Best Products for High Porosity Hair + Care Tips
This post may contain affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please read the disclosure policy for more details.
High porosity hair absorbs water and product quickly, then loses moisture just as quickly. The cuticle scales sit open and spaced apart instead of lying flat, so nothing stays in for long. That’s why it tangles, frizzes, and dries out even when you condition it constantly.
Think of a sponge. The open pores let water in fast, but they also let it squeeze right back out. That is your hair.
Any curl type can be high porosity, and different sections of your head can behave differently. If you want the full picture across all three porosities, read my ultimate guide to hair porosity. If you already know this is you, keep reading for what to buy and how to care for it.
Signs You Have High Porosity Hair
- Gets soaking wet almost the second water hits it
- Air dries faster than you expect
- Soaks up product, then feels dry again the next day
- Tangles constantly
- Looks dull rather than shiny
- Frizzes the moment there is humidity in the air
- Hair color takes fast and intensely, then fades quickly
The most reliable way to check is to watch how fast your hair gets wet in the shower or under a spray bottle. High porosity saturates almost immediately. Low porosity beads up and takes a while. Medium sits in between.
If you have long hair, check your roots and your ends separately. They are often different.
Best Products for High Porosity Hair
What To Look For
The specific bottle matters less than these criteria, so use them when you are shopping and none of this goes out of date on you.
Look for hydrating or moisturizing on the label. High porosity hair loses moisture constantly, so you are replacing it at every step.
Skip sulfates. They strip what little moisture your hair is holding onto.
Skip silicones. Buildup on an already struggling cuticle makes it even harder to get moisture in.
Choose cream and oil based stylers over gel alone. Water and gel-based products on their own do not do enough here. Layer a cream or oil underneath your gel or mousse.
Keep protein in the rotation. Protein temporarily fills gaps in the cuticle, which is exactly what high porosity hair is short on.
Seal with an oil. Getting moisture in is only half of it. Sealing keeps it there.
Shampoo
Look for hydrating or moisturizing on the label, and avoid sulfates, phthalates, and parabens.
This SheaMoisture shampoo and conditioner set is enriched with shea butter, manuka honey, mafura oil, and baobab oil to put moisture back into dry hair.
Leave in Conditioner
A leave-in keeps hair moisturized between washes, and it doubles as a pre-poo detangler.
Aunt Jackie’s Curls and Coils Quench Leave-In Hair Conditioner has shea butter, extra virgin olive oil, and marshmallow root. It hydrates without weighing hair down.
Deep Conditioner
Deep conditioning is not optional with high porosity hair, and this one gives you moisture and protein in the same step. Babassu oil and amino acids soften while the protein fills gaps in the cuticle. There is peppermint in it, so expect a tingle.
A moisturizing deep conditioner with a little protein to hydrate and strengthen hair.
Styling Products
Cake Beauty Curl Friend Defining Curl Cream is a vegan blend of shea butter, soybean oil, and avocado oil. It works as a curl cream and as a detangler.
Add a stronger hold gel over your cream to hold the curl and lock the moisture in.
This is by far the best gel for humidity. Your hair won't look perfect after being in the heat and humidity, but it will look a lot better than with any other gel.
Hair Oils
Use a penetrating oil first, like coconut or avocado oil, to get moisture into the hair shaft. Then follow with a sealing oil like jojoba or castor to keep it from escaping. Argan and grapeseed sit in between and do some of both.
If your hair is fine or low density, most of the products above will be too heavy for you. I have a separate list of lightweight products for fine curly hair that I use on my own hair.
Not sure what you are working with? Take my quick hair type quiz.
How To Care For High Porosity Hair
Products are half of it. These habits are the other half.
Detangle gently
Raised cuticles catch on each other, so high porosity hair tangles easily. Detangle before you get in the shower. Apply a detangler or oil first, then work up from the ends toward the roots so you are not dragging through knots.
Don’t shampoo too often
Washing too frequently strips the natural oils your hair is already struggling to hold. Shampoo once or twice a week and use a dry shampoo in between.
Use conditioner after every wash
Conditioner is not a step you skip with this porosity. Use a hydrating one after every shampoo, then follow with a leave-in conditioner.
Use a deep conditioner or mask at least once a week for 15 to 20 minutes. Finish with a cold water rinse to help the cuticle lie flatter.
Treat your hair with protein
Protein treatments fill in the gaps in the cuticle and leave a light coating on the shaft, which helps your hair hang onto moisture.
Do one every week or two, with keratin, collagen, silk protein, or wheat.
Too much protein makes hair feel brittle, so alternate with moisturizing treatments and pay attention to how your hair responds.
Get regular trims
Dry hair splits and breaks more easily. A half-inch trim on a regular schedule keeps the damage from traveling up the strand.
Fight frizz with hair oils
Oils are one of the best tools you have here. Penetrating oils like coconut and avocado get moisture into the strand. Sealing oils like jojoba and castor slow the moisture loss. Argan and grapeseed do a bit of both, which makes them useful as a single step.
Try the LCO Method
LCO means layering liquid, then cream, then oil onto damp hair. The order matters. You are adding moisture first and then trapping it.
Avoid excessive heat styling and harsh treatments
Blow dryers and hot tools do more damage to an already open cuticle. If you are going to use heat, apply a heat protectant and keep the tool under 350°F.
Diffusing is different. It doesn’t really damage hair, so I wouldn’t stress about it. You can diffuse on medium to be safe, though I have always used high heat and my hair is healthy.
Wear protective styles
Protective styles cut down on how much you have to touch and manipulate your hair. Braids, twists, and buns all work. Clip-ins or wigs give you fullness without heat.
Sleep on satin or silk
Cotton pillowcases pull moisture out of your hair and create friction every time you turn over. Sleep on silk or satin, or wrap your hair in a scarf or cap.
What Causes High Porosity Hair
Some people are naturally high porosity because of how their hair grows. Genetics plays a real part in this.
More often it is caused by something external: UV exposure, blow drying, heat styling, color and perms, or brushing too roughly.
Mine was from highlights. Before I colored it, my hair was low porosity. I remember how long it took to bleach the first time. After that it went much faster, which tells you exactly what the bleach had done to my cuticle.
Can High Porosity Hair Be Reversed?
If yours is genetic, not really. You manage it rather than change it.
If yours came from heat or chemical damage, yes. Treatments help while you grow it out, and stopping whatever caused it matters more than anything you can buy.
My hair went from high porosity to mostly medium and low over time. I stopped coloring and stopped heat styling, and it got healthier on its own.
The Hair Float Test: Why It’s Not Reliable
The float test is the most popular way people check porosity, and it’s the least reliable. You drop a clean strand into a glass of water and watch whether it sinks or floats.
The problem is that product residue, natural oils, water temperature, and how long the strand has been sitting all change the result. I got a result that didn’t match how my hair actually behaved, which is what sent me down this road in the first place.
Watching how fast your hair gets wet in the shower tells you more in thirty seconds than the float test does in ten minutes.
How to do the float test anyway
Trim a few strands of clean, product-free hair and drop them into a glass of room temperature water. Sinking fast suggests high porosity. Floating on top suggests low. Slow sinking suggests medium. If your hair is long, cut the strands into pieces, since your roots and ends often differ.
Whatever you get, check it against the signs above. If the two disagree, trust the signs.
FAQs
Is high porosity hair bad?
No. It is more delicate and it frizzes and breaks more easily, but it is not a problem to fix. It is a set of conditions to work with.
Is 4c hair high porosity?
Not necessarily. Curly and coily hair tends to be drier because natural oils have a harder time traveling down the strand, but dryness and porosity are not the same thing. Type 4c is more likely to be low porosity, though it can become high porosity through heat or chemical damage.
How often should you wash high porosity hair?
Leave 2 to 5 days between shampoos. Use a dry shampoo or co-wash in between if you need to freshen up.
Is rice water good for high porosity hair?
Rice contains a protein mimicker, so a rice water rinse gives you something close to the effect of a protein treatment. It is not a true protein treatment, so don’t rely on it as your only one.
Can you have high porosity hair naturally?
Yes. Some people have naturally loose cuticles with no damage involved. Damage is the more common cause, but it is not the only one.
Can your hair porosity change?
Yes, in both directions. Damage raises it. Growing out the damage lowers it. You can also have more than one porosity on your head at the same time, which is more common than people expect.
The Bottom Line
High porosity hair is not a problem to solve. The cuticle sits open, moisture leaves fast, and the whole routine is built around putting moisture back and then sealing it in.
Protein, deep conditioning, and an oil to seal will do more for you than any single product on this list. Start there, and adjust based on how your hair responds rather than what worked for someone else.
