Hair Care Treatment: Uncovering the Different Types of Hair Porosity Levels

Hair Care Treatment: Uncovering the Different Types of Hair Porosity Levels

Do you find yourself fighting frizz and dryness all the time? Do your hair care practices have no effect? If the answer is yes, something is wrong. The truth is that most of your significant worries can be related to your hair porosity level. Most of you guys are not aware of what hair porosity is. 

What does "hair porosity" mean?

To understand the concept of hair porosity, you should first understand the structure of your hair, which is a mixture of three layers. These layers are: 

The cuticle: The cuticle is your hair's tough, protective outer layer that is made up of smaller cuticles, overlapping each other, much like tiles on a roof.

The cortex: This is your hair's thickest layer. It contains the pigment that gives your hair its color as well as fibrous proteins.

The medulla: It’s the middle, thin section of the hair strand.

Water, oils, and other moisturizing treatments must be able to penetrate the hair's cuticle and reach the cortex if you want your hair to stay healthy.

However, if the cuticles are too close together, water and oils find it hard to enter the hair. The essential moisture may become more difficult for your hair to absorb, which might lead to frizzy and dry hair.

Porosity is mainly inherited, although it can also be affected by things like heat, chemicals, and environmental harm.

However, If you know the type of porosity of your hair, you may only select hair care treatments and products that are beneficial to your hair, saving you the trouble of trying and testing numerous routines.

Different types of porosities of hair

Hair porosity has three types:

High Porosity: Widely spread cuticles have a high degree of porosity.

Medium Porosity: Medium porosity cuticles are less tightly attached.

Low Porosity: Cuticles that are close together indicate low porosity.

High Porosity

High porous hair has enlarged cuticles that can absorb moisture but cannot hold it and quickly loses it. This causes frizzy hair that is prone to breakage and damage. The lack of moistness causes your hair to be dry and sometimes rough.

Medium Porosity: 

If you discover that you have medium porosity hair, congratulations! You are a star. The cuticles of hair with medium or normal porosity are neither overly open nor too close together. This makes it simple for moisture to soak in and also makes it simple to keep it in for a more extended amount of time. This type of hair requires the least amount of maintenance. It maintains hairstyles better and doesn't get frizzy. Your hair appears strong, thick, and shiny. 

Low porosity:

The cuticles are tightly closed and clamped down, making it difficult for the hair to absorb moisture. But when it does, the moisture is retained for a long time, preventing the hair from becoming dry or damaged. The overall appearance of low porosity hair is glossy and frequently regarded as being healthy, even though it often falls flat.

How soon can you determine your hair's porosity?

One of the simplest ways to determine the porosity of your hair is to use a glass of water.

Here's how to do it:

• Rinse and shampoo your hair to get rid of any product buildup.
• Put some water in a glass.
• Drop one hair strand into the glass of water when your hair is clean and dry.
• Watch the strand to see if it floats to the top or sinks to the bottom of the glass.

The result

Low porosity: You most likely have low porosity hair if the strand floats at the top before sinking.

Medium or Normal porosity: Your hair likely has a medium or normal porosity if the strand floats in the center of the glass.

High porosity: You probably have high porosity hair if the strand quickly sinks to the bottom of the glass.

Can you change the porosity of your hair?

Whether the porosity of your hair is high or low due to genetics, you might not be able to change it. To make your hair healthier, more manageable, and simpler to style, experts in hair care say there are several things you can do.

For hair with low porous hair:

• Use hair conditioners free of protein. These are more likely to be absorbed into your hair and less likely to lead to product accumulation.
• After wetting the hair, condition it. The conditioner may be simpler to take into your hair if it is diluted.
• In shampoos and conditioners, look for components like glycerin and honey. Oil-containing haircare products should be avoided on hair with low porosity since they have a more challenging time penetrating the cuticle.

For hair with highly porous hair:

• Look for butter and oil-based components in shampoos and conditioners. These components will aid in keeping your hair moisturized.
• Apply leave-in conditioners to your hair. Thanks to this, it can retain moisture. 
• You should treat your hair with a heat-protective product. Before blow-drying or using other heat-related styling techniques, apply this product. By doing this, you can prevent heat damage to your hair.
• Avoid using hot water, when shampooing and conditioning. Instead, use warm water.

Conclusion

You might not frequently hear the term "hair porosity." However, by being aware of the type of hair porosity you have, you can enable to manage, treat, and take better care of your hair. And that may result in hair that is stronger, lustrous, and healthier.

 

Author: Nazish Zafar