If you have high porosity hair, your hair cuticles are raised and open, and your hair is more prone to breakage, dryness and frizz. This post lists the best high porosity hair products to help tame and strengthen porous locks.
High porosity hair is able to easily absorb water and oil but not able to retain the moisture. This is because the hair cuticles are open and so water can easily enter and leave the hair shaft.
High porosity hair is prone to a condition called hygral fatigue. This is where so much water has entered and left the hair cuticle that the hair becomes damaged and looses its elasticity.
If you have high porosity hair, your hair will not take long to dry and is often prone to frizz and dryness. In this post I look at everything you need to look after high porosity hair, including the best shampoos, conditioners, masks and styling products.
High Porosity Hair Products
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
What is Hair Porosity?
Your hair porosity indicates how well your hair is able to absorb and retain water and oil.
Low porosity hair has cuticles that are close together. This hair type finds it more difficult to absorb moisture, and is prone to dryness.
High porosity hair has cuticles that are raised and open. It can absorb and loose moisture easily, making this hair type prone to frizz.
The image below shows what high, medium and low porosity hair looks like. You can see the higher the hair porosity, the more the cuticles are raised and the larger the holes in them.
High porosity hair could be down to genetics, or it could be due to damage. If you regularly perform chemical treatments on your hair, use flat irons or use excessive heat, this can cause the hair to become more porous.
How Do You Test Hair Porosity?
One way to test whether you have high porosity hair is by placing a piece of your hair in a glass of water. If your hair sinks, this is an indicator it is high porosity since it is easily able to absorb water. The image below illustrates this:
Another way to determine your hair porosity is by taking my quiz!
What are the Characteristics of High Porosity Hair?
High porosity hair tends to have the following characteristics:
- Often frizzy
- Looks and feels dry
- Breaks easily
- Dries fast
- Absorbs hair products well
- Looks dull
- Rarely shiny
- Easily tangled
There are different degrees of porosity, so if you have medium to high porosity hair, you may find you have some of these characteristics, but not all.
How To Care For High Porosity Hair
If you have high porosity hair, you have three goals:
- Seal the hair cuticle
- Retain more moisture in the hair
- Reduce and reverse damage
If your hair has become more porous due to chemical processing or excessive heat styling, you should use products that help to reverse this damage, as well as protective treatments to prevent further damage.
If you have naturally porous hair, there are products and natural ingredients that seal the cuticle and help the hair to retain moisture for longer.
Good Ingredients for High-Porosity Hair
The best ingredients for high porosity hair include proteins such as keratin, silk protein or wheat, or heavy butters and oils like coconut oil or shea butter.
Heavy oils, butters and proteins help to seal the cuticle, and nourish, moisturise and repair very porous hair. The following ingredients work well for high porosity hair:
Good Oils for High Porosity Hair
- Olive oil
- Jojoba oil
- Coconut oil
- Avocado oil
- Babassu oil
- Rice bran oil
- Castor oil
- Hemp seed oil
Good Butters for High Porosity Hair
- Shea butter
- Mango butter
- Cupuacu butter
Proteins for High Porosity Hair
- Keratin
- Wheat
- Silk Protein
Best Products for High Porosity Hair
The products below all contain ingredients that repair and nourish high porosity hair, seal the hair cuticle and help the hair to retain moisture. The list contains a mixture of shampoos, conditioners, hair masks and styling products. I hope it helps you to find the right products for your type of hair.
Best Shampoos for High Porosity Hair
SheaMoisture Mongongo & Hemp Seed Oils High Porosity Moisture-Seal Shampoo
The SheaMoisture Mongongo & Hemp Seed Oil Shampoo was designed for high porosity hair. It helps to treat rough, unmanageable, damaged or dry curls and coils and reduce breakage and frizz.
The shampoo has a moisture rich formula with hemp seed oil, mongongo oil, baobab proteins, shea butter and apple cider vinegar. These ingredients all work together to leave you with nourished, smooth and tangle free curls.
- Treat rough, unmanageable, damaged or dry hair
- Moisturizes hair while it reinforces and protects.
- Making your curls or coils feel smooth and nourished.
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Related: 21 Best Curly Hair Products that Contain Shea Butter
L’OCCITANE Intense Repairing Shampoo
The L’OCCITANE Intense Repairing Shampoo is a great option for highly porous, dry hair. It helps to strengthen and protect the hair from chemical damage and heat styling, and leaves it smooth and shiny.
The formula is silicone free and contains oat amino acid which repairs and strengths the hair strand. It’s an ideal shampoo for anyone with high or medium porosity hair.
- L'Occitane Intense Repairing Shampoo, 300ml
- L'Occitane Intense Repairing Shampoo, 300ml
- L'Occitane Intense Repairing Shampoo, 300ml
- L'Occitane Intense Repairing Shampoo, 300ml
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Maui Moisture Shea Butter Shampoo
The Maui Moisture Shea Butter Shampoo contains rich coconut oil, macadamia oil and shea butter to help seal the hair cuticle and improve moisture retention. The formula is designed to nourish and repair dry and damaged hair, and is a good choice for high porosity hair types.
If your hair is curly, this shampoo will help to add moisture, reduce frizz, and enhance your hair’s natural curl pattern. It’s a great shampoo for curly hair types with high porosity, frizz prone locks.
- Sulfate free repairing hair shampoo that helps strengthen dry damaged hair
- Aloe vera and shea butter infused shampoo for intense long lasting moisture
- For moisturised hair thats up to 80% stronger after just two uses
- Will leave hair soft, smooth, shiny and healthy feeling
- Vegan shampoo
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Conditioners for High Porosity Hair
Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Replenishing Conditioner
Olive oil is a perfect ingredient for high-porosity hair since it’s a thick oil that helps to smooth and seal the hair cuticle. The ORS Replenishing Conditioner contains olive oil, soybean oil, sweet orange oil and marine proteins to strengthen damaged and porous hair.
The conditioner balances moisture and protein levels in weakened hair that lacks hydration. With regular use each strand of your hair will be left strengthened, smooth and shiny.
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Shea Moisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen & Restore Conditioner
SheaMoisture make some excellent products for high hair porosity. Their Strengthen & Restore Conditioner contains the perfect mix of ingredients including heavy oils and butters such as jojoba oil, coconut oil, castor oil, and shea butter, as well as rice protein.
This strengthening conditioner helps to detangle the hair and restore hydration. It’s recommended for hair that’s been damaged from colouring, straightening or perming, as well as curly or wavy natural styles. The ingredient list includes peppermint oil which is known to stimulate the hair follicles and encourage growth.
- A strengthening conditioner that detangles and restores moisture without weighing hair down
- Nourish and strengthen damaged, brittle hair, reducing the appearance of breakage and shedding
- Formulated with jamaican black castor oil and certified organic shea butter
- Helps those who regularly colour, straighten or perm their hair as well as kinky, curly and wavy...
- Useful for hair types: 3A 3B 3C 4A 4B 4C
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
As I Am Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner
The As I Am Hydration Elation Intensive Conditioner contains coconut oil and shea butter to smooth and seal high porosity hair. It also contains sugar cane, green tea, apple and lemon, vitamin E and hair fortifiers to strengthen coils and curls and leave them bouncy and defined.
This deep conditioner can be used every two to three weeks, or more frequently depending on the condition of your hair. It is especially good for high porosity types since it helps to seal moisture into the hair and reduce damage and frizz.
- Deep Hydration
- Strong and shiny curls and coils
- Proven hair fortifiers
- Has coconut , sugar came , green tea, apple and lemon in
- 227g/8oz
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Hair Masks for High Porosity Hair
Shea Moisture Manuka Honey & Yogurt Hydrate + Repair Protein Power Treatment
The SheaMoisture Manuka Honey & Yogurt Hydrate + Repair Protein Power Treatment is packed with reparative proteins and butters. It helps to smooth frizzy hair and strength over processed and damaged hair strands. The mask is recommended for high porosity curls or waves, and helps to prevent breakage or split ends.
This mask is a great choice if your hair has become porous due to heat damage. It smooths the cuticle layer and helps to reduce your hair’s porosity level. This is one of the best products for extremely brittle and dry hair that’s not able to hold much moisture.
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Imbue Curl Restoring Intensive Mask
The Imbue Curl Restoring Intensive Mask is a protein rich treatment designed for kinky, curly or coily hair from type 3A to type 4C. It contains coconut oil, cupuaçu and shea butter to reduce split ends, treat damaged hair, and infuse moisture into dry, porous curls.
This mask helps to soften coarse hair and reduce the porosity of your hair. The thick oils and butters form a protective layer over each hair strand to seal in moisture and prevent frizz and breakage. This product is vegan, cruelty free, and suitable for use with the curly girl method.
- A protein-rich mask that keep your curls hydrated and strong. Suitable for curl types: 3a-4c
- Repairs every type of damage to unveil happier and healthier hair
- A rich intensive mask that treats and repairs dry and damaged hair. Strengthens curls to avoid...
- Always: Vegan and curly girl friendly, with natural oils or butters. Never: contains oil based...
- Smooth onto damp lengths and detangle to ensure every curl gets a hit, leave in to work its magic...
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Hi Pro Pac Extremely Damaged Hair Intensive Protein Treatment
Protein treatments are excellent for high porosity hair as they help to fill the gaps in the hair cuticles and improve the hair’s ability to retain moisture. This hair mask from Hi Pro Pac is designed for extremely damaged hair to increase strength and prevent breakage.
It reduce’s the hair’s porosity in locks that have been damaged from excessive chemical treatments, and works to strengthen each strand of hair. This is one of my favorite products for detangling the hair and improving manageability.
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Best Styling Products for High Porosity Hair
OLAPLEX No.7 Bonding Oil
The Olaplex bonding oil helps to strengthen and repair hair that has been damaged from over styling or colouring. All Olaplex products contain an ingredient called bis-aminopropyl diglycol dimaleate which helps to repair any broken disulfide bonds in the hair.
Olaplex is great for damaged or highly porous hair since it repairs the bonds which give hair its structure. This makes the hair smoother, stronger and shinier. The Olaplex Bonding Oil contains a heat protectant to prevent further damage and leave the hair shiny and strong. Read my full review of the Olaplex Bonding Oil.
- Repairs damaged and compromised hair
- Strengthens and protects hair structure
- Increases shine, softness, and vibrancy
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Related: Why Olaplex is Good for Curly Hair
OLAPLEX No.6 Bond Smoother
In my hair care routine I use both the Olaplex Bonding Oil and the Bond Smoother. The bond smoother is a cream that I apply to damp hair before drying, and then I follow with the oil on dry hair. It’s a great way to reduce hair breakage and promote healthy hair.
The Olaplex Bond Smoother is one of my favourite products since it reduces frizz for up to 72 hours and leaves the hair amazingly smooth, soft and shiny. You can apply it to either dry or wet hair to prevent moisture loss and protect the hair strands.
- Reparative styling cream
- For all hair types and textures
- Smooths, strengthens, hydrates and protects hair
- Heat protectant
- Only a small amount needed
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
HAIRBURST Volume & Growth Elixir
The Hairburst Volume & Growth Elixir contains both coconut and avocado oil. It helps improve the volume and fullness or the hair, as well as reduce shedding. This spray improves the strength of the hair, and helps to protect it from UV rays, heat and pollution.
The Hairburst Volume & Growth Elixir is available on Amazon, but if you live in the UK there is a special discount for readers of UK Beauty Room! Click here and then enter the promo code BEAUTYROOM10 which will give you 10% off the entire store excluding complete kits!
Related: Hairburst Recommended Products and Discount Code
- Feed Your Hair - Our hair elixir is enriched with a powerful combination of naturally derived...
- Reduces Hair Loss - You can now brush your hair with confidence knowing The Hairbust Elixir contains...
- Overall Protection - No need to worry about the elements damaging your hair as this product provides...
- Thicker looking hair - Our hair volume spray contains Polymers and hydrolysed wheat protein which...
- Free From & Vegan Certified - We care about your hair and therefore our formula is proudly Vegan...
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Nanoil Hair Oil for High Porosity Hair
This Nanoil Hair Oil was designed for high porosity hair. It reinforces the keratin structure of the hair and flattens the hair cuticle to help the hair retain moisture. This hair oil is better than some deep conditioning treatments in conditioning the hair ends and increasing elasticity.
The product helps to retain your hair’s natural oils and hydrate and strengthen the strands from root to tip. It also helps to increase hair growth and nourish the hair follicle. Nanoil make great products for each hair porosity type. This includes a different oil for high, medium and low porosity hair types.
The oil can be used on wet or dry hair, as a scalp treatment, or as a hot oil treatment. For best results the oil should be used regularly.
- Regenerated, healthy hair bulbs and hair tips
- In-depth regeneration of hair and scalp keratin structure
- Strong, resilient, and thick hair without dandruff, thanks to the power of six oils
- Full of shiny, velvety hair, thanks to lanolin and silk
Last update on 2021-12-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Advice and Resources for Low Porosity Hair
If you have low porosity hair you are better off using lighter oils such as Argan oil or pumpkin seed oil. Shampoos and conditioners designed for low-porosity hair are less likely to cause product buildup, and better able to penetrate the hair shaft. If the float test showed your hair was low porosity, you may find the following posts helpful.
FAQs on High Porosity Hair
What products are good for high porosity hair?
Products containing heavy oils and butters are good for high porosity hair. This might include coconut oil, castor oil, olive oil or shea butter. You should also look for products containing protein such as keratin or silk amino acids.
What helps high porosity hair?
Thick oils and butters help to seal the hair cuticle and improve the hair’s ability to retain moisture. Since high hair porosity is often caused by over styling, chemical processing or excessive heat, it would be a good idea to use protective treatments to prevent further damage. Protein treatments also help high porosity hair.
Does high porosity hair need protein or moisture?
High porosity hair needs both protein and moisture. Protein helps to seal the hair cuticle and increase the amount of moisture in the hair. Good hair products for high porosity hair will contain a mixture of protein and heavy oils and butters to seal the hair shaft and lock in moisture.
How do you moisturize high porosity hair everyday?
Using a good curl cream, oil or butter every day can help to keep high porosity hair moisturised and healthy. It may also be a good idea to invest in a silk pillow case or wear a satin bonnet at night to prevent high porosity hair becoming dried out and frizzy while you sleep.
Is Jamaican black castor oil good for high porosity hair?
Jamacian black castor oil is a thick and heavy oil which makes it excellent for high porosity hair. It’s one of the best oils to strengthen, seal and moisturise highly porous hair.
This post was a list of the best high porosity hair products
Thank you for reading my post about the best high porosity hair products. If you have tried any of the products recommended in this post, please leave me a comment below and let me know how you got on. If you have porous hair it’s important you use the right types of products for your hair. This is the best way to achieve your hair goals and get healthier looking tresses.
Olivia is a hair and skincare enthusiast with over 10 years experience working in healthcare and over 5 years as a Registered Nurse. She gained an online following after creating a natural haircare routine which completely transformed her hair. Olivia has since written an eBook on Ayurvedic hair care to help others use the same formula to improve their own hair.
Find me on: Web
