Can anyone help me do my hair type analysis?

[DizzyGinger]

Heyyy ladies. I'm hoping for some help. I'm trying to do a self-analysis on my hair type but frankly it is very hard for me to tell these things! Now that I've determined that I'm 2b/2c, I want to address some other important factors like porosity, density etc. Would love to throw some info at ya'll and see what you think?

Okay, density! This was very tough. I feel like it shouldn't be. The very front of my head has thinned a bit, sadly, I think from some of my meds. But the rest remains normal. I took a photo of my scalp which is really gross and I'm sorry to show you my head in such detail lol. Also there's a couple bits of product in there I'm sooo sorry. I feel like it's normal density but I'm really unsure.

http://i.imgur.com/q2US9mL.jpg?1

As for texture, I'm pretty sure my individual hair is at least normal, if not thick. It feels wiry when I roll it between my thumb and forefinger. Completely random but I saw a member on the coarse hair thread say they could pick up a pair of scissors with a single strand of hair, which made me incredibly curious. so I picked up my glasses with a strand, worked pretty well haha. But I'm not so sure that's really a thick hair thing.

http://i.imgur.com/ZN6932y.jpg?1

Finally, I checked for strength...For porosity, I read on this one site to touch your hair when it's wet, like fresh from washing but blotted with a towel, and then see if it feels like its dry already, if it feels wet, or feels sticky. None of this makes sense to me. My hair felt damp, it was damp, what the heck? Haha, so I did the old-fashioned method of putting a strand of hair in a glass of water. Mine stayed right on top.

Then elasticity, another difficult one. How on earth do these people grip their hair to stretch it?? My fingers just slip off, my hair is too smooth! So I wrapped it around both fingers and tried that, my hair stretched a good amount for half a second, then my fingers slipped again lol. Why does this seem so easy for other people? How do you grip your hair to stretch it?

Any other info I should factor in?

[meteor]

For thickness, I'd look into ponytail circumference measurement (with a measuring tape or a string used around a tight ponytail).
The scalp picture looks normal :), so there isn't much information that can be gleaned from it, I believe.

The strand picture kind of looks medium (?) strand thickness to me but that's not something that can be easily judged from a photo, I think... take a look at this thread for a possible way of measuring it: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=136858

For porosity... the most important question is: is your hair virgin? was it heat-styled, color-treated, chemically straightened/curled, for example? did it have a lot of sun exposure or was it exposed to lots of wear & tear or manipulation? Virgin hair typically has lower to normal porosity (the closer to the roots, the lower the porosity on average, other things being equal, because typically hair will have gone through less damage if it's newer). The more damage hair undergoes, the more porous it typically becomes.

[DizzyGinger]

For porosity... the most important question is: is your hair virgin? was it heat-styled, color-treated, chemically straightened/curled, for example? did it have a lot of sun exposure or was it exposed to lots of wear & tear or manipulation? Virgin hair typically has lower to normal porosity (the closer to the roots, the lower the porosity on average, other things being equal, because typically hair will have gone through less damage if it's newer). The more damage hair undergoes, the more porous it typically becomes.

Well my hair has definitely been through a lot! It has been heat styled, dyed, and bleached a lot the last few years, though I'd say about half of my hair now has only been dyed 1-2x and gotten bleached highlights. Would that automatically make it porous? Does that water test not work? 'Cause it didn't seem to absorb any water and sink at all. But I don't know if thats really accurate or not.

[H o n є y ❤]

If I recall correctly, you were the one who just hennaed your hair right? I've heard that henna can lower hair porosity. So you could take that into account.

I personally do not like the float test. I usually follow the test from this website instead:
http://www.hairfinder.com/hair4/porosity-test.htm


The simplest way to test the porosity of the hair is to get a spray bottle with water that will generate a fine mist. You also need to start with clean, dry hair with no product in it. (Preferably hair that was shampooed the night before as blow drying can leave the cuticle swollen and will make the hair seem more porous.)

Simply comb a segment of hair and hold it in hand, then holding the sprayer at least 6-8 inches away, spritz the hair and watch the way the water reacts with the hair. If the water is immediately absorbed and disappears then the hair is porous. If the water beads up or begins rolling off the hair immediately, the hair is non-porous (what we call resistant).

However, like the float test, I'm not 100% sure of it's accuracy. I think that if you really want to know your hair's porosity you should look into getting an actual hair analysis. There's a lady on etsy who does it. https://www.etsy.com/listing/158218594/hair-analysis-physical-properties-of

I believe the full analysis is $30, so I understand if you don't want to pay that LOL :D. But she also has a mini analysis for $16. It tells your density, porosity and more.

[DizzyGinger]

Oh, I just checked out that post you linked, very cool! I cut off one of my toothbrush bristles and laid it next to a couple strands of hair and they were almost exactly the same. It's a soft bristle toothbrush so I'm assuming that maybe my hair is somewhere around 200 microns?

[meteor]

Does that water test not work? 'Cause it didn't seem to absorb any water and sink at all. But I don't know if thats really accurate or not.

The float test doesn't work very well for multiple reasons (e.g. surface tension, coating on hair, etc...), this post explains it well: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/12/testing-float-test-for-hair-porosity.html and http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2015/02/hair-porosity-float-test.html
Here is a good post on the same blog about a very approximate porosity measurement: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/hair-porosity-how-to-measure-sort-of.html

And as H o n є y ❤ mentioned, there are hair analysis services out there... Examples: Komaza Care Personal Hair Analysis (http://www.komazahaircare.com/personal-hair-analysis.htm) and GooseFootPrints (Wendy from Science-y Hair Blog) on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/158218594/hair-analysis-physical-properties-of)

[DizzyGinger]

If I recall correctly, you were the one who just hennaed your hair right? I've heard that henna can lower hair porosity. So you could take that into account.

I personally do not like the float test. I usually follow the test from this website instead:
http://www.hairfinder.com/hair4/porosity-test.htm



However, like the float test, I'm not 100% sure of it's accuracy. I think that if you really want to know your hair's porosity you should look into getting an actual hair analysis. There's a lady on etsy who does it. I'm gonna try to find the link and post it here.

Yes I did just henna! So maybe that helped if I DID have a higher porosity from heat and chemical dyes? I did that test (lovin' all this info!) because I just happened to shampoo last night, no conditioner or product, woohoo what a good coincidence. It beaded and rolled away - so less porosity?

[DizzyGinger]

The float test doesn't work very well for multiple reasons (e.g. surface tension, coating on hair, etc...), this post explains it well: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2014/12/testing-float-test-for-hair-porosity.html and http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2015/02/hair-porosity-float-test.html
Here is a good post on the same blog about a very approximate porosity measurement: http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/hair-porosity-how-to-measure-sort-of.html

And as H o n є y ❤ mentioned, there are hair analysis services out there... Examples: Komaza Care Personal Hair Analysis (http://www.komazahaircare.com/personal-hair-analysis.htm) and GooseFootPrints (Wendy from Science-y Hair Blog) on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/listing/158218594/hair-analysis-physical-properties-of)

Thank you! I couldn't possibly afford to do hair analysis, I'm ok with just doing it at home, but there do seem to be some good ways to get approximate results on your own!

[littlestarface]

Well I did that porosity float test and it's pretty accurate for me I have non porous hair. I need heat to open up the cuticle and let whatever I want in or else it not going in no matter what.

[lapushka]

For thickness, I'd look into ponytail circumference measurement (with a measuring tape or a string used around a tight ponytail).
The scalp picture looks normal :), so there isn't much information that can be gleaned from it, I believe.

Yes, the only way to tell is to make a ponytail and to measure around it (circumference), and don't include the elastic (goes without saying, but you know... you never know LOL).

[littlestarface]

OP when I was trying to figure out all my crap I went here http://www.naturallycurly.com/curlreading/wavy-hair-type-2/hair-porosity-and-density/ they have nice instructions on how to figure out what type of hair you have.

Don't forget to look at the right side, theres even more tests to go through.