The Results of My Hair Porosity Test

I finally got around to testing my hair porosity yesterday. I wanted to wait until I was natural for at least a month before I did the test.

Why is hair porosity important?

 Porosity refers to your hair's ability to absorb and retain moisture. Knowing your hair porosity will help you choose the right products and regimen for your hair. Although genetics does play a role in your hair's porosity, other factors such as chemical processing, heat and exposure contribute to it as well.

How do you test your hair porosity?

There are two ways to test your hair porosity: 1) The Float Test and 2) The Slip 'n' Slide test. The Float test is really easy and quick, so I went with that. First, make sure your hair is clean (freshly washed hair is best). Take a few strands and place them in a glass of water. Before I placed the strands in the glass, I made sure the water was about room temperature. If the strands sink to the bottom, you have high porosity hair. If the strands float, your hair has low porosity. If your strands floated to the middle of the glass, your hair has normal or medium porosity. 

My strands floated at the top of the glass. I waited for about five minutes but my hair was still at the top. This means that my hair has low porosity. Low porosity hair has flat, compact cuticles, which makes it difficult to absorb moisture. Because of this, it is hard for products to deeply penetrate the hair.  According to this post, using a clarifying shampoo, lighter oils, humectants, and a deep conditioner will help retain moisture.

                 My strands floating at the top (hard to see)

I will use this information to review my product stash and regimen. I'll post products and techniques that seem to work for me (as I experiment with them).

Until next time :)!