Which Type of Hair Porosity Are You?

You might have heard of the term hair porosity and wondered what it meant. Hair porosity refers to your hair's ability absorb and retain moisture.

Your hair's porosity determines how easily oils and moisture can pass through your cuticle, the outermost layer of hair.

Hair porosity can be divided into three main categories.

• Low porosity: Cuticles with a close proximity to each other.
• Moderate porosity: Cuticles with less tightening.
• High porosity: Cuticles with a greater spacing.

This article will discuss how porosity affects hair. It will also explain how to determine the type of hair porosity that you have.

What is hair porosity?

It is important to understand how hair porosity works. This means that you need to be familiar with the structure of your hair. There are three layers. These layers are:

• The cuticle is the protective outer layer of hair. It's composed of smaller cuticles which overlap one another, much like shingles on a roof.
• The cortex: This layer is the thickest of your hair. It is made up of fibrous proteins as well as the pigment that gives hair its color.
• The medulla is the soft, central portion of the hair shaft.

Water, oils, and any other moisturizing products must be able pass through the cuticle in order to reach the cortex.

However, oils and water can't penetrate hair if they are too close together. This can make your hair less likely to receive the moisture it needs.

Your hair will also be less able to retain moisture and stay hydrated if your cuticles are too far apart.

What is the cause of low or high hair porosity

Genetics play a major role in how your hair absorbs and retains water. If you have low porosity hair in your family, it's likely that you will also have low porosity hair. Although genetics can impact porosity, they are not the only factor.

Over washing, blow drying, bleaching, straightening, using harsh products, and over-washing your hair can all cause damage. Your hair can become more open and brittle, making it less likely to retain moisture.

Too much exposure to the sunTrusted Source can cause hair loss. When you are outside, protect your hair with a hat.