Understanding the Differences: High Porosity Hair vs Low Porosity Hair

Hair porosity is your hair's ability to absorb and retain moisture, determined by how open or closed your cuticles are. Low porosity hair has tightly closed cuticles that resist moisture, while high porosity hair has open cuticles that absorb moisture quickly but can't hold onto it. Understanding your porosity tells you exactly which products will work and which will fail, especially for curly hair where moisture retention determines whether your curls look defined or frizzy.

This is one of the most important things to understand about your hair, and most people have never heard of it. You can use the best products on the market, but if they're wrong for your porosity, they won't work. Once you know your porosity, suddenly product choices make sense and your routine actually delivers results.

I'm Bri, a stylist at The Warehouse Salon in Fairfield and Studio 360 Salon in Chatham. I assess porosity for clients constantly because it explains so many hair frustrations. Let me tell you about a client who'd been fighting her curls for years until we figured out her porosity was the missing piece.

What Happens When You Don't Know Your Porosity?

A client named Imani came to me frustrated with her 3C curls. She was a graphic designer in South Orange who'd spent hundreds of dollars on curl products that influencers swore by, but nothing worked. Her curls were either dry and frizzy or greasy and weighed down, never defined and bouncy like she wanted.

"Bri, I've tried everything," she said. "Heavy creams, light mousses, oils, gels. Nothing makes my curls look good. I'm starting to think my hair is just broken."

I asked her about her routine. She was using thick, butter-based products because that's what curl tutorials recommended for her hair type. But when I did a porosity test on her hair, it floated at the top of the water. She had low porosity hair, and all those heavy products were sitting on top of her strands instead of absorbing.

"Your hair isn't broken," I told her. "You have low porosity curls, and you've been using products designed for high porosity hair. They can't penetrate your cuticle, so they just build up and weigh your curls down."

I switched her to lightweight, water-based products and showed her how to apply them on damp hair instead of soaking wet. Within one wash, her curls looked completely different.

"Wait, that's it?" she said, looking in the mirror. "My curls have never been this defined. All I needed was different products?"

A month later she texted me: "I finally understand my hair. I stopped buying random products and only get ones for low porosity. Everything works now."

Here's how to figure out your porosity and what it means for your routine.

How to Test Your Hair Porosity

The water test is the easiest way to determine your porosity at home. Make sure your hair is freshly washed and completely dry with no product in it. Take a small strand of shed hair and drop it into a glass of room temperature water.

Wait about three minutes and observe where your hair strand sits. If it floats at the top, you have low porosity like Imani. If it sinks to the middle, you have medium porosity. If it sinks all the way to the bottom, you have high porosity.

You can also tell by how your hair behaves. Low porosity hair takes forever to get fully wet and takes forever to dry. High porosity hair gets soaked instantly and air dries quickly. Imani realized her hair had been telling her its porosity all along. It always took 20 minutes to fully saturate in the shower.

Low Porosity Hair

Low porosity hair has tightly overlapped cuticles that create a barrier against moisture. Water and products have a hard time getting in, which is why Imani's heavy creams just sat on top of her hair. This porosity type is usually genetic and isn't caused by damage.

Signs you have low porosity hair:

• Products sit on your hair instead of absorbing
• Your hair is prone to buildup
• It takes a long time to get fully wet in the shower
• It takes forever to air dry
• Color or chemical treatments process slowly or unevenly

Imani had all of these signs but didn't know what they meant until we talked.

Low porosity hair isn't bad. It's actually quite healthy because the closed cuticle protects the inner structure. You just need to use the right products and techniques to work with it instead of against it.

Products and Tips for Low Porosity Hair

Lightweight products are essential for low porosity hair. Look for ingredients that penetrate easily like honey, glycerin, aloe vera, and vitamin B5. Avoid heavy butters and thick oils that will sit on top of your strands. Imani switched from shea butter creams to water-based gels and her curls transformed.

Clarifying shampoo is crucial because low porosity hair is prone to buildup. All those products sitting on your hair need to be removed regularly. My favorite is the Sudzz Nirvana Purifying Shampoo. Imani uses it weekly to keep her scalp and strands clean.

Light leave-in conditioners work better than heavy ones. Milk-based or spray leave-ins absorb more easily than thick creams. My favorites are the Milkshake Leave In and Milkshake 12 Effects. Imani said the spray leave-in changed everything because it actually absorbed instead of sitting on top.

Apply products to damp hair, not soaking wet. When your hair is dripping, the water creates an extra barrier that products have to break through. Use a microfiber towel to squeeze out excess water first. Imani started applying her products to towel-dried hair and noticed immediate improvement in absorption and curl definition.

High Porosity Hair

High porosity hair has an open, raised cuticle that allows moisture in easily but can't retain it. Water absorbs instantly but evaporates just as fast, leaving hair dry and frizzy. High porosity can be genetic, especially in tightly textured hair, or caused by heat damage, chemical overprocessing, or environmental damage.

Signs you have high porosity hair:

• Your hair looks and feels dry even after conditioning
• It's prone to frizz and breakage
• It tangles easily
• It gets wet almost instantly in the shower
• It absorbs products immediately
• It air dries very quickly

If Imani's hair was the opposite of these signs, high porosity hair matches all of them.

High porosity hair needs help sealing moisture in. The open cuticle lets everything escape, so you need products that create a barrier and hold hydration inside the hair strand.

Products and Tips for High Porosity Hair

Hydrating shampoos and conditioners are essential. Look for formulas that cleanse without stripping and contain moisture-boosting ingredients like essential oils or shea butter. My favorites are the Sudzz Cashmere Hydrate and the Verb Hydrate.

Cream-based products work well for high porosity because the thicker consistency helps seal the cuticle and prevent moisture loss. Unlike Imani's low porosity hair that couldn't absorb creams, high porosity hair drinks them up and benefits from the barrier they create. My favorite is the Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Replenishing Moisture CC Cream.

Treatments are crucial for high porosity hair. Protein treatments like K18 hair mask help repair and rebuild strength, especially if the porosity was caused by damage. Use every three to four washes to avoid protein overload. Hot oil treatments with coconut, argan, or jojoba oil reduce frizz and strengthen strands, though they work best on thicker hair.

A weekly deep conditioning mask helps lock in moisture and provide deep penetration. My favorite is the Amika Soulfood Mask, which is packed with nutrients and antioxidants to keep hair soft and hydrated.

Porosity Can Change Over Time

Your porosity isn't necessarily permanent. While genetics play a role, chemical treatments, heat damage, environmental exposure, aging, and hormonal changes can all shift your porosity over time. Color treatments and relaxers can open or close the cuticle, changing how your hair absorbs moisture.

This is why a routine that worked for years might suddenly stop working. Your hair may have changed. Imani's porosity has stayed consistently low, but I have other clients whose porosity shifted after pregnancy or after years of heat styling. Re-testing periodically helps you stay on top of what your hair needs.

The good news is that understanding porosity gives you a framework for adapting. If your hair starts behaving differently, test again and adjust your products accordingly.

Your Hair Porosity Questions Answered

Can I have different porosity in different areas?

Yes. Your roots might be low porosity while your ends are high porosity from damage or processing. Imani's roots are consistently low porosity, but her ends are slightly more porous from years of heat styling. She uses lighter products at her roots and slightly heavier ones on her ends.

Is high or low porosity better?

Neither is better or worse. Low porosity hair is often healthier because the closed cuticle protects the strand, but it can be frustrating when products don't absorb. High porosity hair absorbs products easily but struggles to retain moisture. Both can look amazing with the right care.

Why didn't the products that work for my friend work for me?

Probably different porosity. Imani's curly-haired friends all recommended heavy butters, but those products are designed for high porosity hair. Her low porosity curls needed the opposite. Porosity matters more than curl type when choosing products.

How often should I test my porosity?

Test whenever your routine stops working or after major changes like coloring, relaxing, or significant heat damage. Imani tested once and her porosity has stayed stable, but if she ever chemically processes her hair, she'll test again.

Book Your Porosity Assessment

Understanding your porosity changes everything about how you care for your hair. Imani spent years and hundreds of dollars on products that couldn't work for her hair type. One porosity test and a product switch later, her curls finally looked the way she wanted.

If your products aren't working and you're not sure why, book a consultation. I'll assess your porosity, look at your hair's condition, and recommend products that will actually absorb and deliver results. Stop guessing and start understanding what your hair actually needs.

Book at The Warehouse Salon in Fairfield at 1275 Bloomfield Ave, Building 1, Unit 3 by calling 973-500-4536. If you're closer to Chatham, visit Studio 360 Salon and call 973-701-3030.

The right products for the wrong porosity will always fail. Let's figure out what your hair actually needs.