Hair Porosity…
It’s one of those things you hear a lot of chatter about in the Natural Hair Community.
High Porosity, Low Porosity, No Porosity…
But what really is Porosity and how does it affect your hair health and growth..
In a nutshell, porosity is your hair’s ability to absorb moisture. Kinky Koily hair is naturally
dry, so porosity plays a big role in ensuring your hair stays in good condition.
Your hair needs to absorb and retain moisture to retain length, stay healthy and grow.
Porosity plays a big role in determining the type of products that are ideal for your hair.
Without understanding porosity you might just end up using products that are not
effective, jumping on bandwagons and frustrating yourself.
YOUR HAIR STRANDS AND POROSITY
A single strand of hair is made up of 3 layers. A tough, scaly outer layer called the Cuticle. A
springy middle layer called the Cortex and an Inner layer called the Medulla. Moisture and
nutrients need to pass through the cuticle to the inner layers of your hair strands.
Porosity determines how easily products or moisture pass through the Cuticle to these
inner layers. Without adequate moisture or nutrients, your hair will break, look dull, frizz
and tangle easily.
TYPES OF POROSITY
LOW POROSITY
Low porosity hair is characterized by tightly packed cuticles. Products tend to sit on your
hair and it takes forever to dry and get soaking wet. Tightly packed cuticles make it difficult
for moisture to pass through to the inner layers of your hair strands. Low porosity hair is
therefore often dry, dull and hard to moisturise without the right products and routine.
MEDIUM POROSITY
The average person has this type. Medium Porosity hair is generally manageable and
responds well to most products. Your hair takes well to most moisturising products. A
regular routine of added moisture and deep conditioning is all that is needed for healthy,
medium porosity hair.
HIGH POROSITY HAIR
High porosity hair is more common among naturalista's than low porosity hair. Chemical
treatments like Relaxes and Dye's increase hair porosity as they tend to raise the cuticles
of your hair. High porosity hair absorbs moisture well, can get dirty easily, absorbs sweat
and odours but dries out very quickly.
Now that you know about the different types of porosity. Can you identify your Hair’s
porosity????
