Good porosity means that the hair absorbs and retains water well, with moderately open cuticles, making it easy to moisturize and resilient.

During the porosity test, the hair absorbs water neither too slowly nor too quickly and remains in the middle of the water column. The cuticles are open, but not excessively so. Water enters the hair and can retain moisture. 

For hair care, you can adapt your treatments to all your hair's needs.

Deep treatments, such as masks, are often performed with steam baths to allow the treatment to penetrate deeply and open the scales.

Humectants (for example: vegetable glycerin, honey, etc.) help retain hair moisture. Their role is to absorb and retain water, even from the air. It is therefore advisable to add them to your daily moisturizing routine. This way, regardless of your hair's porosity level, it will always have moisture available, whether from the air or your hair care products.

The temperature of the water used for moisturizing or washing also influences the opening or closing of the cuticles, as does the climate. Cold water tightens the cuticles, while heat opens them—which is ideal for applying plant-based butters like shea butter or oils like castor oil, particularly suited to humid tropical climates and curly hair.

The limescale present in some water, especially in the West, can clog the cuticles and make hair brittle and dry. The final rinse technique, using mineral or soft water combined with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, helps to remove limescale and tighten the cuticles.

You can use all types of oils (thick or light) or vegetable or organic butters, depending on their properties. Among the possible choices are: thick oils (castor, black castor, etc.), vegetable butters (shea, mango, etc.), organic butters (cow's butter), or light oils (coconut, palm kernel, avocado, etc.). They nourish and condition the hair without locking in moisture, according to their specific properties.

Changes in hair texture or appearance also influence hair porosity.

For example, hair straightened with an iron has closed cuticles, because the passage of the iron aligns them in the direction of closure, even if steam or heat can open them momentarily.

Certain hair treatments, such as bleaching or straightening, permanently alter the hair and damage the hair fiber and cuticles. Even the best treatments cannot restore the hair's original structure, but they can help it survive despite this damage.

When the cuticles are damaged, their natural opening and closing mechanisms are destroyed. This type of hair, having high porosity, requires deeper and more frequent care than natural hair.

The healthiest option is to cut the damaged hair once new growth is present and the desired length is reached, or more radically, without waiting.

In any case, if you currently have good porosity , that's excellent: your hair care routine is suitable. However, porosity evolves and is neither permanent nor strictly genetic, as natural hair adapts its cuticles according to many factors (climate, gestures, hairstyles, treatments, etc.).

The key is to understand your hair and know how to adapt to its needs in order to facilitate its care and take care of yourself. Adapting to your hair's needs makes life easier and helps you take better care of yourself.

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