Maybe you’ve seen hair porosity being mentioned on social media and it’s left you baffled. To put it simply, hair porosity is the hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. If you have low porosity hair, it means the structure of your hair doesn’t easily allow moisture to be absorbed into your hair shaft. Running water over this hair, you may notice that the water flows over and off it easily, before starting to be absorbed by strands. Overall, low porosity hair is often considered to be healthy but tends to fall flat.
What Does Low Porosity Mean?
Low porosity hair have a hard time absorbing and preserving moisture. Imagine your hair as a sponge: if it’s low porosity, the sponge has tiny, tightly closed pores. This makes it a bit picky when it comes to letting in water or products.
Due to the tight structure of the hair cuticle (the outer layer of each strand), low porosity hair tends to repel moisture rather than soaking it up. This can make it seem resistant to things like hair treatments, oils, and even water when you’re trying to wash or style it.
How to Take Care of Low Porosity Hair
While it can be hard to get moisture into your hair, as long as you lock down a solid hair care routine, you can keep your low porosity strands healthy. Ahead, the five effective tips to get you started.
1. Hot Oil Treatment
This allows the oil to penetrate the hair shaft for intense hydration that your low porosity hair may need. Heavy oils like castor oil can weigh down low porosity hair. Instead, opt for lighter oils like jojoba oil, coconut oil, or argan oil as they are more absorbent, don’t burden your hair and can penetrate deep into the hair shaft.
Products to Try:
- Shea Moisture 100% Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. Shop Now on ulta.com ($16).
- Moroccanoil Treatment. Shop Now on sephora.com ($44).
2. Use Scalp Exfoliating Shampoo
Washing hair with alkaline shampoo could be a good option for getting moisture into the hair. This is where a clarifying or exfoliating shampoo comes in. These shampoos break down the protein structures that would allow the humectants and moisture to penetrate the hair fiber deeper, giving the hair more elasticity, softness, and shine.
Or look for regular shampoos that contain honey, natural glycerin, avocado, shea, aloe vera or other hydrating ingredients as these can penetrate the hair cuticle more easily than products that contain oils.
Products to Try:
- Carol’s Daughter Wash Day Delight Water-to-Foam Shampoo. Shop Now on carolsdaughter.com ($10.99).
- Moroccanoil Clarifying Shampoo. Shop Now on moroccanoil.com ($26).
- Ouidad Water Works Clarifying Shampoo. Shop Now on ulta.com ($18).
3. Weekly Deep Conditioning
To combat hair dryness, use heat (a hooded dryer, a heat cap, steamer) when applying deep-conditioning treatments to help the hair cuticle soften and lift slightly, for products to deeply penetrate. Trap the moisture by rinsing off with cold water, which closes the cuticle.
Products to Try:
- Design Essentials Almond & Avocado Moisturizing & Detangling Conditioner. Shop Now on designessentials.com ($14).
- Pattern Intensive Conditioner For Tight Textures. Shop Now on ulta.com ($25).
- Oribe Intense Conditioner For Moisture And Control. Shop Now on oribe.com ($49).
- Carol’s Daughter Almond Milk Daily Damage Repair Ultra-Nourishing Hair Mask. Shop Now on carolsdaughter.com ($11.99).
4. Use Protein-Free Products
Protein is often found in repairing hair products because of its ability to strengthen the hair cuticle. However, low porosity hair is protein-sensitive because the cuticles are already tough and closely packed together. Adding extra protein to a low porosity hair care routine can cause the hair to become very fragile, so instead of stronger strands, you’re left with hair more prone to breakage.
Products to Try:
- As I Am Moisture Milk. Shop Now on sallybeauty.com ($13.19).
- Mielle Organics Mongongo Oil Protein-Free Hydrating Conditioner. Shop Now on mielleorganics.com ($9.99).
5. Swap Your Pillowcase
Tossing and turning on a cotton pillowcase will not only cause strands to tangle and break but also pulls moisture from your hair. Keep all that hard-worked-for moisture intact by sleeping on a silk or satin pillowcase.
Products to Try:
- Kitsch Satin Pillowcase. Shop Now on kitsch.com ($16).
- Hill House Sisi Silk Pillowcase. Shop Now on hillhousehome.com ($105).
6. Avoid Heat Damage
Heat styling tools like flat irons, curling wands, and hair dryers can damage the cuticle of low porosity hair, making it even more resistant to moisture. If you do use heat, set your tools to a lower temperature and always use a heat protectant spray before styling to reduce the risk of hair damage.
Products to Try:
- Bumble and Bumble Invisible Oil Heat Protectant. Shop Now on ulta.com ($34).
- Redken Quick Blowout Heat Protectant Spray. Shop Now on ulta.com ($26).
7. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) Rinse
An ACV rinse can help balance the pH level of your hair and scalp, which can impact how well your hair absorbs moisture. After shampooing and conditioning, pour the diluted ACV rinse (1 part ACV with 3 parts water) over your hair, massage it into your scalp, and then rinse it off. This can help smooth the hair cuticle, making it more receptive to moisture.
By focusing on the key points mentioned above and tailoring your hair care routine to the specific needs of low porosity hair, you can gradually improve its ability to absorb and retain moisture, resulting in healthier, more manageable hair.
How to Determine Hair Porosity
The best way to determine your hair’s porosity accurately is by doing the hair porosity test, also known as a strand test.
Take a strand of clean hair (with no styling products!) and drop it into an 8 oz glass of room temperature water. If the hair sinks to the bottom, then it’s highly porous. If the hair floats, it has low porosity. And if the hair remains somewhere in the middle, then you have medium or balanced hair porosity.
You may also like
• A Guide To Understanding How To Treat High Porosity Hair
• What is Hair Porosity and How to Determine Yours
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