What Is Low Porosity Hair & How to Care？
Have you ever felt like your hair is impervious to moisture, no matter how many hydrating masks, oils, and treatments you slather on? If your hair refuses to drink up products and seems to remain dry and brittle, you may be dealing with low porosity hair.
While low porosity hair certainly presents some unique challenges, it’s far from a nightmare scenario. With the right approach and haircare routine adjustments, you can unlock the secrets to soft, moisturized, healthy hair.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about low porosity hair – how to identify it, what causes that low porosity hair, and most importantly, the best tips and techniques to kick dryness to the curb.
What is Low Hair Porosity ?
Before we dive into low porosity hair, it’s important to understand porosity in general.
Hair porosity refers to your hair’s ability to absorb, retain moisture and other cosmetic products. The outer layer of each strand of hair is called the cuticle. If the cuticle layers are tightly packed together and lie flat, the hair is less porous and has a harder time absorbing moisture and products.
There are three main hair porosity levels, high porosity, medium and low. Low porosity hair has cuticles that lie very flat and tight against the hair strand. This makes it extremely difficult for moisture and get wet. This means low porosity hair tends to be very dry.
Causes of Low Porosity Hair
Hair porosity can be caused by genetics as well as hair damage and environmental factors, or specific hair grooming procedures. Low porosity hair is more common in people who have straight hair as compared with naturally coiled or curly hair.
How do you know if you have low porosity hair ?
If you’re struggling with persistent dryness, lack of moisture absorption, and product buildup on your hair, you may be dealing with low porosity hair. There are several easy at-home tests you can do to assess your hair’s porosity level. Let’s go through some of the most common methods.
Prior to conducting any porosity tests, it’s crucial to start with a clean slate by washing your hair using a shampoo that removes all product residue, grime, and impurities.
The Float Test
One of the quickest and most popular porosity tests is the float test. Take a few strands of clean, product-free hair and drop them into a bowl or glass of water at room temperature. Observe what happens:
If the hair strands float at the top without budging, you likely have low porosity hair. The cuticle is so tightly bound that it won’t allow water inside, causing the strands to remain buoyant.
The Spray Test
You’ll need a spray bottle filled with fresh water. After washing and thoroughly rinsing out your hair, immediately spray it with the water bottle while still soaking wet. Observe how the water reacts:
If the spray beads up and quickly rolls off of your hair strands, this is a telltale sign of low porosity. The water can’t penetrate the tight cuticle.
The Product Absorption Test
After shampooing and rinsing out your hair, apply a leave-in conditioner, hair serum, or oil treatment from root to tip while still sopping wet. Observe how the product absorbs, if the product sits on top for a long period without absorbing, creating a coated, greasy feel, you have normal to low porosity hair.
Protein treatments
Protein treatments for low porosity hair aren’t recommended. The challenge with low porosity hair is that the tightly-bound cuticles make it difficult for protein molecules to penetrate inside the hair shaft.
Low hair porosity is simply genetic. Knowing your hair’s porosity is key to selecting the right products and creating a hair care regiment that keeps it healthy.
Tips to Take Care of Low Porosity Hair
While low porosity hair has some unique challenges, it’s certainly possible to achieve healthy, moisturized locks with the right techniques. Here are some tips to tame your low porosity hair and maintain its health.
Use Lightweight, Moisturizing Products
Look for water-based, penetrating oils like argan, grapeseed, or marula. Avoid heavy products such as butters, oils, and creams that will sit on top of hair.
Apply products in sections
Please take your time, since low porosity hair doesn’t absorb products well.
Clarify Regularly
Low porosity hair is prone to product buildup. Use a clarifying or chelating shampoo every 2-4 weeks to remove residue.
Seal with Oil or Butter
After moisturizing low porosity hair, lock in hydration by sealing with a lightweight oil or butter like jojoba, sweet almond, or murumuru.
Steam Hair Regularly
Steaming with a hair steamer, hot towel, or even sitting in the bathroom while running hot water helps raise the cuticle, so moisture can penetrate.
Use humectants
The primary benefit of humectants is their ability to help hair absorb and retain moisture more effectively. Humectants are hygroscopic, meaning they can bind to and draw in water molecules from the surrounding air. For low porosity hair that struggles to drink up moisture, humectants can improve hydration levels.
Deep Condition Heat
During deep conditioning treatments, use a heated cap, hooded dryer, or hot towel to maximize absorption.
Trim Ends Regularly
Split, damaged ends don’t absorb moisture as well. Get frequent trims or dust the ends and breakage.
Low porosity hair doesn’t have to be a problem. With the right adjustments to your hair care regimen, low porosity hair can flourish! Don’t be afraid to experiment with the methods listed above and to discover what works best for your hair with a personalized approach.
Which is better low or high porosity hair ?
Disadvantages of Low Porosity Hair
- Struggles to absorb moisture and hair products
- Prone to product build-up on strands
- Hair can feel dry, brittle, and coarse
- Color treatments don’t saturate as well
Disadvantages of High Porosity Hair
- Moisture escapes the hair shaft quickly
- Frizz and dryness are common issues
- Frequent deep conditioning is required
- Color treatments fade rapidly