Hair Porosity 101: How Do You Weigh In?

So my last blog post sparked an idea for me: a hair porosity test. I remember doing a test when I was younger and my hair was very relaxed. However, I wasn't sure if my hair has changed states since then health wise; especially since I cut it down and started from scratch. So, I decided that another test was due. Here's my results below:

To Perform a Porosity Test:

  1. Get a clean, see through cup filled with room temperature water 
  2. Take a strand or even a few of your own clean hair (preferably as close to your most recent wash as possible)
  3. Drop it/them in the cup and wait for about 10-15 minutes 
  4. Record/ Take note of your results
~High Porosity Hair: Tends to Sink or fall to the bottom of the cup of water after the length of time
~Normal Porosity Hair: Floats somewhere close to the middle of the cup
~Low Porosity Hair: Tends to Float or remain on top of the water after the length of time



High Porosity hair can be categorized by hair that has a hard time retaining moisture, and is in most cases, damaged. Hair that appears as if no matter what you do, seemingly within an hour or so, has soaked up all the product you've tried to nourish it with; leaving your strands feeling dry all over again. The cuticles of the hair are open, and moisture gets in and ends up slipping back out again, instead of being held in firmly by the hair strands. High porosity hair sinks during the test because of all the moisture from the water that is essentially rushing into the open cuticles; like a sponge that gets ran under a faucet of rushing water. It gets heavier like the sponge, and with the surrounding water, sinks.

Low Porosity hair isn't necessarily damaged, but it definitely stays dry and repels moisture enough to make you think it is. Low porosity hair has very tight cuticles and seals out moisture. Thus leaving the hair very dry; rendering added creams or products meant for moisturizing, sitting on top of the hair at best. 

My Results: Low Porosity Hair

My hair porosity results.
The hair did not sink at all, but floated on top of the water,
a sure sign of low porosity hair. Water was not able to thoroughly
get into the strands enough to make them sink. 


Porosity does count in the products you choose, such as Shea Moisture's Hibiscus and Coconut products on my hair. The most popular products, although everybody raved so highly about them, still did not work for my hair. All products are not created equal, and what is most popular may not always be best suited for your hair. Yet, they might indeed be wonderful for other hair types.

Shea Moisture does have a line for low porosity hair, and I would love to review it as soon as I can get my hands on it, as it is not easily found in my area 😭. Until then, I'd like to keep reviewing other popular products for all the budding curly Q's and natural 'fro ladies out there in an effort to help them make the best picks for their hair.

Thanks for reading!

~Be Blessed. Be Curly. Be Cherished.



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