There are a few basic things that you should be aware of when it comes to your natural hair. Knowing your hair’s porosity level is really important.

What is High Porosity Hair? In simple terms, porosity is the ability at which your hair can retain moisture. Typically there are 3 types of porosity levels, low, normal and high. If your hair has high porosity it means that your hair can soak up a lot of water but it struggles to retain that moisture.

Checking your Porosity level. Get a clean glass of water. Put a strand of your hair into it. If the strand sinks quickly to the bottom it means that you have high porosity hair. If the strand stays at the top of the water for a long time before sinking, you have low porosity hair. If the strand floats somewhere in the middle for a little while before sinking, you have medium porosity. Make sure that when you do this test you do it on clean hair.  If your hair has too many products it could affect the results of the test.

Signs of High Porosity Hair. rapid moisture loss, frizzy hair, dry feeling hair, your hair tangles easily, dull looking hair, prone to breakage.

If you have discovered that you have high porosity hair, all is not lost.  It does not mean that you have to do the big chop and start again. Simply add some of these to your routine. Protein treatments. Deep conditioning. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) – If you haven’t tried Apple Cider Vinegar in your hair before, you should definitely give it a try.  The good thing about ACV is that it helps to balance your hair’s pH balance and flatten your cuticles. Aloe Vera. You can do this by adding a little to your spray bottle mixed with water and lightly spritz your hair with it. Use heavy products that contain oils. Use the LOC Method. Start with a liquid, then oil and then a cream. 

Things to avoid if you have high porosity hair. After washing your hair, try to rinse using lukewarm water and not hot water.  Lukewarm water will help to close the cuticles and will seal in moisture, whereas hot water will further open the cuticles, probably causing more damage. Avoid towel drying your hair, as this can take away too much moisture from your hair. Use a t-shirt instead. Minimize the use of heat on your hair.  If you do need to blow dry your hair, do so on a low heat setting.

Having high porosity hair doesn’t have to feel like the worst thing in the world.  If you use the strategies mentioned above you can learn how to grow high porosity hair in the best way possible so that your hair can grow healthy and long.