Doing the porosity test wrong!?

[ForestRose]

Need some help ladies. I always thought that I was high porosity because I would push my air into the water to make sure that it coats. Anyway I did everything to try and improve my porosity but my hair continued to break. So far i have tried roux shmpoo and conditioner, henna, sealing with heavy butters.

Now I realise that I may be doing the test wrong!

Does high porosity mean you just drop your hair in and it sinks? I'm so confused maybe that's why my hairs been so dry because I've been trying to correct porous hair when it could be the opposite of that.

Thank you for reading.

 

[faithVA]

Please share your wash day regimen with us and the conditions of your hair that made you think you were high porosity.

I'm not an expert on the test so not going to be much help there. But perhaps we may be able to help with why your hair is breaking.

Are you relaxed? natural? texlaxed? and what is your wash day regimen including methods and products.

 

[PJaye]

Although I believe porosity to exist on a continuum, here are a few general guidelines that may help you sort things through:

Low Porosity
Repels water and hair products
Difficulty absorbing and retaining moisture
More prone to an accumulation of protein
Needs little protein to thrive
Difficulty depositing color; color fades slowly
Requires products rich in emollients and humectants to attract and retain moisture

Normal Porosity
Absorbs and retains water and products well
Resists absorbing excess water and product
Easily maintains a balance between moisture and protein
Styling and coloring follows a predictable pattern
Requires occasional doses of protein

High Porosity
Absorbs excessive amounts of water and product
Deposits color easily; color fades quickly
Often feels dry, fragile and/or brittle
Requires lots of emollients and frequent doses of protein
Thrives with acidic rinses, oils and butters

Question: Could the breakage you're experiencing stem from a moisture-protein imbalance?

 

[ForestRose]

Please share your wash day regimen with us and the conditions of your hair that made you think you were high porosity.

I'm not an expert on the test so not going to be much help there. But perhaps we may be able to help with why your hair is breaking.

Are you relaxed? natural? texlaxed? and what is your wash day regimen including methods and products.

I'm natural. I've stopped using the roux shampoo and conditioner. Now I use Hollywood beauty's sulfate free shampoo and the argan oil deep condition. Which is what I was using before I started the whole porosity correction thing. I also use the aphogee two minute reconstructer as protein. I don't use them with heat either as I thought that, because I was high porosity, I didn't need to.

My hair always breaks with little bits all over. I've been finger detangling but its only helped part of the way. I know I need a nice big trim to offically start my journey as my split ends are probably holding me back. The first thing I need to know before I plan my regime is my porosity. I'm so confused

Do I just drop my hair in an wait? How long do I wait.. I know there are so many articles online but a lot are contradictory in how long you should wait, how you should drop it in, if you hair should be washed.

 

[Subscribe]

Could your hair be breaking off due to another reason?

 

[ajargon02]

Although I believe porosity to exist on a continuum, here are a few general guidelines that may help you sort things through:

Low Porosity
Repels water and hair products
Difficulty absorbing and retaining moisture
More prone to an accumulation of protein
Needs little protein to thrive
Difficulty depositing color; color fades slowly
Requires products rich in emollients and humectants to attract and retain moisture

Normal Porosity
Absorbs and retains water and products well
Resists absorbing excess water and product
Easily maintains a balance between moisture and protein
Styling and coloring follows a predictable pattern
Requires occasional doses of protein

High Porosity
Absorbs excessive amounts of water and product
Deposits color easily; color fades quickly
Often feels dry, fragile and/or brittle
Requires lots of emollients and frequent doses of protein
Thrives with acidic rinses, oils and butters

Question: Could the breakage you're experiencing stem from a moisture-protein imbalance?

You must be reading my mind! I was gonna post the same
Sounds like you need some MOISTURIZING conditioner treatment fast to balance your porosity. Do this with heat. You can checkout the science of black hair care site for moisturizing conditioner and info on porosity

 

[oneastrocurlie]

I wouldn't put too much stock in that water test. What PJaye posted is more in tune with helping to determine porosity.

I consider myself high porosity because my hair quickly soaks up water and dries somewhat quickly. Water based products don't sit on my hair and it does best with having protein weekly.

Does your hair exhibit similar things like in that list?

 

[BonBon]

I didnt like that test either.

I got a Komaza hair analysis which told me all I needed to know about the porosity and condition of my hair.

 

[bluenvy]

Porosity is very confusing. I am natural, no color. My hair floats in water, takes long to get wet and takes long to dry. I figure I'm low porosity, but my hair do better with lots of protein.
I have to m/s 3x weekly, my hair gets dry quickly if I dont. I'm confused because it seems like my hair is stuck in between low and high porosity?

 

[ForestRose]

Sorry about the late reply.

Thank you for all your advice. I'm going to put my hair in havana twists to give it a well deserved break and grow it out. My hair always breaks and I've realised that I'm not supposed to be pushing the hair into the water so I'm probably low porosity. So all the stuff I've been doing to increase my porosity wasn't really necessary and has dried out my hair. No more buns for me either until my havana twists go in. My edges + buns = patches so thats a no go for me.

thanks again