You can be a beginner of the natural hair journey or a pro at caring for it, but your experience can be easier and you're likely to have more hair growth when you know your hair porosity type!

Do you have low or high porosity hair?

If you aren't sure, you might be missing a massive clue as it relates to how to keep your natural kinks and coils happy! 

What is Hair Porosity?

Hair porosity refers to your hair’s ability to absorb water and retain hydration. Your hair porosity determines whether those precious essential oils you love so much can move in and out of your cuticle, which is vital for hair elasticity and growth.

There are three types of hair porosity: low, normal, and high.

Do any of these characteristics read familiar to you?

Low porosity hair is notorious for not readily absorbing products, and acting as a water repellent. This hair struggles to accept hair color changes, requires a lot of time to saturate for cleansing, and may require several hours if not days to dry.

How to Test for Your Hair Porosity Type

There are multiple ways to test hair porosity, especially the popular cup test. 

THE CUP TEST FOR HAIR POROSITY

To start the test, begin with a clean head of hair, free of any hair products or oils.

Next:

• Fill the glass with water.
• Place a single strand of your hair into the glass of water.
• Wait to see if your hair rises to the top or sinks to the bottom.

If this strand rises to the top before sinking to the bottom of the glass, you have low hair porosity! This hair does not fall to the bottom because the cuticles are compact, and moisture cannot enter or leave this hair. If you place the strand of hair between your fingers, you will note it has a smooth texture.

How to Care for Low Porosity Hair

Congratulations! You are well on your way. Now, how in the world do you care for low porosity hair? First, this hair can pretty much withstand a fair amount of trial and error. HOWEVER, there are a few basic rules to keep in mind:

• USE LIGHT, ESSENTIAL OILS: Marula Oil & Kalahari Melon Seed Oil are highly recommended for low porosity hair types
• APPLY HEAT TO CUTICLES: Hood dryers, heat caps, and steamers are extremely helpful for low porosity hair.
• USE LOW PROTEIN OR PROTEIN-FREE PRODUCTS: Your goal is to avoid product build-up.
• ONLY USE LOW-MOISTURE PRODUCTS: A little bit goes a long way with low-porosity hair! Our Vegan Hydration Collection is perfect for this method
  
   

Caring for your Hair's Porosity Type 

Knowing your hair porosity is necessary for healthy natural hair! Take the tests provided above and pair it with the right products to properly care for your hair according to its porosity with our natural hair collection!

Want more tips for your healthy hair journey? Become a part of the Bantu Coils Tribe!