photo courtesy of CurlyProverbz
Bonjour, Beaus and Beauties! I hope all is great with everyone. I want to chat a bit about a topic that's important, along with so many other topics, yet has been a challenge for many to understand, and that is POROSITY.
As we embark on our journey to healthy hair, this is a topic that can make healthy hair care a breeze once we understand it and become much more familiar with what it is and why it's important. So, let's dive into it and hopefully this can be of some help as you continue to grow on your quest of all things healthy hair.
WHAT IS POROSITY
Porosity refers to the condition of the cuticle layer of the hair.
The 3 types of porosity levels are: LOW, HIGH and NORMAL.
HOW TO TEST YOUR HAIR
Place a freshly washed, product free strand of hair in a cup of water (cool water is fine) and wait for the show. Leave the strand in the water for about 8-10 minutes to see if the strand stays on top or floats to the bottom.
POROSITY LEVELS
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If the hair quickly sinks to the bottom of the cup, your hair is of HIGH POROSITY.
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If the hair floats somewhere towards the top or in the middle, you have NORMAL POROSITY.
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If the hair floats at the top for a long period of time, you have LOW POROSITY hair.
POROSITY..THE INSIDE SCOOP
HIGH POROSITY:
This type of porosity means the cuticle has been exposed to severe amounts of damage, either through environmental exposures, overuse of heat, harsh combing/brushing or chemical processes (relaxers, texturizers, colorants). The strand of hair floats quickly to the bottom of the cup of water due to the weight of the water becoming too heavy to float. Another sign of highly porous hair is that it loses moisture almost as quickly as moisture is applied. A hair, under a microscope, that is highly porous, resembles the gaps of swiss cheese, displaying large holes in the hair follicle.
CARE THAT HELPS: