What is hair porosity? Know how to identify if yours is high, medium or low + how to treat porous hair

Treatment

29 What is hair porosity? Know how to identify if yours is high, medium or low + how to treat porous hair

Find out what capillary porosity is and if you have porous hair! (Photo: Instagram @themiaamoore)

Capillary porosity determines how much our thread can absorb water and treatments (Photo: Instagram @rosannapansino)

If your hair has low porosity, it is more difficult to absorb water and treatments (Photo: Instagram @mariaamarti_)

Medium porosity hair is considered healthy (Photo: Instagram @jasmeannnn)

Take the capillary porosity test and find out which treatment is ideal for your hair type (Photo: Instagram @lipstickncurls)

High porosity hair can absorb water and treatments very well, but it also loses easily (Photo: Instagram @jmy.hbm)

Porous hair is a very common term when we talk about fiber drying, but do you really know what hair porosity is? It is a way of measuring how much the hair can absorb nutrients through the degree of opening of the cuticles. There are three types: low, medium and high, and each level is important to be identified to know the state of the fiber and how to recover it if it is with little or too much water absorption. The positive point is that both diagnosis and treatment are simple!

Fica Diva has prepared a guide to help you deal with porous hair. You will understand what it is, what are the causes and characteristics of each level and how to treat the wires. Check out!

What is porous hair and what are the main causes?

When the hair is porous, it has dryness, frizz and even hair breakage. This happens because of the open cuticles of the wires, which can have a high degree of openness due to the frequent use of heat tools, intense sun exposure without UV protection and procedures that open the cuticles to lighten the wires, such as discoloration.

Just like high porosity, low porosity is also not ideal for keeping strands healthy. The less porous the threads are, the more difficult it is for the fiber to absorb water, vitamins and essential nutrients due to the very tight locks. That's why the ideal is medium porosity, in which the cuticles are half open, absorbing nutrients without damaging the wires!

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Low, medium and high porosity: what is the characteristic of each level?

Low porosity: when the cuticles are well closed. It is much more difficult for the hair to absorb water or any type of treatment.

Average porosity: cuticles are half open, strands absorb water and treatments easily. We can say that hair is considered healthy.

High porosity: the cuticles are very open, that is, the wires are very dry, frizzy and even brittle. This type of hair can absorb water quickly, however, it also loses very easily.

How does capillary porosity work in curly and frizzy hair?

Generally, curly and kinky hair tends to have a high degree of porosity. This happens because of the lack of natural oiliness in the length and ends of the curly hair, facilitating the opening of the cuticles. In this way, curly and frizzy hair can suffer from dryness, excess frizz, lack of definition and softness.

Take a hair porosity test to find out the level in your hair

It is possible to know the degree of porosity of your hair at home! There is a very easy and simple test to know if your hair is high, medium or low porosity. It's important that your locks are clean so that the test is as faithful as possible, ok? On the day your hair is clean, comb your hair with a brush and place the hair left in the accessory in a glass of filtered water and wait for 10 minutes. After this waiting time, observe the position of the wires in the glass:

- Wire sunk into the cup = high porosity.

- Wire did not sink and was in the middle of the glass = medium porosity.

- Thread floated and stayed on top of the glass = low porosity.

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Know which treatment your porous hair needs at each porosity level

Now that you've identified the porosity level of your strands, it's time to know what to do and how to treat porous hair! All types of hair need hydration, nutrition and reconstruction, but one stage of these treatments may gain more attention depending on the level of porosity of the hair. Take a look:

High porosity hair: in the case of strands that are very dry and porous, the indicated treatment is reconstruction. She replaces proteins to strengthen fiber and repair damage. You can use a concentrated cream or liquid keratin. If you don't have a good reconstruction mask or liquid keratin, our recommendation is the mask and liquid keratin from the Potent Reconstruction line, by Niely Gold! The products are enriched with bamboo extract and Max-Keratin-V technology to strengthen and repair hair from root to tip.

Medium porosity hair: to keep your hair healthy and always looking impeccable, nutrition is the right treatment. This step is responsible for replacing oils to reduce frizz and help define curly and frizzy hair. A good option is the nutrition mask from the Nutrição Mágica line, rich in coconut oil and avocado to offer maximum nutrition, silkiness and shine to the hair.

Low porosity hair: as the cuticles are closed, focus on hydration! This treatment restores water and vitamins to the hair, reducing dryness and dullness. You can do it with the mask from the Hidratação Milagrosa line, enriched with coconut water and aloe vera extract to hydrate and regenerate the hair without weighing it down!

A post shared by Nneka Ibeabuchi (@africanjawn)

How to set up a hair schedule for porous hair

Divas with low porosity hair can follow a traditional hair schedule focused on the hydration stage, while those with medium porosity should follow a schedule geared towards the nutrition stage, especially curly and frizzy hair. For those with porous hair, reconstruction is the treatment that should receive more attention! Check out some hair schedule suggestions for slightly or very damaged porous hair: