How does porosity effect the health of your hair?
Porosity is the term used in the science of hair care to describe how easily water and other matter can diffuse back and forth through the cuticle layer and into or out of the cortex. Hair is much like a sponge, capable of absorbing water and other substances from the environment, and also susceptible to losing precious moisture and lipids to the environment. Maintaining an optimal balance of moisture in your hair preserves its suppleness, strength, and shine. This is especially important for those of us with curly hair, as it greatly influences the health and beauty of our tresses.
Porosity Classifications
The individual scales of the cuticle overlap one another like the feathers of a bird or scales on a fish. This amazing system of flexible and responsive scales allows diffusion of oils and moisture into and out of the hair as needed. Porosity is determined by how tightly the cuticle scales adhere to the surface of the hair shaft and also by how thoroughly adjacent scales overlap one another.
Low Porosity: Hair described as having low porosity is characterized by a very tightly bound cuticle layer, where the individual cuticle scales lie flat and overlap one another. Low porosity hair is often quite shiny, especially if it is a darker color. Overall this type of hair is considered to be quite healthy. If your hair repels water when you attempt to wet it, that is a good indication that it has low porosity. It can be quite difficult to process, because it resists penetration of the chemicals being used.
Low porosity hair is more prone to an excessive accumulation of protein if deep conditioning products are used and will feel very stiff and straw-like. It requires products rich in moisture and emollients and also benefits most from products that contain humectants, which attract moisture to the hair and hold it there. If hair with very few or very small openings becomes dry for some reason, it can be more difficult to restore proper moisture balance to it. In this case, a deep conditioning treatment with moderate heat would be a good way to ensure the cuticle is sufficiently opened up to allow moisture to enter into the cortex.
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This entry was posted on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at 1:11 am and is filed under Beauty & Style, Chemicals, Curly Hair (Type 3a), Hairstyles, ingredients, Products. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Awesome article! This has really helped my understanding of porosity.
Thanks for the great information!
August 11th, 2009 at 11:38 am
if your not suppose to use soap on your hair than what are you to use to clean your hair?
August 12th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Can you reccomend products that are SLS,SLES, etc free?
August 12th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
You need to use a shampoo that’s sulfate free. Examples:
Original Sprout Baby shampoo and Children’s Natural Shampoo; Mia Simone’s Boutique Shampoo; Circle of Friends Shampoo; and Deva Curl makes some sulfate free shampoos as well.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I love your article. I have low porosity hair. But, my hair is very fine, but thick corkscrew curls. It states that humectants and emollients are good for low porosity hair and proteins are not. I’ve tried humectant based conditioners and they just sit on my hair.
I’ve heard people say that protein is a must for fine hair. Is there some type of balance that could be used to maintain the protein/moisture in my hair? I don’t want to use to much humectants or too much protein.
August 15th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Retia McMullen:
I’m a fairly new member to this forum and site, but I’ve been studying up A LOT and I’ve gathered that just because you have fine hair, doesn’t mean protein is a must. It’s very subjective. I have fine 3a Botticelli curls, and I’m pretty certain I’m low to normal porosity. My hair seems to like proteins, but at this early in my CG transition, I don’t want to overdo it, so I’m using a moisturizer too.
Figuring out your hair’s protein/moisture balance seems to be something you just have to keep playing with until you find something that works. It’s best to start with more moisture than more protein because your hair can recover from too much moisture faster than it can from too much protein.
Hope this helps!
September 8th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Again, what defines a “soap”?
September 28th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
i love this site and its articles! i reccomend it to all of my curly girl friends as much as i can. i have beautiful 3a ringlets…. however i am still trying to find the right shampoo, conditioner, product,etc.i guess next time i take a visit to the hairdressers i’ll ask the advice of my favorite curl experts!
October 25th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
I think this article just saved my hair! I definitely have high porosity with my 3c curls, and being that I have bleached blond hair, I have not been taking the necessary steps to protect my hair from damage. Thank you a million!
November 20th, 2009 at 8:25 am
[...] The goal of the research and development team was to develop a truly novel product that would work to help control the universal problem of frizzy hair, especially in humid conditions. In order to have smooth locks, it is essential to have a hair product that will seal the cuticle of the hair shaft in order to prevent water from passing into and out of the hair. The product must be able to accomplish this task without weighing the hair down or making it greasy. (For more detailed information on hair, humidity, and frizz, review these relevant articles. Humidity, Humectants, and the Hair, Dew Point, Porosity) [...]
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:20 am
I think I have low porosity hair…is there any way to help increase its ability to absorb water? I am fine in the shower – my hair gets very wet, but it’s hard to refresh styles by water spritzing because the beads just sit on my hair…
June 1st, 2010 at 1:05 am
[...] Read more about Porosity and Curly Hair here. [...]
June 5th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
What deep conditioning treatment products, which contains proteins, would you recommend?
June 28th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
What if your hair both protein sensitive and has high porosity? What else can you do to help repair some of the damage besides using products with protein… beyond the use of moisturizing products?
November 16th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
[...] and how they work and the potential problems they present for curly hair (Shampoo and soap bars, Porosity and Curly Hair). Please have a look at those if you would like a more in-depth discussion about [...]
August 17th, 2011 at 9:45 am
[...] Hairby westNDNbeauty on August 17, 2011 · 0 commentsin hair careTonya McKay Becker of NaturallyCurly.com writesPorosity is the term used in the science of hair care to describe how easily water and other [...]