When it comes to achieving the glossiest, most healthy curls, understanding our hair porosity is important as it identifies how easily your hair absorbs and retains moisture.
What is hair porosity?
“The porosity of your hair affects how well oils and moisture pass in and out of the cuticle – the outer-most layer of your hair,” says Amanda Tua, founder and creative director at Amanda Tua Hair in Sydney.
“Hair with high porosity can absorb the most moisture, but it’s unable to hold onto this moisture. When your hair has low or very little porosity, it can be hard to get moisture into your strands. However, when it does, it’s able to retain long-lasting moisture, which helps to keep it from looking dry and damaged,” she explains.
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Test your hair porosity at home
Thankfully, determining what type of hair porosity your strands have is hardly difficult. In fact, the technique only takes a matter of seconds and all you need is a glass of water and a strand of your hair.
“To test your hair porosity at home, take a strand of your hair and drop it into a glass of water,” Tua advises.
“If your strand sinks slowly, then your hair has a normal porosity level. If it sinks to the bottom right away, you have high-porosity hair. If it floats on top, you have low-porosity hair.”
Low Porosity
For all those with low-porosity strands, Tua doesn’t want you to fret.
“Low-porosity hair requires products with molecules small enough to penetrate its tightly bound cuticle,” she says.
When it comes to shampoo, the hairstylist says “deep cleansing and exfoliating shampoos are great to remove build-up and open up the cuticle ready to absorb moisture”.
For conditioners, she stresses the importance of using “products that are lightweight yet hydrating – that are easily absorbed and won’t sit on the outside of the cuticle”.
Davroe Curlicue Cleansing Clay Shampoo, $38.95
Christophe Robin Purifying Shampoo With Thermal Mud, $49
Virtue Recovery Conditioner, $60
Aveda Damage Remedy Restructuring Shampoo, $55
Kevin.Murphy Repair-Me Wash, $47.95
Normal Porosity
For our normal- or medium- porosity friends, Tua believes porosity has little impact on product selection.
“You can use anything and everything,” she says. “If your hair falls in this category, focus more on other factors that impact the quality of your hair, such as texture, chemical services undertaken, heat damage, level of dryness, and choose appropriate products.”
Oribe Serene Scalp Balancing Conditioner, $72
Eleven Australia Repair My Hair Nourishing Conditioner, $27.95
High Porosity
Finally, for those with high-porosity strands, Tua explains that it means your hair loses moisture easily due to gaps in the cuticle.
“Begin by working on rebuilding your strand with products such as K18 or bond multipliers such as Olaplex, which will rebuild, close the gaps and help retain moisture,” she says.
When it comes to conditioning, “I recommend replacing your conditioner with a treatment. They are more concentrated and will provide instant nourishment and moisture to dryer strands.”
Olaplex No.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo $54
K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Mask, $94.50
De Lorenzo Prescriptive Solutions Intense Moisture Repair, $25.95
Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask $62.50
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