For many of us, our hair is a mysterious beast — why is it always frizzy? Why doesn’t hairspray last? Why won’t curls hold? We’ve turned to hair product after hair product without change, spending hundreds of pounds without the desired end result. The problem may not lie in the products themselves, though. It could be that you’re buying products for the wrong type of hair porosity.
Hair porosity refers to how our individual hair strands hold oil and moisture. From this, it can also mean how long our hair stays wet after a swim or a wash, how long it takes to dry, and whether it frizzes up at the first sign of air moisture.
“There are three main types of hair porosity and your type is often dictated by your genetics,” according to hair brand, Curlsmith. The curl experts explain that determining how “porous” your hair depends on your hair cuticles and how open and closed they are.
This is why understanding your hair’s porosity is essential to getting the most out of your hair care routine.
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However, while your hair porosity is dependent on genetics, it can also change over time due to external factors. For example, you could be born with naturally high porosity hair — curlier hair — but end up with low porosity hair – straight hair —as you age.
We should point out that while we’ve linked low porosity hair with being straight, and high porosity hair with being curly, this is not always the case. This is a general rule but it’s not exclusive.
Things such as excessive exposure to the sun, UVA and UVB rays, air pollution, how you dry your hair, how often you use heated hair styling products, as well as hair dye and bleach can all change your hair’s structure. The more damaged the hair is, the higher porosity it will be.
On the other hand, a change in porosity cannot be caused just by using dull or damaged scissors. Still, it doesn’t mean that investing in the best hairdressing scissors to buy wouldn’t have a positive effect on the way your hair looks.
There are three types — low porosity hair, medium, and high. Within each of these types are categories of hair graded from one to five as below:
Grades 1 to 2 are part of the low porosity type, grade 3 is medium and grades 4 to 5 are high porosity. According to Curlsmith, the higher your hair porosity the more protein you need to put on it—this is to strengthen the cuticle and lock in moisture.
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Getty Images/iStockphoto There are several methods to test your hair porosity, but Curlsmith believes the “spray test” is the most effective. Below we’ve explained this particular hair porosity test, and listed a couple of others.
Spray water on a strand of clean, product-free hair and see how the strand reacts.
Pull a couple of strands of hair from your comb or brush and drop them into a bowl of water. Let them sit for 2-4 minutes.
Run your fingers up a hair strand to feel its texture. Place the strand in your fingers, holding onto the end, and pull it slowly through your fingers towards the root.
Bear in mind that you need to have a full-length strand of hair, if possible. This is because hair towards the end of the strand may feel bumpier because it’s older and has been subjected to more environmental damage.
Despite the fact it may seem like having low porosity hair is the ideal, it does come with some downsides. This means you can’t just use any products for low porosity hair.
For instance, low porosity hair repels moisture. This means that hair masks and treatments have a harder time trying to penetrate the shaft. Low porosity hair is also prone to build-up, especially from protein-rich deep conditioning products. In fact, these can leave the hair feeling stiff and straw-like.
If you have low porosity hair look for lightweight hair milk, protein-free, daily conditioners that contain glycerin or honey. These ingredients are what’s known as humectants and they attract and hold moisture.
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£6.99 | Buy now from Amazon
Cantu Beauty specialises in products for natural and afro hair, and it’s these hair types that tend to have low porosity. As the name suggests, this detangler contains shea butter and glycerin to condition the hair before styling.
To use, simply spray it on damp hair and comb through. You can do this before styling or when you’re leaving your hair to dry naturally. We’ve listed the Cantu Beauty detangler because it’s the most versatile product, and it’s super affordable, but anything from the Cantu Beauty range will help low porosity hair.
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£10 | Buy now from Feelunique
This daily, rinse-out conditioner contains shea butter and coconut oil to soften and detangle hair. It also features coconut milk and Acacia Senegal, two lightweight ingredients that penetrate the hair shaft and reduce frizz. Not to mention all this coconut makes your hair smell incredible!
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£11.99 | Buy now from Beauty Bay
Camille Rose’s Curl Love Moisture Milk is incredibly popular and sells out really quickly every time it comes back in stock. And if you can get hold of it, you’ll see why. It contains organic avocado, castor, and macadamia oil, plus rosehip oil, aloe vera, and green tea to soothe and hydrate low porosity hair.
FURTHER READING: Best conditioner for all hair types and budgets
Buy now from Beauty Bay
High porosity hair loses moisture easily so it’s important to use leave-in conditioners, moisturisers, and products that seal and protect the hair. High porosity hair will benefit from thick hair butters and rich creams.
If you have high porosity hair you should look out for anti-humectants, or products that promise to protect your hair from humidity. They effectively block moisture from getting into the hair, seals your damaged cuticles, and prevent them from absorbing excess moisture in the air, all while retaining the goodness of your hair products.
£7.99 | Buy now from Boots
OGX makes great hair care products without charging a fortune. They’re little hidden gems in supermarkets that often perform better than the higher-end products.
This Bonding Plex shampoo cleanses the hair featuring cystine, a cross-linking polymer, as well as vegetable proteins. These help smooth the hair cuticle and prevent future damage.
FURTHER READING: Hairstory New Wash review: Can this £44 sulphate-free shampoo alternative transform our hair?
Buy now from Beauty Bay
£26 | Buy now from Cult Beauty
Olaplex is a little on the pricey side but it’s worth it. The entire hair repair treatment range is fantastic and really makes a difference to hair after just a single use.
It contains a patented active ingredient that works on a molecular level to seek out broken bonds in the hair before repairing them. The No.3 treatment is used as a pre-shampoo treatment.
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Buy now from Cult Beauty
£12 | Buy now from Body Shop
This hair mask is the Bargain Buy in our best hair mask list and it’s an absolute classic. Like the Camille Rose Moisture Milk, this sells out a *lot* because the Banana Truly Nourishing Hair Mask will instantly ramp up the gloss leaving your hair looking and feeling less frizzy while smelling amazing.
Priced at £12, this vegan-friendly mask is particularly great for anyone with dry, brittle, high porosity hair.
FURTHER READING: The best hair masks for dry, fine, curly and natural hair types
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£19 | Buy now from Boots
The entire Philip Kingsley Elasticizer range, but especially this Deep-Conditioning Treatment helps make the hair more elastic, strong and hydrated. This is a pre-shampoo treatment that reduces the likelihood of breakage. It leaves hair silky, shiny, and manageable without weighing hair down.
It can also be used as a styling cream on natural, coiled hair.
This can be worn overnight, to get an even deeper treatment. If you have fine, high porosity hair then make sure you double shampoo to remove any residue.
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Sophia is an international journalist covering technology, healthcare, culture and lifestyle. Her words appear in outlets such as Newsweek, Forbes, Metro UK, New Scientist and more
