How do I know if I have low or high porosity hair?

Another way to check your hair porosity is to drop hair that's been shed as a result of combing into a glass of water. If it floats, your hair is low porosity. If your hair sinks slowly, it has normal porosity, and if it sinks immediately, your hair is high porosity.

Is 4c hair usually low or high porosity?

Since 4c hair has mostly super low porosity, its absorbency is much lower, so it's less likely to react to water in this way. There is an exception to 4c super low porosity, though: finer 4c hair tends to be more porous than thicker hair, because it has fewer cuticle layers to form a barrier against water.

What low porosity hair looks like?

Hair that floats to the top for a while before sinking toward the bottom of the glass likely has low porosity. Hair that floats somewhere near the middle of the glass likely has medium porosity. Hair that sinks to the bottom of the glass fairly quickly is typically more porous.

What high porosity hair looks like?

"The cuticle is the outermost layer of the hair. If the hair has high porosity, that means that the cuticle is open and rough. Under a microscope, a healthy strand of hair with low or medium porosity will look like the smooth skin on a snake's back. However, high porosity hair would look more like a Christmas tree."

How do I test my hair porosity?

"Start by combing your hair to release strands that are shedding, and then take those stands and drop them into your glass of water," says Groover. "Hair that is low porosity will float. Hair that is 'normal' porosity will float and then begin to sink slowly. Hair that is high porosity will sink immediately."

Hair Porosity 101

Is low porosity hair frizzy?

It often looks and feels dry. It tends to frizz. It dries quickly. It easily takes on color, even colorants added to shampoos, and such.

Is low porosity hair dry?

Since low porosity makes your hair less absorbent, you might find that your hair feels dry or somewhat brittle. Choosing good, lightweight moisturizing products (like conditioner, hair milk, hair masks, and deep-conditioning treatments) with no heavy oils or protein ingredients will help.

Does low porosity hair dry fast?

Because thin hair will naturally dry much faster than thick hair, especially if it's short. If your hair dries quickly, you have low porosity hair. Because low porosity naturally repels water, it dries faster. Often drying so quickly, you can see it shrinking and drying in just a few minutes.

Is high porosity hair good?

If you have high porosity hair, it means that water, oils, and other types of products can be easily absorbed by your hair, but because your hair is highly porous, it may not be able to retain moisture as well as other types of hair.

What porosity is 3C hair?

Type 3B hair has medium porosity, so both frizziness and dryness are common struggles. A lightweight leave-in conditioner will help keep your ringlets moisturized while fighting back frizz. Last but not least, type 3C hair is low porosity, leading to a lot of shrinkage and breakage.

What texture is high porosity hair?

Porosity is based around the condition of the hair cuticles, which is the outermost layer of a hair strand. A hair shaft (the part of the hair cuticle that is exposed above the scalp) with high porosity has a raised texture, which allows it to absorb more moisture than it can actually retain.

How do you determine your hair type?

Does frizzy hair mean high porosity?

In layman's terms, hair porosity is the hair's ability to retain and absorb moisture and affects how your hair responds to products and styles. Frizz and dryness are clear indicators of high porosity hair and can put a damper on the two-strand twist out you worked so hard to achieve.

Does high porosity hair dry fast?

First of all, you can see how quickly your hair dries after washing: High porosity hair dries within 2 hours; Hair with normal porosity dries within 4 to 6 hours; and. Low porosity hair takes more than 8 hours to dry.

Does high porosity hair grow faster?

High porosity hair is notoriously tough to grow. It's typically a pretty slow process, since high porosity hair often breaks off faster than it grows in. On the brightside, it's not impossible, as long as you're willing to put in the extra effort.

Is leave in conditioner good for low porosity hair?

Does Low Porosity Hair Need Leave-in Conditioner? Yes, low porosity hair definitely needs a leave-in conditioner. The treatments prior to the leave-in open up your cuticles enough to deposit the goodness from conditioners into your hair.

How do you wash low porosity hair?

What is this? Wash your low porosity hair with warm instead of cold water to help the cuticle open a bit, allowing moisturizing ingredients from the conditioner to enter the hair shaft. After conditioning, rinse with cool water to close the cuticle and seal the moisture inside the hair.

Does high porosity hair need heat?

Only use low heat or air dry.

Frédéric Fekkai, founder and CEO of FEKKAI Brands, agrees: "For high porosity hair, you should use low heat, so therefore best to let hair air dry."

Is the hair porosity test accurate?

The lie is that you can easily find the porosity of your by simply doing the water test, which is not an accurate representation of how your hair takes in moisture. First of all, there are so many variables involved with this porosity test. Our hair naturally has oils in it, and oil floats on water.

What is low porosity 4c hair?

Low porosity means your hair strands have a tightly bound cuticle layer that lays flat and tends to repel water. Depending on your texture, low porosity hair can be shiny and tends to be stubborn with chemical processes.

Which oil is best for low porosity hair?

If you have low porosity hair, you will notice that most hair products will rest on your hair but do not get absorbed. Certain oils like jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, argan oil, sweet almond oil, sesame oil, and baobab oil are the best oils for low porosity hair.

How often should I wash my low porosity hair?

Is rice water good for low porosity hair?

Rice water is good for low porosity hair as long as it's used in moderation to avoid protein overload. Low Porosity hair has cuticles that are tightly packed and overlap each other making it harder for water and other elements such as the rice protein to penetrate the hair shaft.

Should you rinse low porosity with cold water?

Low porosity hair will naturally close it's cuticles, so often the extra steps of sealing with cold water rinses and oils are not necessary.

How often should high porosity hair be washed?

On WASH DAY (Weekly or Bi-Weekly) after washing your hair with a moisturizing and clarifying shampoo, DEEP CONDITION for 15-30 minutes with heat and rinse with cold water to help seal your cuticles thus sealing in your moisture. Style and Protect your style as needed.