these methods to determine your hair’s porosity. Also to learn more about your hair type we recommend reading Hair Type – Every Thing About It first.
The Float Test: After brushing a few numbers of your strands, put them into a water bowl. Then, wait for 2-4 minutes. If your hair stays above the water; Therefore, you have low porosity. And if it sinks, you have high porosity.
The Slip and Slide Test: Just move your finger smoothly up to the hair shaft (to the scalp). If you sense any bumps on the way; Therefore, you have high porosity. But if you don’t feel anything, you have low porosity.
We also have two posts about low and medium porosity hair. If you have those types, make sure to check them out: Tips For Medium Porosity Curly Hair, Styling Tips For Low Porosity Curly Hair
High porosity curly hair:
While damage from chemical processing, harsh treatment, or environmental damage can cause high porosity, it can also be because of genetics. The open space in the cuticle layer can let too much moisture in and make hair vulnerable to frizz and tangling in humid weather. As mentioned, this type of hair absorbs a high amount of moisture which can make simple activities such as bathing, swimming, and shampooing harmful.
If you live in high heat and humid climate, make sure to use anti-humectants. Essentially, anti-humectants block moisture from entering the hair by preventing it from absorbing. These products will fill the gaps of the damaged cuticle and prevent a high amount of moisture absorption. By doing so, frizz is minimized.
Highly porous hair can also lose moisture simply just as it absorbs lots of it. Therefore, leave-in conditioners, moisturizers, and sealers can be very useful. In order to fill the space in your damaged cuticle, you can also use heavy hair butter.
Don’t use harsh treatments and hot tools.
Your high porosity hair can easily get damaged. There are many factors that can cause problems such as heat tools, chemical relaxer treatments, and also sun exposure. These factors can make your hair dull, tangled, and frizzy. It can also make your hair more porous by removing some of the outer layers of the cuticle. Check Harmful Ingredients Of Hair Care Products to learn more about harsh ingredients you need to avoid.
Add protein treatments to your regimen.
Unlike low porosity hair, protein treatment is essential for high porosity hair. A good protein treatment can make your hair stronger and reduce breakage. Protein can also fill the holes in the hair shaft to strengthen your hair. If you are looking for a great protein treatment, try TGIN Miracle RepaiRx Curl Protein Reconstructor or INAHSI Restorative Hair Masque.
tgin Miracle RepaiRx CPR Protein Treatment
INAHSI Restorative Hair Masque
Use low heat or let your hair air dry.
High porosity hair can get dry quickly, so, you won’t need to use heat tools with a high heat setting. The best thing that you can do is to let your hair dry with air. But if you want to use a heat tool anyway, remember that you should use it on a low heat setting to avoid extra damage. To learn more about this matter we recommend reading Drying Curly Hair – Every Thing About It.
Seal your high porosity curly hair with oils or butter.
You can use butter or oils to lock in the moisture that usually escapes from your hair. Shea butter and olive are great options for heavy sealing. Olive oil can also go deep into your hair shaft which makes it even a greater choice. Check Alikay Naturals Naturally Unique Loc Oil & INAHSI Island Breeze Hair & Body Whipped Butter if you’re looking for suitable products for your high porosity curly hair.
Alikay Naturals Naturally Unique Loc Oil
INAHSI Island Breeze Hair & Body Whipped Butter
Don’t forget deep conditioning for high porosity curly hair.
You should never remove deep conditioner from your curly hair regimen. This becomes more important when you have high porosity hair. Use a deep conditioner on every wash day. If you don’t have a hooded dryer, you can also use a plastic cap for 15 minutes. If you’re looking for a perfect deep conditioner, check Bounce Curl Deep Ayurvedic Conditioner.
Bounce Curl Deep Ayurvedic Conditioner
If you have found any method that works for your hair, you can share them in the comments. This can be very useful for those who have your hair type. Have you tried any methods or tips that we mentioned in this post? if so, tell us which one worked for your hair type.
