Porosity: you always hear about it but you have no idea what it is? Worse, when it comes to adapting your care you are completely lost? Madame President has heard your despair and gives you the solution to adapt your care to the porosity of your hair. Follow the guide!
Porosity : what is it ?
The porosity of the hair is the regularity of the
cuticles
(or scales) of the hair that absorb and maintain more or less humidity. When the scales are very tight, porosity is low: the hair has difficulty absorbing moisture. Conversely, when they are too open, porosity is high… But that’s not better! Moisture will be easily absorbed, but difficult to retain, so the hair will not be better hydrated. As you can see, the ideal is a medium porosity, with regular cuticles that regulate moisture on their own!
How to define it?
Damaged, brittle, fragile hair… They are sometimes the consequence of a bad knowledge of the porosity of the hair, and thus of badly adapted care! And for good reason: unless you have a microscope, it is difficult to see its porosity. But don’t panic, we have 3 tips for all hair types! Curly, frizzy, curly or straight, fine or thick hair: there is something for everyone.
Glass of water test
- First, get a strand of clean hair (from a brush for example).
- Fill a glass (transparent for simplicity) with water and place the wick in it.
- After 2 to 5 minutes, look at its evolution: if it floats, your hair has low porosity; if it sinks completely, its porosity is high; and if it stays in the middle of the glass, the porosity is average!
Wick test
Select a few strands from different parts of your head (front, back, left, right, top…) and slide them between your thumb and index finger.
- For a strong porosity, the wick will be dense and “hard” under your fingers, which will slide very easily.
- If your hair has medium porosity, the strand will be smooth and even.
- Finally, if your porosity is high, your fingers will slide more difficult and you will feel irregularities: your cuticles are very spread out, which makes your hair damaged and brittle.
Spray test
Last tip: simply spray water on your hair with a spray bottle!
- If water remains on the surface of your hair, it has low porosity.
- If they absorb it easily, your porosity is high.
- If you have a reasonable in-between: smile, your porosity is normal!
This test is particularly effective on frizzy and curly hair!
We advise you to combine the three tests for an optimal reliability: here you go, you can now
adapt your care products
to the porosity of your hair!
Warning:
porosity can change with time and care (or aggression, we see you bleaching and straightening!), so check it regularly.
Adapting hair care to the porosity of your hair
Care for low porosity hair
Your scales are very tight. The result is that the treatments you apply have difficulty penetrating your hair, which demandsThis means more hydration and nutrition!
Your best friend: heat! It will open up the cuticles and allow the hair to absorb the active ingredients, moisture and nutrition you provide.
The solutions
The best known: wrap your hair in cellophane, a microfiber towel or a cotton T-shirt after applying your mask.
t-shirt after applying your mask. This will keep the heat in, ideal for your low porosity hair. Bonus: warm up your towel or t-shirt a bit before covering your head to further optimize the effects. If you use cellophane, add a hot towel on top for the same result: a sauna effect at a lower cost!- The gentlest way: for the
nourishing care
If you prefer to avoid suffocating your scalp for 30 minutes to 2 hours, you can opt for a gentler solution: slightly warm your treatment. Be careful, you don’t get burned! It should be slightly warmed in a bain-marie, so that the hair scales benefit from the heat during application. We don’t recommend this method for moisturizers, as the watery part of them would evaporate and goodbye to the benefits!
Don’t forget
In both cases, and whether the treatment is nourishing or moisturizing, apply it from the roots to the ends: all your hair needs it, it would be a shame to limit yourself to the lengths!
As a reminder, avoid shampooing after moisturizing treatments: on the contrary, it is better to use a nourishing treatment before shampooing, and a leave-in moisturizer afterwards to optimize the effects!
Warning:
Open your scales with a hair dryer? A bad idea! It’s an aggression that your poor hair doesn’t need at all!
Care for hair with normal porosity
Lucky girl! You have the type of hair we all dream of: easy to maintain! Your hair easily draws on the care you give it. Take advantage of this and continue to pamper them: ban the perms and other heating devices, and offer them moisturizing and nourishing masks and conditioners in quantity, they will thank you! And above all, don’t forget your spikes!
Care for highly porous hair
Your cuticles are very spread out and therefore absorb moisturizing and nourishing care very well… But do not keep them! The result is that even if you drink a lot, your hair is still dry and damaged and needs more care. This is often the case with relaxed Afro hair or hair that has been subjected to numerous perms and other heated appliances.
The solutions
Your best friends: cold water, lemon and cider vinegar. They will close up your scales, which will then be able to retain the benefits that you provide them. Follow the guide.
- Make your own rinse water. In 1 liter of water, dilute the juice of a lemon or 3 tablespoons of cider vinegar (which is also a very good
anti-dandruff
). Pour this mixture after rinsing your
shampoo
and that’s it! You can of course alternate to vary the pleasures!
- Always finish your rinsing with a jet of cold water. We know it’s hard, but it’s a must for porous hair: the cuticles tighten and thus retain the moisture and nutrition provided by the care.
Don’t forget
If your porosity is low, your cuticles are very damaged and therefore deserve gentle care. Don’t skimp on nourishing masks and oil baths, apply moisturizing care without rinsing, detangle with your fingers or a wide toothbrush or boar bristles, use a silk or satin pillowcase… In short, pamper them!
Bonus: Once you’ve wiped your hair dry, apply a few drops of vegetable oil, focusing on the lengths and ends to seal in the moisture. Moisturized, shiny, nourished hair: the winning combo!
We can never say it enough: beautiful hair also requires a healthy lifestyle and a rich and healthy diet. To give yourself a boost, don’t hesitate to turn to food supplements: Resolution No. 1 and
Hair Boost
will stimulate your hair growth and slow down hair loss.
And because Madame President doesn’t forget anyone, you can also turn to
Mister
if you are a man, Mama if you are pregnant or breastfeeding or
Little President
for children from 4 years old.
