All About Porosity

 

 

What is porosity and why does it matter? 

We chose to base our hair care line on porosity levels. And you may be wondering why and what porosity even is. 

Well, to put it simply, hair porosity is the hair's ability to absorb and retain moisture. By knowing our hair's porosity level, we can choose the products that will benefit our hair the most. There is low, medium and high porosity. Porosity levels can be determined by genetics, the environment hair is exposed to, or how hair is regularly handled. 

If you have low porosity hair, it means that the hair cuticles are positioned tightly around the hair strand. This causes low porosity hair to prevent water, moisture and hair care products from penetrating the hair strand. 

If you have high porosity hair, there are holes and gaps in the cuticle layer. This allows for moisture to easily penetrate the hair strand but also lose the moisture just as fast. This can cause dryness and frizziness. 

Medium porosity hair has cuticles that are slightly raised on the hair strands and is in between low and high porosity (London's Hair Food will be releasing a medium porosity line in the future. If you have medium porosity hair, your hair could benefit from the low porosity products). 

 

How do I determine my porosity level?

LINK TO POROSITY DEMO: https://youtu.be/chMVkVlR6Ss

Hair porosity is determined by how the cuticles of your hair strands are positioned and because of this, porosity can't be determined with a simple look at your hair. And determining doesn't require a microscope, either! All you need is a clean strand of hair and a glass of water (make sure your hair is clean without any product on it). 

All you will do is place your strand of hair in the glass of water and let it sit for a couple minutes. If the hair floats, you have low porosity hair. If it sinks to the bottom, you have high porosity hair. And if it floats/sinks to the middle of the glass of water, you have medium porosity hair. 

 

How do I care for my porosity level?

LOW POROSITY - Because the cuticle layer is tightly bound, this hair type is more susceptible to product build-up. Be sure to use lightweight products and try not to use protein-rich products. When possible, use heat when deep conditioning and doing hot oil treatments to encourage the cuticles to lift to accept moisture and product. 

HIGH POROSITY - Since the cuticle layer is raised, be sure to use heavier, sealing products. Products with protein are also a good option which will help fill in the gaps in the cuticle layer, which will help to strengthen hair. Deep condition regularly and always use a pre-poo oil treatment before washing. 

MEDIUM POROSITY - Because this hair type is in the middle of low and high porosity, it is necessary to find that balance of moisture and protein. Using products that are lightweight is important and you also want to make sure you incorporate products with protein as well. 

 

How do I choose the products to use?

London's Hair Food takes the guesswork out of what products to use for your porosity level. We have products for low porosity and high porosity (with medium porosity products to launch in the future - if you have medium porosity hair, we recommend using the low porosity products with the option to alternate between the high and low porosity deep conditioners).

Visit the product tab to see what we have in store for you!