If you’ve embraced natural curly hair for the first time and have delved into a lot of curly hair content on social media, you’ve probably heard the term pore quite a bit.
In addition to understanding the curly girl method (or the curly girl method for beginners) and understanding the different curly hair types, understanding the porosity of your hair in terms of what styling products you use and how often you use it. , is an important part of the hair care regime. deep state.
To elaborate on why it’s important to know your hair’s porosity, we spoke with some of the industry’s leading hairdressers to explain the different levels and the best styling products for each.
What are pores?
“Hair porosity describes how well the hair absorbs and retains moisture,” says top hairdresser Lorraine Dublin. (opens in new tab), whose clients include Serena Williams and Gabrielle Union, told My Imperfect Life. “It is important to understand hair porosity in order to incorporate the right products and methods into our daily lives.”
There are three critical pore ratings: low, medium, and high. The higher the porosity, the farther apart the cuticle is and the easier it is for moisture to enter and exit.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Low porosity hair is the least absorbent, but can retain moisture fairly easily once moisturized. cannot be held.
Medium porosity hair (also known as normal porosity hair), on the other hand, is fairly balanced in terms of how much water it can absorb and retain.
Your personal level is partly determined by your genetics, but is also influenced by factors such as damage. “Porosity has a lot to do with the type of products used and his styling techniques,” adds Charlotte Mensah, an award-winning hairdresser and expert in texturing his hair. increase. “Exposure to pollution, UV rays, air conditioning, and heat damages the hair cuticle, [higher] porosity and breakage. ”
How do you test hair porosity?
First, make sure your hair is clean and dry before testing porosity. “Take a few strands from your comb or brush and drop them into a bowl of water, then let them sit for two to four minutes,” explains Lorraine.
“If the hair floats, it has low porosity. If it sinks quickly, it has high porosity. I mean.”
Which styling product is best for my type of porosity?
As you’ve probably noticed this, the porosity of your hair affects the styling products you choose for your hair. It is suitable for high porosity levels as it has a higher risk of staying on, but moisturizing is necessary in any case.
‘The type of product you use will depend on the type of curl, the porosity of your hair and whether your hair needs protein or moisture,’ says Jolie Winter, founder of Curl Talk in East London. (opens in new tab) Salon—an outpost reserved months in advance for the team’s legendary curly cuts. Hair needs a lot of water, so I use more water-based products here.”
She adds:
On the other hand, Lorraine says all porosity levels benefit from deep conditioners. “For low porosity hair, try deep conditioning at least once every two weeks and mix some vegetable oil into your conditioner. This will help retain moisture and add protein to your hair,” she says. she advises.
“I recommend doing the same for medium porosity hair, but not as often, maybe once a month. So these products are great, but do deep conditioning once a week and keep an eye on it.”
Lorraine adds: Several days. “
