Whew girl, are you ready for this post? I’m going on 6 years of being natural and let me tell you I am still learning about my hair. Over the last year or so my fro has felt like it was going through a drought. No matter what I did my hair was not retaining any moisture!
I really felt like I tried EVERYTHING!
I bought new deep conditioners, shampoos, oils, you name it. None of the products made a difference. So I decided that I would book my very first professional trim to see if an expert could give me any tips. As soon as I sat down in her chair her first comment was
“Your hair looks healthy it’s just VERY dry.”
She recommended I start doing protein treatments at least once a month and sent me on my way. After testing out the protein route and not seeing any results I decided to finally reach out to my old friend the internet to find out if any fellow bloggers have experienced the same issue. As I went from post to post, there was one thing that stuck out. Every post started with a how to on finding out your hair’s porosity. Okay, now I’m interested.
What is Porosity?
Porosity indicates your hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. If hair is low porosity that means the cuticles are packed tightly together and it makes it difficult for moisture to penetrate the shaft. Hair that is high porosity, the cuticles are further apart which means it’s easier for the hair to absorb moisture BUT it won’t be able to retain it for long. Medium Porosity is the sweet spot. The cuticles aren’t too close together or too far apart. The hair is able to absorb and retain moisture with ease. Typically this is all predetermined by genetics but hair damage may also play a part in some cases.
How Can I Find Out My Hair Porosity?
Great question. The go to method is quick and simple.
- Wash Your Hair. Make sure you get rid of all product build up.
- Fill a glass with water.
- Gently grab a strand or two of your freshly washed (DRY) hair and drop it into the glass of water.
- Wait a couple of minutes and then check on the strands.
Results
- High Porosity: The strand sinks to the bottom of the glass.
- Medium Porosity: The strand is floating somewhere in the middle.
- Low Porosity: The strand remains floating at the top.
After finding out that my hair is low porosity and doing a little research, I was able to figure out what I was doing it wrong. I quickly found out that there were specific ingredients in products that would help lock in that moisture and there were others that weigh it down. Finding out my porosity has been a game changer! Not only did I figure out what products to use but I found out the correct way to use them as well. If you’re interested, you can check out my new routine here. I strongly encourage you to look into this for yourself. I am proof that no matter what stage you’re in on your natural hair journey there’s always more that you can learn.
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