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4 Best Ways to Test Porosity for Your 4c Hair That Actually Works

The question in every curly-haired person is what is porosity, why is it important and most of all how to test your 4C hair and curly hair for porosity. Before that let’s answer the question, what is porosity? What Is Porosity? How to Test Your 4C Hair and Curly Hair for Porosity? Hair porosity is

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The question in every curly-haired person is what is porosity, why is it important and most of all how to test your 4C hair and curly hair for porosity. Before that let’s answer the question, what is porosity?

What Is Porosity? How to Test Your 4C Hair and Curly Hair for Porosity?

Hair porosity is where your hair showcases how well your hair absorbs the moisture and retains it. The outer layer of the hair, the cuticle’s flexibility is what affects porosity and determines it.

This will determine how your hair will absorb the oils and creams and how it will easily pass from in and out of your hair. Why is this important to know? Because if you know the natural porosity of your hair then you will know which products to use and what works best for your 4C hair.

There are three kinds of porosities:

Low Porosity:

This means your hair doesn’t absorb moisture easily. This can cause your hair to have build up. This also means your hair takes longer to absorb water and that can be difficult. The best way to manage your hair is to use lightweight products for your hair.

A lovely lightweight oil for low porosity hair is the Hollywood Beauty Soy Oil which helps your hair be moisturized but not weighed down.

Normal Porosity:

This type of hair is a combination of low and high porosity hair. This is great because it holds the right amount of moisture. The cuticle layer has a looser pattern and this helps your hair have a decent and moderate flow of moisture in and out of your hair. This type of hair is great for styling and colouring because it holds both pretty well.

For such hair products like Yari 100%, Natural Avocado Oil is wonderful because they aren’t too heavy on the hair and just the right amount is absorbed.

High Porosity:

This means your hair has raised cuticles and although it can absorb moisture easily, it also releases moisture easily. This type of hair is mostly characterized as frizzy and dry. This type of hair is generally caused due to genetics, hair treatments and damage due to the environment to name a few. In such circumstances, Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil Pure Butter With Coconut Oil is one such product that will help your hair be smooth and also have a great shine.

Read: How to Grow High Porosity Hair

How to Test Hair Porosity?

Natural hair porosity test isn’t that difficult. With your 4C hair porosity test, you should carry on at least 3 tests to have an accurate answer. You can take quizzes online.

These quizzes make aren’t 100% sure but they help you understand your hair better. The best way to take a hair porosity test is to take a strand of hair from different parts of your head. This is because your hair can have varying porosity all over your head. And yes, not many people know about this.

Also, in the end, go to a hair expert, ask them to conduct a porosity test.

Float Test

The float test basically means you take a strand of your natural 4C hair and put it in a bowl of water. It is advisable to do this natural hair porosity test on freshly washed hair because it is clean of all products and dirt.

Let it sit for two-five minutes and observe what happens to it. If it floats means it has low porosity, if it sinks gradually means it has normal porosity and if it sinks instantly it has high porosity.

Slip And Slide Test

This test is also known as the strand test. It basically means you take a strand of hair and slide your hands upwards from the bottom of the strand. If you feel it is smooth and silky means your hair is low porosity and if it has bumps then it is high porosity. Again, all these tests should be done on freshly washed hair. This test also can indicate many other things

  • If your hair is limp and sticky it means it needs protein.
  • If your hair is hard and rigid it has too much protein
  • If your hair looks and feels mangled and/or dry and brittle it needs moisture
  • Last but not the least, if your hair is soft but breaks easily and cannot be styled, means it has too much moisture.

Dry Test

The dry test is the easiest. Wash and condition your hair as per usual but do not put any more products after that. See how long your hair takes to dry as against how long your body takes to dry, in natural conditions.

So, do not wipe your body or your hair and see which dries faster. If your hair dries faster it is high porosity. A word of caution though, weather conditions like humidity or dry weather also play a big role in your hair drying.

So, this test can have different results in different seasons.

Watershed Test

This test is basically taking a section of your hair and spraying it with water. Observe how the water behaves with your hair. If it remains on your hair, it is low porosity and if it is absorbed by your hair, it is high porosity. A disclaimer again, this can vary from different weather conditions and even parts of your head. So, you may get varying results.

Now that you know what all affects your hair and how to carry out a porosity test on your natural 4C hair. We would like to advise you that not everything will work for everyone. Everyone has different hair types and your outer hair layer can give a different feel in different seasons, so if you carry out any test always make sure you do it in every season and see what works for you in that season.

For example, winters are drier than the rainy season, so check your hair porosity and understand what products work best for you in each season.

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