Do you know what kind of hair you have?

Knowing what kind of hair you have is the first step in creating your own natural hair care regimen. Fortunately, there's an easy way to find out.

Hair Porosity

The first step toward better hair is to know your hair better!

Human hair is naturally porous, but the level of porosity differs from person to person based on many factors, mainly the type and condition of the hair. Porosity basically means the hair’s ability or inability to absorb moisture or chemicals into its cortex. You can have a low, normal or high porosity and they can play a key role in how you should treat your hair.

In low porosity hair the cuticles are closed and lay flat making it more resistant to moisture, hair products and chemical treatments. This kind of hair takes longer to get wet and subsequently longer to dry. Chemical treatments, especially protein treatments such as Keratin treatment, make this kind of hair stiff. This kind of hair benefits a lot from hydrating mists and light leave-in conditioners. You should avoid oil treatment on these hairs as it will build up and make the hair greasy, however, humectants such as glycerin or aloe vera gel or hyaluronic acid mist should be fine.

In medium porosity hair the cuticles are looser, allowing moisture to be absorbed. This kind of hair responds better to chemical treatments and it can handle deep conditioners better.

In high porosity hair the cuticles are wide open, making the cortex more vulnerable to damage resulting in frizzy hair and breakage. Some styling treatments such as flat iron, curling iron, and bleaching can also make the hair highly porous. This kind of hair absorbs moisture and loses it very fast. Leave-in conditioner, hair butter, hair oils and protein treatment are very beneficial for this kind of hair. 

You want to know what kind of hair you have? Easy, just follow the following steps at home:

Hair porosity test
  1. fill up a cup with room temperature water
  2. place one clean strand of your hair in it
  3. If the hair floats, it is low porosity, if sinks it is high porosity.
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