Knowing your hair type is essential for achieving your hair goals. While you can probably describe the texture and type of your hair fairly accurately—for example, is it curly or straight? Thick or thin?—those aren’t the only characteristics to consider. One of the most important things to identify is your hair’s porosity, as high porosity and low porosity hair have very different needs.
High porosity hair can be particularly challenging to care for, as it’s prone to concerns such as frizz and dryness. The good news, however, is that the right routine can help keep bad hair days to a minimum. We spoke with Biolage Professional Artistic Director Danielle Keasling for her expert advice on identifying and caring for high porosity hair. Keep reading for her tips and tricks—plus, discover a few of our favorite products for high porosity hair.
What Is High Porosity Hair?
Porosity refers to how porous or absorbent your hair is. Low porosity hair cuticles are difficult to penetrate, while high porosity hair is highly absorbent—kind of like a sponge. Medium porosity hair, meanwhile, falls somewhere in the middle: It’s neither difficult to penetrate nor overly porous. In high porosity hair, Keasling explains, “the outer cuticle layer has been raised. Moisture tends to flow in and out of the hair strand quickly, not staying in the hair.” As such, high porosity hair is often prone to dehydration and may feel dry and be difficult to tame.
Is high porosity hair bad?
Nope—having high porosity hair isn’t “a good or bad thing,” says Keasling. While having high porosity strands may pose a few challenges, you can still achieve your hair goals by “learning how to best work with it” and using products designed for your hair’s unique needs. We’ll dive into those soon.
Good hair day by @hairika_st.pihair.
What Are Signs of High Porosity Hair?
Although anyone can have high porosity hair, it’s most commonly seen in those with wavy to coily hair textures. In addition, certain haircare habits (think bleaching or perming) can also contribute to increased porosity. Here are a few signs that may indicate you have a high porosity hair type:
- Dries quickly. Since the cuticle layer of high porosity hair is more open and raised, water absorbs quickly in the hair shaft but evaporates just as rapidly. This makes the hair dry faster after washing, as it can't retain moisture for long.
- Breaks or splits easily. Strands are more prone to damage like split ends and breakage due to excess moisture loss.
- Frizzes in humidity. Parched strands may swell and expand in humid conditions, leading to frizz and flyaways.
- Coarser texture. High porosity hair usually feels stiff or rough to the touch. This roughness can be especially noticeable when the hair is dry, and the lack of smoothness can cause strands to tangle.
Good hair day by @curlingmekrazy.
How Can I Tell If I Have High Porosity Hair?
There are a few at-home tests that can help you determine whether or not you have high porosity hair. The first method is to mist your hair with a spray bottle and observe how the water behaves. High porosity hair soaks up moisture quickly, so the water beads will likely disappear faster than they would on low porosity hair.
Another hack involves placing a strand of hair in a glass of water. If the hair sinks right away, it typically indicates that you have absorbent, highly porous hair. When in doubt about your hair type and its needs, we suggest consulting your stylist to get the most accurate assessment. In the meantime, consider filling out our Hair Quiz to discover more expert-approved tips and salon-quality product recommendations.
How Do You Fix High Porosity Hair?
In some cases, high porosity hair is influenced by genetics, so it can’t necessarily be "fixed" (nor does it have to be). However, if your high porosity hair occurs from heat exposure, overprocessing, or environmental damage, the most effective way to manage the symptoms is to change your haircare habits. This brings us to our next point…
How Should You Care for High Porosity Hair?
The trick to managing high porosity hair, Keasling says, is to be gentle. Air dry your mane as often as possible and keep your use of hot tools to a minimum. Similarly, limit the amount of chemical treatments (like dyeing or permanent straightening) you get.
Having a reliable, effective everyday routine is also key. To help give your hair what it needs to look and feel its best, seek out products with protective ingredients, like strengthening proteins and hair-friendly lipids. Oils and other lipids, Keasling says, “play a crucial role in protecting hair and keeping it [looking] healthy, shiny, and strong.”
She’s particularly fond of Biolage Professional‘s Strength Recovery range, which features a daily-use shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in treatment, as well as a weekly deep treatment pack. All of the products in this nourishing line are formulated with vegan squalane derived from olives. This ingredient, she explains, mimics your hair’s natural protective lipids and can help “protect [against] future damage while increasing softness and shine.” It also helps strengthen hair’s protective barrier, making your strands better able to hold on to moisture—an essential component of caring for high porosity hair. These same benefits apply to the Strength Recovery collection, which deeply moisturizes porous hair to help reinforce weak and fragile strands, reduce breakage, and improve your mane’s manageability. The result: silky, shiny strands that look and feel healthy.
How Should You Apply Products to High Porosity Hair?
Selecting the right products for high porosity hair is only half the equation—knowing the proper application order is equally important. That’s where the LOC method comes in. For those unfamiliar with this haircare technique, LOC is an acronym that describes the order in which you should apply your styling products (liquid, oil, cream) for maximum benefits. Followers of this method believe that applying an oil followed by a thicker cream helps create multiple layers of moisture. This, by extension, keeps the hair hydrated, protected, and frizz-free.
To start, saturate your hair with water or a water-based leave-in to infiltrate your strands with moisture. Next comes your oil, which creates a protective layer over your hair to keep that hydrating H2O from escaping. Per the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), emollient coconut oil is among the best oils to help trap moisture into the hair shaft. If you’re in the market for a new coconut-infused hair oil, we’re partial to Mizani’s 25 Miracle Nourishing Hair Oil. Finally, you’ll want to apply a nourishing hair cream to help hydrate the surface of your hair, lock in moisture, and make the styling process a bit easier. All hair types can enjoy the smoothing effects of Redken’s Frizz Dismiss Rebel Tame Leave-In Cream, while those with curly hair can take advantage of the defining benefits offered by Matrix’s A Curl Can Dream Moisturizing Cream. Let your hair air dry for the best results, as this can also help minimize the likelihood of having high porosity hair in the future.
Now that you know how to properly care for your high porosity hair, check out our article 15 Heatless Curl Techniques That Will Save Your Mane From Heat Damage for some heat-free styling inspiration.
Header photo credits (left to right): @biolage, L’Oréal, @mizani
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