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Curly hair is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get. It could be super-defined one day and a frizzy concoction the next day – and it's never exactly the same from one head to another. Our mission is to equip you with the necessary tools for restoring and maintaining healthy locks and celebrating the hair you were born with! 

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I am highly experienced in the beauty industry and specialize in writing for brands and websites that focus on curly hair care. Moreover, I actually have curly hair and have curly-haired children with varying hair textures. I am also surrounded by curly-haired friends, including curly hairstylists and curly-haired family members. You get the point :) I’m well-versed in the language and nuances of curly hair care, styling tips, and product recommendations.

Furthermore, I collaborate with my friend who has a Ph.D. in organic and inorganic chemistry and works as an R&D Chemist to help us navigate through the misinformation around curly hair care. He advises us on Hair Care Science to ensure we are well-informed.

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Last Updated on April 10, 2023 by Verna Meachum

If you have porous hair, you know that the products you use can either make your hair look and feel great or make it worse.

Porous hair is a common problem for those with curly and kinky hair. The cuticles are raised and the strands are unable to hold onto moisture, which makes the hair dry, frizzy, and difficult to style.

Fortunately, there are products available that can help correct the porosity of the hair and keep it looking healthy and shiny.

In this post, we’ll discuss what porous hair is, what causes it, and how to correct and maintain its condition using porosity-correcting products. Stay tuned!

If you’re curious or in a hurry:

This specific product is my absolute favorite for my porous hair! This is a very hard product to find and hard to keep in stock, so snatch it while you can.

What Is Porous Hair

Everyone’s hair strands have a certain level of porosity, and these levels range from low to high and can differ greatly from one person to another.

Not sure whether your strands are porous or maybe you don’t even know what that means.

In simple terms, hair porosity refers to a strand of hair’s ability to absorb and hold moisture. But here’s a look into Merriam-Webster as it pertains to something being porous— it possesses or is full of pores.

And, just like your skin your hair also has pores—although not the same type. All hair is porous, but damaged strands are even more intensely porous.

Hair that is high porosity can be a genetic trait. On the other hand, you may have high porosity hair as a result of damage that was caused by something that degraded or changed the cuticles, like a chemical process.

The greater the amount of damage the cuticle has sustained, the more porous or the permeable the hair is.

How To Know If Your Hair Is Porous

How do you know if your hair is porous? Usually, your hair’s cuticles do not lay flat and moisture escapes easily, causing frizz and excessive dryness. The more damage the cuticle has suffered, the greater the hair’s porosity and the more water or moisture it tends to absorb.

You may be thinking, “If my hair is dry, absorbs moisture easily, this is great, right? Not necessarily.

The downside of this high level of absorption is the high level of moisture loss that results from it. Highly porous hair absorbs more water when wet, but loses even more as it dries.

When it is dry, porous hair feels swollen, puffy and rough to the touch due to the lifted, damaged cuticle layers, which have instigated an inherent moisture deficiency.

Once porous hair becomes damaged, it becomes very difficult to maintain. Why? Because the protein structure has been compromised and the hair has lost its elasticity, causing it to become moisture deficient.

Highly porous hair that is damaged is very fragile and weak. Weaker hair will break easier than healthy hair.

Reasons Hair Becomes Porous

There are a number of reasons why hair can become porous. The most common reason is the use of high heat styling tools. Whether you’re using a curling iron, flat iron, or blow dryer, these devices can cause the hair shaft to become dry and brittle, leading to damage.

Brushing your hair often can also lead to porous hair. When you brush your hair, you’re essentially tearing through the strands, which can damage the cuticles and make the hair more susceptible to damage.

Hair can also become porous with a lot of sun exposure or damage from chemical treatments, such as bleaching, straightening, or perming.

Shampooing your hair frequently with harsh chemicals can also lead to porous hair. These sulfates are known to cause hair frizz, strip hair of moisture, leaving it dry and unhealthy.

Swimming in chlorinated water or salt water can also lead to porous hair. Chlorine not only strips away natural oils, it also leaves hair porosity and makes it more brittle.

Porous hair loses moisture easily. It will seem to absorb any kind of hair product, often feeling dry, brittle, rough and bumpy. It is also difficult to get porous hair to feel soft and pliable.

Bleached Damaged Hair

Here’s a before and after photo of my bleached damaged hair. My hair was severely dehydrated, the curly were stretched-out (meaning the curl pattern was elongated), brittle, and breaking.

I was using Olaplex no. 3, but it stopped working for my hair. After desperately searching for a solution to help my porosity issue and my hair’s severe dryness, I somehow came across the Roux Porosity Control Corrector and Conditioner on Google and I felt the stars had finally aligned for this product to work on my hair.

Here is the result after 4 months of using this product.

From porous damaged curls to healthy curls.
Bleached damaged curls to healthy curls.

I started using it every week and immediately saw and felt a difference. It is now a product that I will not be without and it has become a staple in my hair care arsenal.

The Roux Porosity Control Corrector and Conditioner has been the game changer that my hair needed to come back to life. It literally infused moisture, added manageability, and softness.

4 Porosity Correcting Hair Products To Try

Hair porosity is one of the most important factors to consider when selecting products for your hair.

If you have high porosity hair and it’s damaged, it’s essential to use products that will help to seal in moisture and protect your curls from excessive dryness.

Here are a list of my recommendations:

Porosity correcting treatment for porous damaged hair - The Roux

Roux Porosity Control Corrector and Conditioner

If you have chemical damage from bleach or relaxers, etc. that left your hair extremely porous, dry, dehydrated, and brittle, then this is for you.

This equalizes porosity, returns hair to a balanced state, and infuses moisture for increased smoothness and vibrancy.

This scientifically proven formula is enriched with keratin and anti-oxidant vitamins. It also “closes” the cuticle with a pH of 4.5 to rebuild a barrier of protection and achieve predictable results prior to chemical service.

I love that it takes only 2 minutes and it does exactly what it says. Your hair will feel and be stronger. This doubles as a great finishing rinse.

This is my favorite porosity correcting formula.

  • Can be used weekly
  • Contains Isopropyl Alcohol (but this formula does NOT dry your hair out)
Porosity correcting treatment for porous damaged hair - Redken

Redken Extreme Bleach Recovery Lamellar Treatment 

This is a rinse out treatment and conditioner that instantly moisturizes and nourishes bleached hair, color treated hair, and damaged hair.

It’s like a liquid bandage for hair that has been damaged after receiving highlights or color.

This hair treatment, which is meant to be applied to wet hair, warms on contact and instantly improves softness, smoothness, and shine.

Porosity correcting treatment for porous damaged hair - White Sands

White Sands Porosity The Fix

The Fix acts as your foundation and concealer to temporarily fill in the blemishes found in each strand.

This is a liquid spray that can be used while hair is wet or dry.

Hair will feel soft, smoothed, and healthy-looking.

Contains silicone (for those following the CG method).

Porosity correcting treatment for porous damaged hair - Senscience

Senscience CPR Cuticle Porosity Reconstructive Treatment.

This is an intensive two-step in salon restorative treatment that repairs the cuticle porosity deficiencies by replenishing vital nutrients that have been depleted from hair.

It fortifies, moisturizes, and protects hair.

Formulated with Keratin, Silk Amino Acids and Bio-Structurer to penetrate damaged cuticle layers to repair, smooth, and seal.

FAQs

Can porous hair be repaired?

Once you have damaged porous hair it is hard to “repair” it. It can really only be treated. On some occasions someone with porous hair has seen some improvement after using a protein treatment but more often than not, the damage cannot be reversed.

It is important that you understand that if your hair is damaged, this does not mean that your only choice for achieving healthy hair is to cut it off. There are ways to help make it more manageable even when in a damaged state.

You just have to find what works best for you!

Is damaged hair porous?

All hair is porous to some degree. Damaged hair is simply more porous.

Can you have healthy porous hair?

Absolutely! Porous hair does not mean for certain that your hair is unhealthy. There are a lot of different types of porous hair.

If I have high porosity hair, does it mean it’s damaged?

It’s a difficult question to answer because it high porosity hair can be a genetic trait. You can have high porosity hair without having damaged hair, but it is possible that your high porosity hair can be the result of damage.

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