Low Porosity Hair: Characteristics and Care Tips

Does your hair take FOR-EV-ER to get wet and equally long to dry? Do your stylers and treatments leave your hair with a greasy film rather than delivering results?

These could be signs that you have low porosity hair.

Hair porosity is quickly joining the ranks of hair type and texture as an important factor for how we care for our hair.

Why? Because, just like your hair type and texture impact things like stylability and how often you shampoo, porosity influences which products you should use in order to keep your hair optimally moisturized and healthy. 

Out of all the levels of porosity (low, medium, high), hair with low porosity is considered the healthiest. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with its own challenges.  

That’s what we’re here for – to help you understand exactly what your hair needs to look and feel its best! Check out our ultimate guide to low porosity hair below.

Here’s a quick recap on the science

Hair is made up of three layers

1. Cuticle – the outermost protective layer
2. Cortex – the middle layer that contains the majority of the hair's color and strength
3. Medulla – the soft, innermost layer

In order for your hair to maintain peak hair health, moisture must be able to pass through the cuticle layer to the cortex and your hair must be able to retain the moisture.

In low porosity hair, getting moisture into the hair is super difficult. Let us explain!

What is low porosity hair?

Low porosity hair means your hair has a tightly reinforced cuticle layer that keeps moisture (and your products) from penetrating.

It literally means there are fewer “pores” in the cuticle layer. This makes it super difficult to get critical moisture into the hair, but once it’s there, retention is no problem.

High hair porosity is typically a result of your genes. You can, however, increase your hair’s porosity by damaging it. 

This is often done through excessive heat styling, frequent color / chemical processing, UV exposure and the like.

The more damage you create, the more “pores” can develop not only on the surface of your hair but also within its internal structure (think: Swiss cheese).

How to know if you have low porosity hair

• Takes a significant amount of time to wet
• Takes forever to air dry
• Products build up easily on the surface instead of absorbing
• Greasy, weighed down feeling
• Difficult to achieve volume
• Appears super smooth, shiny and healthy
• Hair is resistant to chemical and color treatments

There are two easy hair porosity tests you can try at home:

The Float Test

To start, shampoo your hair and let it air dry without products. Then, fill a glass with room temperature water, and place a single strand of hair in the water.

If the strand floats, it means you have low porosity hair. If the strand sinks, it means you have high porosity hair. Check out our blog on high porosity hair for more info! 

The Spray Test

Mist dry hair with water and observe. If the water beads up on your hair, you likely have low porosity hair. If your hair absorbs the water quickly, you likely have high porosity hair.

Is low porosity hair good or bad?

When it comes to hair porosity, low porosity hair is considered the healthiest. This is because it’s the best at retaining critical moisture that’s essential to keeping hair optimally healthy due to its tightly closed cuticle layer.

How to treat low porosity hair: our top tips

It's important to focus on moisturizing the hair and avoiding buildup. Here are some low porosity hair remedies:

• Use lightweight, water-based products: Look for hair care products that are water-based and free from heavy oils and butters. These products will absorb more easily.

• Detox regularly: Since low porosity hair is prone to buildup, it’s important to detox your hair of any residues – from hard water minerals to product buildup – that can prevent moisture from penetrating. 

• Use heat: Using a warm towel or a hair steamer can help to open the cuticles of low porosity hair and allow for better product absorption.

• Deep condition: Deep conditioning low porosity hair regularly can help to provide much-needed moisture to low porosity hair. 

Best products for low porosity hair

1. Dream Filter – This pre-shampoo spray gently detoxes hair of hard water mineral buildup in just 3 minutes 
2. Color Security Shampoo – 100% clean, sulfate-free, no-residue formula effortlessly washes away buildup without leaving any residues of its own behind (unlike most shampoos) 
3. Money Masque – Made with natural humectants that instantly penetrate and hold moisture deep in hair’s core; no heavy oils or butters! Works in as little as 5 minutes. Use with a hair steamer to help make strands more receptive to moisture.

What does low porosity hair look like?

Hair porosity is used to measure how well your hair can absorb and retain moisture based on the condition of your cuticle layer.

In high porosity hair, the cuticle layer is open, resulting in gaps (aka, “pores”) in the surface of your hair.

This allows moisture to enter easily, but your hair can’t retain it.

In low porosity hair, the cuticle layer is tightly closed, meaning there are no gaps in the surface of your hair.

In this case, it’s more difficult to get essential moisture into the hair, but once it’s there, it can retain it easily.

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Read more about hair care on the Color Wow Blog:

The Ultimate Guide to Hair Porosity

High Porosity Hair 101