The hairdresser advised me to put the hair in the glass. This test showed the truth about their condition

If you’ve ever heard the term “hair porosity” and wondered what it means, you’re not alone. There are many different terms and categories to describe health, texture and porosity refers to the overall ability of the strands to absorb and retain moisture. Broadly speaking, there are three main porosity levels that most hair types fit into: low, medium and high porosity.

Hair porosity. What’s that? Check what it means for your strands

Porosity is a measure hair’s ability to absorb and retain moisture. This can also be described as an indicator of the ease of moisture penetration. This is largely genetically determined, but can also be altered by external factors such as heat and chemical treatment. Porosity level refers to the percentage of open air pockets (or pores) on the outermost surface of the material. Speaking of hair the level of porosity is determined by the structure of the scalewhich is the outermost layer of a single stem.

• low porosity (closed scales, adhere to the bark),
• medium porosity (cuticles are slightly raised),
• high porosity (cuticles are strongly raised).

Hair porosity. You can do the test yourself at home in 15 minutes

Hair porosity can generally be determined by how it feels and how long it dries, as well as its ability to retain moisture. There are several rapid tests that are popular to run at home. These tests do not guarantee an accurate result, but they will certainly help you understand how porosity works.

Hair porosity test art4stock / Getty Images/iStockphoto

1. Take a few strands of hair from a brush or comb (make sure you use clean hair as products can alter the effect) and drop them into a glass of water.
2. Leave it for a few minutes, and if the strands rise after that time, you probably have low porosity hair. If they fall, your hair will probably be high porosity.
3. If the hair floats somewhere in the middle of the glass, it means that the hair is medium porosity.

It’s important to remember that everyone’s hair is different, and the key is knowing your hair type as well as knowing how to best care for it.