Porosity..Am I low, normal or high?

[cocoagirl]

So I've been reading about porosity for years and diagnosed myself as being low porosity because my strand of hair floats in water. As such I have been following regimens for low po hair but haven't seen much difference in the growth or quality of my hair.

Well I am re-reading some posts on here and NC.com bc I am in need of some new conditioners and moisturizers, and it seems that water float test isn't the best method for detecting porosity (according to posters on nc.com). My hair gets wet pretty easily but upon rinsing conditioner out, will be totally dry within 20 minutes if left untouched. In addition my hair does seem to get dry and not moisturize easily.
The fact that it dries so quick from being wet seems like traits of hi po hair but....idk I'm really confused.
My question is how can I once and for all determine the porosity of my hair so that I can order the right products this time around and finally get my hair issues in check?

 

[DoDo]

So I've been reading about porosity for years and diagnosed myself as being low porosity because my strand of hair floats in water. As such I have been following regimens for low po hair but haven't seen much difference in the growth or quality of my hair.

Well I am re-reading some posts on here and NC.com bc I am in need of some new conditioners and moisturizers, and it seems that water float test isn't the best method for detecting porosity (according to posters on nc.com). My hair gets wet pretty easily but upon rinsing conditioner out, will be totally dry within 20 minutes if left untouched. In addition my hair does seem to get dry and not moisturize easily.
The fact that it dries so quick from being wet seems like traits of hi po hair but....idk I'm really confused.
My question is how can I once and for all determine the porosity of my hair so that I can order the right products this time around and finally get my hair issues in check?

If your hair gets wet easily, and dries quickly, you have high porosity hair. I feel that porosity lies on a continuum so if your hair floats in water when it has been cleansed and is without product, that means your hair is not extremely high porosity.

Low porosity hair gets wet with great difficulty, takes forever to dry, and when moisturized properly retains moisture for extended periods of time.

 

[Rozlewis]

It sounds like high porosity if it gets wet quickly and dries quickly. I thought low porosity is when hair does not absorb water but sits on top of the water because the cuticles are tightly closed.

 

[cocoagirl]

Thx guys, ok... like I said I was confused since my strand floated indefinitely.. though my hair dries quickly. So is it best for me to now follow a high porosity regimen i.e. doing a ACV rinse to seal cuticle post rinsing conditioner etc? Now I have to go back and read hi po threads instead of lo po #theStruggle...

 

[meka72]

I also thought that I was low porosity and followed those tips (added a few drops of castille soap to my conditioner) until I saw my best friend wash her hair and her hair stayed wet for hours. We both couldn't be low porosity. So I started using more protein, stopped using heat to conditioner and started using acv rinses to rinse out mu conditioner. My hair has been accepting moisture a lot better since I've made those changes.

 

[divachyk]

cocoagirl, I'm low porosity and use to think my hair got wet easily and dried quickly. The truth of the matter is, my hair was never really properly wet from the get go, thus it dried quickly. Is that a possibility for your hair?

When I'm in the shower, my hair feels nice and wet. As soon as I turn the water off, my hair is barely dripping wet.

Does any of these traits sound familiar?

 

[AgeinATL]

cocoagirl, I'm low porosity and use to think my hair got wet easily and dried quickly. The truth of the matter is, my hair was never really properly wet from the get go, thus it dried quickly. Is that a possibility for your hair?

When I'm in the shower, my hair feels nice and wet. As soon as I turn the water off, my hair is barely dripping wet.

Does any of these traits sound familiar?

Excellent point. I am Low Po and this is dead on.

 

[Saludable84]

cocoagirl, I'm low porosity and use to think my hair got wet easily and dried quickly. The truth of the matter is, my hair was never really properly wet from the get go, thus it dried quickly. Is that a possibility for your hair? When I'm in the shower, my hair feels nice and wet. As soon as I turn the water off, my hair is barely dripping wet. Does any of these traits sound familiar?

I soak my hair for at least a minute each section to unsure it's wet. When I'm done, it drips, but compared to the amount of water that touches it, it drips, but still never looks wet.

 

[mzteaze]

I definitely had high porosity since my hair would get wet easily but air dry in 10-15 minutes after I finished (with or without the towel dry step).

I was able to turn that around with regular DC and I used Roux Porosity Control.

 

[cocoagirl]

cocoagirl, I'm low porosity and use to think my hair got wet easily and dried quickly. The truth of the matter is, my hair was never really properly wet from the get go, thus it dried quickly. Is that a possibility for your hair?

When I'm in the shower, my hair feels nice and wet. As soon as I turn the water off, my hair is barely dripping wet.

Does any of these traits sound familiar?

When I wash my hair,it seems wet to me..when I get out of the shower it is dripping so I think it got truly wet during the wash process. I know for sure that it is 85% dry within 15 minutes. My hair doesn't relax straight when I use box perms, another reason why I thought I was low po...I don't know, guess I will reread both low and high porosity traits and see where I best fit. It is just frustrating because the more I know about the science of hair, the harder it is to diagnose my hair issues and what it needs to be its best..

 

[temfash]

I must be an odd ball then cause I have low porosity at the roots, normal at the mid lengths and high porosity at the ends of my hair. I found this out after a recent hair analysis.

 

[g.lo]

I must be an odd ball then cause I have low porosity at the roots, normal at the mid lengths and high porosity at the ends of my hair. I found this out after a recent hair analysis.

You are talking about my hair, dealing with 3 types of porosity ain't no joke

 

[krissyhair]

I must be an odd ball then cause I have low porosity at the roots, normal at the mid lengths and high porosity at the ends of my hair. I found this out after a recent hair analysis.

That's actually quite normal. Hair is low porosity as it comes out of your scalp and gets damaged as it grows over time. Some companies make self-targeting products. Herbal Essences self-targeting hydralicious conditioner comes to mind.

 

[cocoagirl]

I must be an odd ball then cause I have low porosity at the roots, normal at the mid lengths and high porosity at the ends of my hair. I found this out after a recent hair analysis.

where did you get your hair analysis?

 

[s2fast4ya]

where did you get your hair analysis?

cocoagirl Komaza hair care offers this service at 2 price points, $85 and $65. You can order it directly from their website. There is a thread on here dedicated to their service. Its pricey, but everyone who has done believes it is worth it. Hope this helps.

 

[temfash]

cocoagirl Komaza hair care offers this service at 2 price points, $85 and $65. You can order it directly from their website. There is a thread on here dedicated to their service. Its pricey, but everyone who has done believes it is worth it. Hope this helps.

I got my hair analysis done by Megan at goose footprints on etsy it was pretty basic and not as expensive as the komaza.