Every curly girl knows the importance of understanding the type of porosity and density that your hair has. Hair porosity and density both play a key role in your hair care regimen, what curly hair products you use and how your hair looks overall on a daily basis. Having this knowledge gives you the power to better manage and transform your hair from dull to fab!
Hair Porosity & Density Defined
Porosity
Porosity refers to how well your hair is able to absorb moisture. Hair that is considered to be highly porous is typically damaged and separated from the cuticle. This can be a result of many different factors such as it being over processed to simply having a need for more moisture on a daily basis. On the other hand, hair that is not very porous will be difficult to chemically straighten or perform any type of chemical treatment due to its inability to absorb.
Knowing your hair porosity will help you determine how much moisture your hair needs on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to achieve the look that you are going for. In addition, you will be better equipped to make decisions regarding your hair products.
Density
On the contrary, hair density looks at the number of hair strands that you have per square inch on your scalp. People with low hair density are said to have thinner hair while people with high hair density have thicker hair. Knowing how dense your hair is will provide you to better choose products that will help either increase the volume in your hair or tone it down.
Though these concepts are both quite different, together they help to determine how your hair should be handled.
Product Recommendations
- Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner
- Spiral Solutions Repairing Protein Treatment
- KinkyCurly Knot Today Leave-in/Detangler
Daily Care
The daily care of your hair plays a big part in your hair porosity and density. Combing, towel drying, and shampooing can be done in a very rough manner that will damage the hair, creating breakage and cuticle damage. This will leave your hair looking limp and lifeless. Better managing your daily hair care as well as the hair products you use will greatly make a difference. If you have less dense hair, use lighter products. If you have dense hair, use heavier products. Porous hair will need more moisture so that it doesn’t suck it in from the air and frizz. Add these routines and products to your daily hair care routine to further enhance your curl.Over exposure to Light
Spending too much time in the sun or under UV light can be a huge stressor to your hair cuticles. This will lead to drying on the hair follicle and then breakage. Studies have shown that exposure to sunlight or UV light for 200 hours and beyond can start showing signs of damage. In order to overcome this problem, make sure that you are protecting your hair year-round whenever you are outside with hats and scarves. Drying the hair out can change your porosity, which will cause your usual miracle products to stop working.Over processing
Using too many chemical treatments, such as relaxing or bleaching, can cause low density and highly porous hair. One way to overcome this issue is to do weekly hair treatments that help restore moisture and reverse the damaging effects of the chemicals. Try at-home methods such as the mayonnaise hair treatment or the apple cider vinegar rinse.
Want More?
Not sure what your hair porosity or density even is? Follow these simple steps to figure it out, test it out, and start planning around it!
Final Thoughts
It is important to keep in mind that everyone’s hair porosity and density are different, even within curl patterns, so you must treat your curls on an individual basis.
Tell us how you incorporate the knowledge of your porosity and density into your curly hair care regimen!
