How Well Can Your Hair Retain Moisture? Here’s What Hair Porosity Really Means

Your hair porosity refers to how well your hair can absorb and retain moisture. Everyone has different levels of porosity to their hair. The cuticle gives moisture and oils a passage into your hair and hence, knowing the porosity of your hair is extremely crucial when it comes to choosing the right products for your hair.

High porosity: Extremely porous hair is prone to damage and breakage. This is because high porosity hair also possesses the ability to lose the moisture quickly. This makes the texture of the hair dry and sometimes even coarse. The cuticle of highly porous hair is has too many holes which let too much moisture into the hair. It's best to seal the cuticle by giving your hair a cold water rinse after you're done shampooing it. Because highly porous hair loses moisture quickly, invest in a good leave-in conditioner to lock moisture in. Low porosity: This type of hair is prone to buildup and doesn't absorb moisturising products easily. In fact, if your hair takes a really long time to dry naturally, you know it's extremely low on porosity. Low porosity hair also tends to fall flat and is usually shiny and often considered to be healthy. Your cuticles repel moisture and hence, it is important to open the cuticle to let the moisture in. Use warm/hot water followed by an oil-enriched shampoo and conditioner such as the TRESemme Keratin Smooth with Argan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner. Medium porosity: If you have medium porosity, you've hit the jackpot. This type of hair requires the least amount of maintenance. As the cuticle is looser, the hair absorbs just the right amount of moisture, doesn't get dry or frizzy easily, isn't prone to buildup and holds hairstyles better! You can use lukewarm water to wash your hair and indulge in occasional hair spas to balance it out.

This can be done with the help of an easy test. Pluck out a strand of your hair to do this test. Fill up a glass of water and put the hair inside it. If it sinks to the bottom of the glass, your hair is extremely porous. If it floats, you have low porosity. If it takes a while to sink in, you have medium porosity. The porosity of your hair can change depending upon the external factors like heat, pollution etc. so, if the texture of your hair feels different from time to time, we recommend doing regular tests to alter your haircare routines accordingly. _Image credits: fromo, livethecutlif _