Answer 7 quick questions about how your hair takes in water, dries and reacts to products to find out if it's low, medium or high porosity, plus what to use, what to skip and how often to deep condition.
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Low Porosity Hair
Your hair's cuticle lies flat and tightly packed, so water and products struggle to get in. The upside: once moisture is inside, it stays. Your goal is to help moisture in and keep buildup off, with light, water-based formulas and a little warmth.
Deep condition
Every 2–4 weeks, always with gentle heat
Protein
Every 6–8 weeks at most
Clarify
Every 2–4 weeks
Styler
Mousse, foam or a light gel
Signs you'll recognize
Water beads up, and your hair takes a while to get fully wet
It stays damp for hours after washing
Creams sit on top or leave a white film
It feels smooth, sometimes stiff or coated
What to use
Water-based milks, lotions, liquid leave-ins and light gels
Humectants such as glycerin, aloe vera, honey and panthenol
A few drops of argan, grapeseed or jojoba oil
What to avoid
Heavy butters such as shea and cocoa
Thick oils such as castor, and layering several oils
Frequent protein treatments, which can leave hair stiff and brittle
Care tips
Apply products to warm, soaking-wet hair. Start with a nickel-size amount and emulsify it with water in your palms first.
Deep condition under a shower cap and a warm towel, or a hooded dryer on low, for 15–20 minutes.
Layer in the LCO order (liquid, cream, then oil), keeping the oil as a light final layer.
Read the first five ingredients. If butters or heavy oils show up there, the product is probably too rich for your hair.
Use about a third less product than you think you need, and clarify before you blame a product that has stopped working.
Your hair's cuticle is slightly raised, so moisture gets in and stays in without much effort. Medium porosity is the low-maintenance middle: it takes color predictably, holds a style and rarely feels coated or parched. The aim is simply to keep it there.
Deep condition
Every 1–2 weeks
Protein
A light treatment every 4–6 weeks
Clarify
About once a month
Styler
Gel, or cream plus gel
Signs you'll recognize
Your hair wets evenly in the shower
It dries in a moderate amount of time
Products absorb well without leaving a film
It feels soft and elastic
What to use
A balanced conditioner at every wash
A light cream leave-in
Light to medium oils
A heat protectant whenever you use hot tools
What to avoid
Over-processing: space out bleach and color sessions
High heat without a protectant
Weekly protein treatments when your hair isn't damaged
Care tips
Keep a simple rhythm: regular conditioner every wash, a deep conditioner every one to two weeks and a light protein treatment every four to six weeks.
Space out bleach and color. Chemical processing is the fastest route from medium to high porosity.
Mixed porosity, with healthy roots and porous ends? Use lightweight products near the scalp and save richer creams and oils for the last few inches.
Do the elasticity test once a month: a wet strand that stretches a little and springs back is balanced, one that snaps needs moisture, and one that stays stretched or feels gummy needs protein.
Give any new product three or four washes before you judge it.
Your hair's cuticle is lifted, chipped or has gaps, so moisture rushes in and escapes just as quickly. Bleach, color, relaxers, heat, sun and chlorine all raise porosity. Your goal is to fill those gaps with protein and rich conditioners, then seal the moisture in.
Deep condition
Weekly, with protein every 2nd or 3rd session
Protein
Every 2–4 weeks
Seal
LOC: liquid, then oil, then cream
Styler
Cream plus a strong-hold gel
Signs you'll recognize
Your hair is soaked through in seconds
It air-dries quickly
Products vanish and your hair wants more
It feels rough, tangles easily and frizzes in humidity
Color takes fast but fades fast
What to use
Hydrolyzed wheat, rice, silk or keratin protein
Rich conditioners with shea or mango butter and fatty alcohols such as cetyl and cetearyl alcohol
Olive, avocado or castor oil to seal the ends
What to avoid
Hot water, and hot tools above 350°F (175°C)
Harsh sulfates
Drying alcohols such as alcohol denat. or isopropyl alcohol near the top of the label
Skipping a sealant after your leave-in
Care tips
Seal with the LOC method: a liquid or leave-in, then an oil, then a cream. A dime-size amount of oil on the ends is plenty.
Rinse with lukewarm or cool water. Hot water swells the hair shaft and strips oil faster.
Watch the protein–moisture balance: mushy, limp or overly stretchy wet hair needs more protein; stiff hair that snaps needs more moisture.
Use a heat protectant every time, and protect your hair from strong sun and pool chlorine.
Book regular trims. No product permanently closes a damaged cuticle, so healthy new growth is the lasting fix.
This quiz gives you a starting point for your routine, not a diagnosis. If you notice scalp itching, flaking or soreness, hair loss or unusual shedding, or a sudden change in your hair's texture, see a board-certified dermatologist or a trichologist.
Why Hair Porosity Matters
Porosity is how easily your hair absorbs water and how well it holds on to it. It's controlled by the cuticle, the layer of overlapping cells that wraps every strand like shingles on a roof. When the cuticle lies flat (low porosity), water and products struggle to get in, but moisture stays once it's there. When it's slightly raised (medium porosity), moisture gets in and stays without much effort. When it's lifted, chipped or gapped (high porosity), moisture rushes in and escapes just as fast.
That's why the same conditioner can feel perfect on one head and greasy or useless on another, and why porosity often matters more than curl pattern when you're choosing products. Any texture, from 2A waves to 4C coils, can be low, medium or high porosity, so it's worth taking the curl type quiz too.
How this quiz scores your answers
No at-home test is lab-grade, so the quiz looks for a pattern across several everyday clues: how fast your hair gets wet and dries, what products do once they're on, how it feels, how long moisture lasts and what your hair has been through. Each answer adds points to low, medium or high porosity. The float and spray tests count for less than the other questions, because a trace of oil or conditioner, or a tiny air bubble, can keep almost any strand afloat. If your answers split almost evenly, the quiz points you to medium-porosity care, the balanced middle ground.
Porosity can change
Genetics set your baseline, but bleach, permanent color, relaxers, hot tools, UV exposure and chlorine all wear away the cuticle and raise porosity over time. Because your ends are years older than your roots, it's common to have lower porosity near the scalp and higher porosity at the tips. Retake the quiz every few months or after any color or chemical service, and give each routine change three or four washes before you judge it. For product-by-product details, read low vs high porosity hair, and use the guide to deep conditioning curly hair to set your mask schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the hair porosity float test accurate?
Not very. Oil, product residue, strand thickness and the water's surface tension can all make a strand float or sink regardless of its porosity. That's why this quiz gives it less weight than how your hair wets, dries and responds to products.
Can hair porosity change over time?
Yes. Bleach, color, relaxers, heat styling, sun and chlorine all raise porosity by damaging the cuticle. New growth comes in at your natural baseline, so your roots and ends can behave differently.
How often should I deep condition for my porosity?
As a starting point: low porosity every two to four weeks with gentle heat, medium porosity every one to two weeks, and high porosity weekly, with a protein treatment every second or third session. Scale back if your hair turns limp and step up if it feels rough.
Confused about hair porosity? Learn how to test for low vs high porosity hair, what each type needs, what to avoid and which myths to ignore. Find yours!
Deep conditioning curly hair the right way: how often by porosity, step-by-step with heat, moisture vs protein masks and safe DIY recipes. Revive dry curls!
These 12 common curly hair mistakes are why your curls go frizzy, flat, stringy or dry, plus the simple fix for each one. See which ones you're making!
