Hey Loves
Yesterday I told you about hair porosity, what it means and the three different types there are, it’s time to know your hair porosity type. You may now ask, how do I know what type of hair porosity you have. Do not fret, I am here to help
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The Float Test
One of the most popular ways of testing hair porosity, but in recent times has been debunked is the float test. This involves putting a strand of freshly washed hair in a glass cup of room temperature water. Watch it for 2-4 minutes to see how fast it sinks. If it sinks quickly, the hair is high porosity, if it floats, its low porosity, if it floats for a while before sinking, it is normal porosity.
The reason why this method has been called unreliable is because washed hair may still have residual oil and the oil coating may prevent hair from absorbing water and also, dense hair will also float as it is heavier.
The Strand Test
Some others advocate taking a strand of hair in between two fingers and running them on the strand towards the scalp. If it feels bumpy, the hair is high porosity, if it is smoother, it is low porosity
The Drying Test
Others also say that how quickly the hair dries after saturating it with water is a determinant. High porosity hair will dry in minutes, while low porosity hair will dry in hours or even longer. Also, another way is to take a small section of hair, spritz it with water, if the water beads up on the hair, it is low porosity and if it is absorbed, the hair is high porosity.
To see hair porosity in action, watch this video by Sister Scientist
The most reliable way to know hair porosity is a lab test, which doesn’t come cheap. The lab test called gas sorption, which involves knowing how air flow through hair to determine porosity level.
The best way to help yourself is to listen to your hair really. If butters make your hair oily, the hair is low porosity, if hair lotions and milks, which are usually light are not enough to maintain moisture in your hair, you have high porosity hair. Observe how certain products work on your hair, if your hair thrives on a product, maintain it, but if it doesn’t work for your hair, kill it.
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