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6 Signs Of High Porosity Hair & How To Fix It In 2024
Updated on
- Written by Krista Bugden, Professional Health Writer
Medically reviewed by
Kathy Shattler, MS, RDN
Are you wondering why your hair dries so fast? Are you continuously applying moisturizers to tame frizziness and flyaways? Have you been trying to grow your hair but can’t get it past a specific length?
If TikTok has made us aware of anything, it’s hair care. From curly to thin hair, the internet is flooded with more hair tips than ever, offering even the least knowledgeable amongst us access to easy and simple strategies. But if your hair is feeling like a constant dry and frizzy mess, you might have high porosity hair.
High porosity hair requires specific hair care, such as regularly using deep-condition hair products to avoid breakage and achieve luxurious locks. In this article, we dive into the signs of high porosity hair and how you can grow it to your desired length.
What Are High-Porosity Hair Characteristics?
High porosity hair signs include:
- Dry hair.
- Lacking smoothness.
- Frizziness.
- Tangles easily.
- Frequent breakage.
- Air dries quickly.
Key Signs Of High Porosity Hair
So, what does high-porosity hair look like? High porosity hair characteristics include the following signs. Do you have high porosity hair? Let’s find out.
Dry Hair
A major sign of high hair porosity is dry hair since, as previously mentioned, this type of hair struggles to retain moisture even though it absorbs it very easily. This type of hair is like a sponge; it absorbs and releases moisture quickly.
This may mean that you’re often reapplying hair oils, deep conditioners, and other products in an effort to tame the dryness. You might also notice that you rarely have greasy hair — yet, another sign of highly porous hair!
Lacking Smoothness
Are you constantly trying to create that smooth and shiny finish but with no luck? Your hair’s porosity level could be to blame. With high porosity hair, the cuticles are actually lifted, and this can give way to a lack of smooth and shiny texture.
Frizziness
This is probably the most frustrating part of having highly porous hair. Whereas normal porosity hair retains moisture just right, hair strands with high porosity lose moisture quickly. This creates dryness and, yes, frizziness!
You may find yourself trying to tame flyaways, with only strong gels or hairsprays doing the trick. However, moisturizing shampoos and conditioners may also help with this problem (more on this below).
Tangles Easily
Due to the lifted cuticles in this hair type, the hair shaft becomes rough. This means that the individual hair strands easily tangle together. After a day of wearing your hair down, you might find matted hair and tangles that are frustrating to get out.
Frequent Breakage
If every time you brush, hair strands get pulled out, you might have a porous hair problem. This also indicates serious hair breakage, hindering your efforts to grow long locks.
Air Dries Quickly
With this hair type, you might find your hair dries faster than others. This is due to its inability to retain moisture. You might also notice the above signs of frizziness, lack of smoothness, and tangling as it dries.
What Is High Porosity Hair?
High porosity hair is hair that soaks up oils and water very easily. While you might think this saves your hair from dryness, it doesn’t keep this moisture like other hair types.
The outermost part of each hair shaft, the base of every hair strand, consists of multiple hair cuticles, which help prevent damage to the inner part of the hair strand. If these cuticles are close together, you’ll have low-porosity hair. In contrast, high-porosity hair consists of cuticles spread apart, allowing moisture to enter the hair easily. However, this also means the hair doesn’t retain moisture very well. Besides, there is medium porosity hair.
Most often, highly porous hair happens due to the overuse of heat styling, certain chemical hair products, or chemical treatments on the hair. For instance, frequent bleaching can lead to this hair type. Yet, your hair’s porosity may also depend on your genetics.
How To Fix High Porosity Hair
Despite signs of high porosity hair, there are various ways to treat your hair properly and give it the love it deserves. Here are a few tips for doing just that!
- Use a cotton T-shirt to dry your hair. The use of a towel may lead to more breakage. However, cotton is smooth and will limit friction on the hair, protecting it from damage.
- Use lukewarm or cool water on your hair. When washing or conditioning your hair, we want to help the hair stay hydrated while limiting damage. Lukewarm and cool water won’t lift the hair cuticle further, helping maintain moisture a bit better.
- Avoid or minimize hair heat tools. As mentioned above, frequent use of heat products on the hair can lead to severe damage and increasingly porous hair. Finding other ways to style your hair that don’t involve heat can go a long way toward reducing the porosity levels.
- Avoid or minimize tight hairstyles. These can pull on the hair, increasing raised cuticles and breakage.
- Steer clear of products containing sulfates, silicones, and parabens. These chemicals strip the hair of oil and moisture, leaving you high and dry. Instead, opt for natural hair oil, shampoo, and deep conditioner that provide hydration and don’t contain any excess chemicals.
- Reduce or avoid chemical treatments. Dying or bleaching our hair isn’t always what’s best for it. Sometimes, returning to our natural color can be the healthiest for our hair follicles while reducing breakage.
Ways To Grow High Porosity Hair
With high porosity hair, it can prove tough to grow it long. Yet, it’s not impossible! When striving to help your hair grow, try the above tips. Along with these few tips, taking a bit of extra care when detangling and washing less often can help reduce porosity. Deep conditioners and moisturizing shampoos to encourage water retention can go a long way.
Another key way to grow high porosity hair is by paying close attention to your diet. Collagen[1] is key for long and luxurious locks. Thus, taking collagen powder each day may be beneficial. Other hair supplements that may help include biotin,[2] vitamin C,[3] and vitamin D.[4]
Final Thoughts
If you have high-porosity hair, don’t panic! As per the above, there are many ways to treat this hair type properly and grow it to your desired length. Re-examine your hair care routine. What can you do differently?
Perhaps you can reduce how often you style your hair using heat. Or maybe your hair needs a break from chemical products or treatments like bleaching. Finding a routine that helps your hair retain moisture can help you get the smooth and shiny finish you’ve always wanted. While it may take some time and persistence, altering your hair porosity with the right care is entirely possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since high-porosity hair doesn’t retain moisture very well, it air dries very quickly when compared to natural or low-porosity hair.
High porosity hair often means you are more susceptible to damaged locks. Yet, proper care can improve your porosity levels, leading to healthy hair.
Since we don’t want to strip moisture from this hair type, the fewer washes, the better. You may need to experiment to find what works for you, but many with high porosity hair go for days or even a week without washing.
Major signs of high porosity hair include dryness, a lack of smoothness, frizziness, tangling easily, frequent breakage, and air drying quickly.
+ 4 sources
Health Canal avoids using tertiary references. We have strict sourcing guidelines and rely on peer-reviewed studies, academic researches from medical associations and institutions. To ensure the accuracy of articles in Health Canal, you can read more about the editorial process here
- Su Bin Hwang, Hyeon Ju Park and Lee, B.-H. (2022). Hair-Growth-Promoting Effects of the Fish Collagen Peptide in Human Dermal Papilla Cells and C57BL/6 Mice Modulating Wnt/β-Catenin and BMP Signaling Pathways. [online] 23(19), pp.11904–11904. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms231911904.
- Patel, D.P., Swink, S.M. and Castelo-Soccio, L. (2017). A Review of the Use of Biotin for Hair Loss. [online] 3(3), pp.166–169. doi:https://doi.org/10.1159/000462981.
- Almohanna, H.M., Ahmed, A., Tsatalis, J.P. and Tosti, A. (2018). The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Hair Loss: A Review. [online] 9(1), pp.51–70. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s13555-018-0278-6.
- Saini, K. and Mysore, V. (2021). Role of vitamin D in hair loss: A short review. [online] 20(11), pp.3407–3414. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jocd.14421.
Written by:
Krista Bugden, Professional Health Writer
Medically reviewed by:
Medically reviewed by:
