Brief handbook: Why should you know the porosity of your hair?

There is plenty said and wrote about hair care. Practically on each side we are flooded with information on effectiveness of conditioners, shampoos and hair serums, while each of them is expected to magically solve all our problems. It would all become more clear if we know a bit more about the porosity of hair. What is it and why should you know yours?

Choice of right hair care cosmetics is in large amount dependant on hair condition. After all, you should never use weighting down cosmetics on fine and delicate hair, because these are reserved to tame wild streaks. Such combination would not end well – neither visually nor for hair structure. This is why it is so important to know current condition of the hair.

Porosity – the key to conditioning paradise

You shouldn’t be surprised that almost on every blog there is mentioned anatomy of the hair. The porosity of hair provides answer to questions about the direction of future hair care. What does this really mean?

Porosity of the hair determines condition of external (dermal) part of hair. It is made of hair shaft and is surrounded by hair cuticles. These are cuticles that can be raised or not. Low porosity hair (healthy, smooth and glossy) have closely adhering cuticles. High porosity hair (damaged, rough and dry) are the exact opposite, their cuticles are definitely raised.

Imagine this!

With the porosity of hair is like with a rope. Imagine thick and strong line, like the one used to e.g. tie the ship. New and well taken care of is smooth, tight and strong. There are no worries that it will break. As the time passes and the rope is frequently used or if sailors do not take care of rigging, the line becomes frayed, pill and definitely weaker. There appears the risk that the ship will drift away, because rope will break. This is exactly the same with hair.

The more raised cuticles the greater probability that hair will fall out, break and become dry. Hair shaft is then left unprotected, the access to it is easier and hair is more prone to damages. Water loss is also greater and hair much faster absorb substances from the external world, also these unfavourable.

Much better condition have low porosity hair, which have no gaps between cuticles. When they adhere closely to the shaft, they also provide hair with better protection. This is why low porosity means not only great hydration level and good condition, but also resistance to damages and e.g. high temperatures.