Thanks to naturallycurly Dot com I have

[misspurdy06]

Determined my hair is indeed coarse, 2b, low porosity, and medium density.

It had simple, easy to do tests to determine these things about hair.


Not long boring descriptions of things you're not sure apply to you or not just easy and straight forward.

For example. To determine the porosity of your hair just take a couple of strands out of your brush and put them in a bowl of water for 2 to 4 minutes. If your hair sinks then it has high porosity. If it floats its low porosity.


I don't know if this is a faux pas or has been written about already. I just wanted to share.

[brave]

The porosity test always confuses me. My hair feels very rough and bumpy when I do the finger test, but it never sinks in water that I see. So I don't know which it is.

[misspurdy06]

The porosity test always confuses me. My hair feels very rough and bumpy when I do the finger test, but it never sinks in water that I see. So I don't know which it is.
If it doesn't sink then you have your answer.

The bumps you feel could just be damage.

[longhairedleah]

interesting! I'm going to take a look, thanks!

[earthnut]

I don't trust the floating test. It doesn't make sense to me. Sponges float, and they're definitely porous. I know my hair is porous, but it floats (unless i push it down).

I found http://www.livecurlylivefree.com/ as well as nc.com to be very helpful learning about hair properties and what they tell you about hair care. Hair thickness, porosity, and elasticity are more important for determining how to care for hair than hair curl pattern or density.

I like to test properties with one shed hair:

Roll it between your fingers to find hair thickness.

Slide your fingers along the hair. If the hair is smooth in both directions, it has low porosity. If one way is rough and sandpaper like, it has high porosity. If one way is bumpy but not very rough, it has medium porosity. High porosity hair also will soak up a lot of oils and product. Low porosity hair will feel greasy with not much product. Low porosity hair tends to need moisture. High porosity hair tends to need proteins.

Last, take both ends of the hair and pull gently, not trying to break it. If the hair breaks without stretching much, the hair has low elasticity. If it stretches but does not return to the original length, it is overly elastic. If it stretches 20-50% and then returns to its original length, it has good elasticity. Low elasticity hair usually has too much protein or too little moisture. Overly elastic hair usually has too much moisture or too little protein. Elasticity changes depending on the hair treatment you do so it's a good test to do every so often to check on the health of the hair.

Stiff, straw like hair can indicate too much protein or too little moisture. Limp, fly away hair can indicate too much moisture or too little protein.

Hair frequently has conflicting properties (like my own) but that gives you a starting point to figure out the best products.

[earthnut]

The porosity test always confuses me. My hair feels very rough and bumpy when I do the finger test, but it never sinks in water that I see. So I don't know which it is.

It feels rough and bumpy, it's porous. I find the floating test unreliable.

[spirals]

Then I have low porosity. It soaks up all the water in the air anyway. In high humidity it gets BIG.

[brave]

It feels rough and bumpy, it's porous. I find the floating test unreliable.

This makes sense to me. My hair is very coarse but seems to like protein. It's not particularly fragile, it's just always dry and loves moisturizers. However it does not feel "mushy", ever, and it definitely doesn't dry QUICKLY, just over-dries when it finally does dry.

[hellucy]

Last, take both ends of the hair and pull gently, not trying to break it. If the hair breaks without stretching much, the hair has low elasticity. If it stretches but does not return to the original length, it is overly elastic. If it stretches 20-50% and then returns to its original length, it has good elasticity. Low elasticity hair usually has too much protein or too little moisture. Overly elastic hair usually has too much moisture or too little protein. Elasticity changes depending on the hair treatment you do so it's a good test to do every so often to check on the health of the hair.

I always have problems with this part as I don't seem to be able to 'grip' the hair it just slips through my fingers so I can't tell if its stretching or just sliding - In desperation I have even tried holding both ends of the hair with tweezers but it STILL slides out :confused: I must have super slippy hair.

[earthnut]

More info on measuring porosity:

http://scienceyhairblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/hair-porosity-how-to-measure-sort-of.html