Porous hair: how to recognize it and take care of it?

We knew dry, fine or oily hair. But we rarely hear about porous hair. Yet, hair porosity affects everyone. You just have to know how to recognize it. We tell you all about porous hair, with the help of Gianni Copa, from the R Factory Paris salon.

What is porous hair?

Hair porosity is characterized by its ability to absorb and retain water and therefore hydration.

In reality, we all have porous hair, regardless of our hair type (curly, straight, thin, thick, curly etc). But we are not all at the same level of porosity. This level of porosity depends in fact on the opening of the scales, also called cuticles. There are three degrees of porosity:

• The low porosity : the cuticles are too closed and tight, water and care have trouble being absorbed. The hair is therefore lacking in hydration. It is also more complicated to dry this type of hair since once the water has entered, it has had trouble evacuating.
• The medium porosity : this is the ideal level of porosity for healthy hair. Cuticles are smooth and closed but let moisture through. Hair absorbs water and care as needed.
• The high porosity : the scales are too open, the water is absorbed but evacuated immediately. “It’s a hair that is altered, damaged. The scales no longer function normally, they no longer play their role as the hair’s natural barrier”, specifies Gianni Copa. We then speak of foamy, dry and brittle hair.

Whether your hair is not very porous or too porous, it is advisable to take care of it, to find a well hydrated hair.

There is a very simple test to recognize the level of porosity of our hair. To do this, you will just need a glass of cold water.

Take a dry and clean strand, without any product residue, on your hair brush. Place this wick in the glass of water. If the wick remains on the surface of the water, your hair is not very porous. If, on the other hand, the wick runs, your hair is very porous. If the wick stays in the middle, no worries, your hair is moderately porous.

Otherwise, during your shampoo, you can simply see if your hair takes time to get wet or not. If so, do you have the low porosity hair. If they get wet easily, they are very porous. Please note, you must not have made oil bath or applied another product before. You can also rely on how quickly your hair dries. We told you, low porosity hair dries more slowly.

It is essential to know if your hair is too porous or on the contrary, not very porous, because it will help you to choose a hair care routine suitable!

What hair types are affected by high porosity?

We have seen it, we all have porous hair, whatever the nature of our hair.

However, some people are more affected by higher porosity than others. “Very porous hair is the result of repeated attacks: coloring, bleaching, straightening or even blow-drying repeatedly without protector. It can also be caused by a care routine not adapted to your hair type. It is an alteration of the hair mainly due to chemistry”, explains the expert.

Failing to protect your hair from UV rays or suffering from an iron deficiency can also lead to high porosity.

Rest assured, hair that is too porous or not porous enough is not inevitable. Certain treatments can help you regain medium porosity and healthy hair.

• Treatments for low porosity hair

Here, we will seek to facilitate the penetration of water and care into the hair.

It is recommended wash your hair in hot water or lukewarm to open the scales before applying your care. Then, to apply the treatments for 20 minutes, wrapping the hair in a hot towel or in a heated cap, to help the product penetrate.

Do not hesitate to use, on damp hair, light vegetable oils, to seal in hydration.

It is also advisable to avoid the cowash technique on hair that is not very porous and to use leave-in treatments too frequently.

• Care for very porous hair

Hair with high porosity is more fragile, because the hair is dry and brittle.

Gianni Copa thus recommends choosing a routine that is resurfacing and regenerating. “The goal is to provide protein to recreate the hair’s natural mesh. Cosmetics and sheathing products are ideal for this. For example, the Olaplex N3/N4/N5/N6 or N7- range to be carried out as a cure for at least 2 months, or as a curative routine over the long term”, he says.

Bet on masks after each shampoo to repair and nourish your hair.

In a hairdressing salon, you can also opt for a hair botox treatment. It will indeed help to rebuild the hair fiber and smooth the scales. According to the specialist, it will then be necessary to make a cut to clean up the hair.

“The application of heat protectant before blow-drying to avoid porosity and fill in gaps is also ideal”, adds Gianni Copa.

Finally, it is advisable to rinse your hair with cold water to smooth out the scales. As a bonus, your hair will also be shinier!

>>> Many thanks to Gianni Coppa, hairdresser at the R’Factory, for his expertise and availability.