Natural
Hair
Porosity
How to Know Your Porosity
Hair porosity is the single-most important characteristic on your natural hair journey. It’s more important than knowing your hair type.
Why? Because knowing whether you have low porosity hair or high porosity hair is critical to ensure product absorption and moisture retention.
Low porosity hair has difficulty absorbing water and products because the cuticles are flat shut. In contrast, high porosity hair has difficulty retaining water and products because the cuticles are open wide. Armed with this information, you can create a routine based on how your hair absorbs and retains moisture.
Below you’ll find a wealth of information pertaining to both hair porosity, including how to do the hair porosity test. Happy learning!
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Hair porosity is important because it measures our hair’s ability to retain moisture, and low porosity has a unique issue: it struggles with moisture absorption, resulting in product build-up and dryness. Here is the not-so-secret secret sauce on how to moisturize low porosity natural hair, in 8 simple steps!
Choosing the best products for low porosity 4c hair should be an intentional process.
For 4c low porosity hair, having a solid arsenal of go-to products can be the difference between healthy hair and dry hair.
You don’t need a million and one products. Investing in 3-4 high-quality, moisture-rich products and tools will take you further than using a whole range of products that may not work for you.
Here’s what you need to know!
Treating high porosity hair is more than just slapping on a deep conditioner.
High porosity coils are incredibly sensitive and fragile to damage, and if you’re interested in learning about how to treat high porosity hair, know this: you don’t need to commit to a 10-step natural hair routine. You don’t need to buy a million products.
Here’s what you need to know for your high porosity hair treatment!
It’s no secret that low porosity hair suffers from dryness. This is because the cuticles lay completely fact, acting as a barrier to water and product penetration.
And we all know that dryness = breakage. And breakage = no length retention (aka “growth”).
Here’s the not-so-secret sauce to learning how to grow low porosity hair, in 7 easy steps!
It’s simple, really: the best curl defining products for 4c hair are ones that are moisture-rich (aka water-based!), hella conditioning, provide ample slip and lock in all that glorious moisture.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not hard to pop and define 4c coils. Here’s how!
When it comes to choosing the best products for high porosity hair, there’s a lot that needs to be taken into consideration. High porosity strands are sensitive, so the products you choose will make or break your high porosity hair routine. In particular, high porosity needs products that are restorative, strengthening, conditioning, and moisturizing to reduce friction between the strands and help fortify the cuticle. Here are the best products for high porosity hair!
Fact: low porosity hair struggles with moisture absorption. Due to the flat and tight cuticles, your (v expensive) products tend to sit on top of your hair, causing product buildup. As such, your low-po hair requires lightweight, penetrative and highly moisturizing products to encourage absorption. Here are the best products for low porosity hair to achieve happy, hydrated coils!
Shampoo for Low Porosity Hair

Shampoos must be a staple for low porosity naturals. Because low porosity coils are flat and tight, product buildup rapidly occurs on because products tend to sit atop the hair strands instead of penetrating. To combat product buildup (and the dryness that comes along with it), here are the best shampoos for low porosity natural hair!
A common question in the natural hair community is whether to follow the LCO or LOC product application method. The simple answer: it depends on your porosity. Here are the main differences between the LCO vs LOC method for natural hair, and which one is right for your hair porosity.
The Ultimate High Porosity Natural Hair Care Routine

The cuticles of high porosity natural hair are raised and open, making moisture penetration simple, but retention difficult. Maintaining and moisturizing high porosity natural hair requires specific techniques to keep the moisture locked in until the next wash day. Here is the ultimate guide to high porosity natural hair, including how to apply products and what ingredients to look out for.
The cuticles of low porosity natural hair are flat and tight, making moisture penetration difficult. Maintaining and moisturizing low porosity natural hair requires specific techniques to allow moisture (water and products) to enter the cuticles and moisturize the hair shaft from the inside out. Here is the ultimate guide to low porosity natural hair, including how to apply products and what ingredients to look out for.
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What's Your Curl Type?

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Learning your curl type is an important step in learning how to take care of your natural hair. It can help you understand what products will work best for you, how often to shampoo, how to style your natural hair, and other key information.
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