Before diving into products it helps to know what low porosity hair actually means. “Hair porosity describes how the hair’s cuticle absorbs and holds on to moisture in its pores—hence, the term porosity,” says hairstylist Miko Branch, co-founder of hair care brand Miss Jessie’s.
Low porosity hair is not very porous at all, which means it may have trouble absorbing moisture.
“The outer layer of the hair strand is called the cuticle layer,” hairstylist Danielle Malary of Lumiere Vive Salon reminds us. “The cuticle layer is made of little tiny cuticles that lie slightly over one another. When the hair has low porosity, the cuticles are packed so tightly onto each other, it makes it very difficult for moisture or water to penetrate the strand. Typically, those with kinky curls tend to have low porosity hair.”
High porosity hair, on the other hand, has much sparser cuticles, so water flows in and out of the hair with ease. So it doesn’t have trouble absorbing moisture—but it may find it difficult to hold onto that hydration.
It can be difficult to decipher which camp you fall into (especially because porosity exists on a spectrum). Take this quick quiz here to figure out whether you have high, low, or medium porosity hair.
If you wind up with a low porosity result, congrats! You’ve made it to the right place. Now let’s get your locks all moisturized and healthy with the best low porosity hair products.
