How to care for high porosity hair – Luxshine’s guide

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Hair porosity is one of those factors that people are increasingly paying attention to as this factor always strongly influences your hair’s feel and look. But not many people know what porosity level they belong to? In today’s post, we will give you a guide on how to find out if you have high porosity hair, and how should you best care for high porosity hair.

How And Why You Care For Your Hair Have A Lot To Do With How Porous Your Hair Is
How And Why You Care For Your Hair Have A Lot To Do With How Porous Your Hair Is

People can use many kinds of names to describe how their hair looks and feels. As hair professionals working in the industry, we always listen to how people perceive, investigate and label their own hair. People can come up with various sets of adjectives and measurements to understand the kind of strengths and problems the hair may have. Giving their own manes labels would also help them accurately assess their strand’s need and seek the right treatment. For example, you may find people with the same curl pattern having wildly different routines. The reason behind this is that every hair is unique if you take the scalp, hair thickness, and density into account. Today, we take a deep dive into how people with high porosity hair should set out a plan for their care regimen.

What does having high porosity hair entail?

One commonly-cited problem for women with high porosity is frizzy hair
One commonly-cited problem for women with high porosity is frizzy hair

Hair porosity is a topic that we have touched upon a number of times. As your hair is a porous surface, its porosity level reflects how the outer layer can suck in or retain the water. Your hair porosity level would depend greatly on your cuticle layer, especially how the tiny cuticle faces up against each other. If the hair cuticles are tightly bound, you will have low porosity, on the contrary, if your hair cuticles are raised and leaving out the porous surfaces, you will belong to the high porosity group. The number one indication of how porous your hair is has to do with how sparse the cuticles are and how well they can absorb the water. Low porosity hair has trouble letting moisture in and is just generally resistant to water absorption. With high porosity hair, the problem is almost the opposite, water gets in and gets out too easily, which creates a whole host of new problems. Your hair can dry quickly, frizz up easily, and eventually can suffer from damage, breakage when it is unattended.

How to determine if you have high porosity hair? 

A quick way to determine is by filling up a glass of water
A quick way to determine is by filling up a glass of water

The most basic way one can test their hair porosity is to get a glass of water. When we first heard of this method, it felt too good to be true. While it is simple, it actually works. Just drop a strand of hair into your glass of water. If the hair floats, chances are you have low porosity hair. If the hair slowly sinks to the bottom of the glass, your strand signifies that you are in the high porosity zone.

How you can take good care of your high porosity hair: Our 5 rules

Once you get the “diagnosis” of high porosity hair, there should be a constellation of tips and advice you can take to ensure that your hair grows healthily. We’ve distilled our experience working with clients into these 5 actionable rules.

1/ Throw out your harsh treatment and heat tools

Be extra careful with harsh treatments and heat tool
Be extra careful with harsh treatments and heat tool

Your hair porosity, just like your curls patterns, can be inherited and passed down from your parents. However, a lot of your habits and how you treat your hair also directly affect your hair porosity. If you are keen on using products and keeping habits that zap moistures from your hair, then it can further exacerbate your condition. Blow dryers, flat irons, relaxer treatments, and excessive sun exposure can damage your hair, making them weak, broken, and frizzy.  High porosity hair can be damaged easily since heat treatment and harsh chemicals further remove some of the cuticles, leading them to become even more porous.

2/ Stay within the low heat range or air-dry

If your hair has high porosity, it will quickly dry once you step out of the shower. You can use this feature to your advantage. If you want to dry your super porous hair, just let the hair air dry naturally or dry your hair on a low heat setting.

3/ Give your hair strands much-needed protection

Applying moisturizing and emollient products to your high porous hair is key to robust hair health
Applying moisturizing and emollient products to your high porous hair is key to robust hair health

People with high porosity hair need to care for their strands and the damaged cuticle layer. The cuticle layer of your hair is fragile and will likely snap when uncared for. This means that you should not add more aggression to the already-compromised hair. Refrain from over-styling, brushing, or washing your hair too aggressively.

What you should do instead is try to be extremely gentle to your own strands, as well as helping the hair retain its moisture by using hydrating and moisturizing products. You shouldn’t only care about moisture tho. Take both elasticity and porosity into accounts and make sure there is protein and moisture balance within each strand. This will keep your hair keep its sheen, staying healthy, shiny and prevent future breakage.

4/ Use product with a dense, rich texture

Talking about products and protection, smart consumers should of course seek out products that are compatible with their hair. For high porosity hair levels, the most suitable kinds are ones with creamy and thick textures. The nutrient-rich hair products that have a certain occlusive effect will help patch up the compromised cuticle layers. This is why you should opt for thick and dense cleansers to conditioners.

5/ Pick a low-effort style for an everyday look

Low Effort Hairstyles Will Keep Highlight Your Hairs Natural Pattern And Keep Your Hair In Ideal Condition
Low Effort Hairstyles Will Keep Highlight Your Hairs Natural Pattern And Keep Your Hair In Ideal Condition

If you really want your hair to grow and remain healthy, less is actually more. Porous hair will not be able to hold the style for very long. This is why your heat-laden effort may be both damaging and not worth it in the long run. Since your hair can not hold its style well, we think maybe a natural, low-effort, low-maintenance look might be your best bet. Stick to your natural curl pattern and how your hair presents itself naturally, and then add in a few twists here and there. This approach will guarantee that your hair won’t fall flat or have a weird shape at the end of the day. You can opt for a more labor-intensive style when there is a special occasion. For these events, a styling gel to make the style become more durable and less risky.

Another approach is to utilize hair extensions that can act as a protective style. Braid up or pin curling your hair and then put on a wig or even a sew-in. You can entertain the wildest hairstyle without messing with the structure of your hair strands. Get the best hair quality from Luxshine – a Vietnam human hair supplier and be prepared to dazzle everyone around you.

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Emily LuxShine

I am Emily, now CEO of Luxshine Hair, with over 10 year of experience in the hair extensions and beauty industry. I would love to share my useful knowledge about hairstyles, hair care, applications for hair extensions, and wigs. I hope, with my passion and experience, I can be able to help not only handle customer’s concerns effectively but also elevate their hair game to new heights.

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