Introduction
So you have figured out this porosity thing but might need a little reassurance about whether your hair is High, Medium or Low Porosity
Let’s do a quick recap.

What is Porosity?
Hair Porosity is simply how easy it is for your hair to absorb moisture. Kinky Coily hair can be Low, Medium or High Porosity.

Hair Porosity is determined by how tightly packed (low porosity) or loosely spaced (HIGH POROSITY) the outer layer of your hair strands or Cuticles are.

The outer layer of your hair strands or Cuticles look like fish scales packed together. They let products, oils and water in and out of your hair strands.

Kinky Coily hair tends to have slightly raised or open cuticles. Which allows moisture to either enter or leave the hair strands more freely. This is why kinky coily hair is naturally dry.

But there’s more to it..

Dry hair is common in both high and low porosity hair types so how do you know where you fit in???

Low Porosity Hair means your Hair Cuticles are close together making it difficult to moisturize. Low Porosity hair needs lighter products, hot oil treatments and regular deep conditioning with heat.

Medium Porosity hair means your Hair Cuticles are less closely packed. Your hair is as normal as it gets on the porosity scale. It absorbs moisture and retains it easily. May only occasionally need extra TLC and does well on a regular, haircare routine.

High Porosity Hair means your Hair Cuticles are loose packed allowing water and some oils to freely penetrate the hair strands. This type of hair loves moisture but gets dry very quickly. Chemical treatment like dying and relaxing will increase the porosity of your hair..

You can read more about this in our previous articles here….

Knowing whether your hair is Low, Medium or High porosity goes a long way in determining what products are best for your Kinky Coily, Type 4 Hair…
The DIY Porosity test was created as a simple way to determine whether your hair is Low, Medium or High Porosity..

Simple Hair Porosity Testing

• Wash hair well with a gentle shampoo.
• Dry as normal (Dont put any product in your hair)
• Fill a glass/bowl with cold water (one you don’t intend on drinking in)
• Pull freshly dried, hair strands from the root.
• Place in glass of water
• Wait 3-5 minutes
• Does the strand sink to the bottom or float at top.

According to this test if your hair strands float at the top for awhile (at least 5 minutes) before sinking, it is most likely Low Porosity.

If your hair sinks quickly to the bottom, it is likely you have high porosity hair.

Now that you have some idea what your hair porosity is, what do you think it is?

Low, Medium or High.. Check out our other articles on porosity here….