If you’ve built your curly hair routine around your curl type or curl pattern alone, your routine isn’t truly effective. The key factor that determines how your curls behave - porosity. Understanding this key factor is a game changer when choosing the right curly hair products and building a regimen suited to your climate. 

Take Dubai and the Middle East more generally as an example, moisture-protein balanced products are key, particularly in heightened humidity - finding the best curly hair products that penetrate the cortex and seal the cuticle properly to defend against excess cuticle swelling that leads to frizz is essential. 

But as we transition from peak summer humidity to cooler, drier months, understanding your curls' porosity becomes even more critical. Seasonal changes mean that products that worked well in July may leave your curls dry and brittle in October. This is why our seasonal edits remain rooted in curl science and tested for porosity.

This blog post covers:

• Curl Type Vs Porosity
• Low, Medium, High Porosity
• Science Backed Hair Porosity Test
• How To Determine Your Hair Porosity
• How To Build A Curly Hair Routine Based on Porosity
• Does Your Curl Type Actually Matter

Understanding the difference: Curl Type Vs Hair Porosity

Curl pattern is how curls look to the human eye, its visible shape. This can vary from loose waves (Type 2) to tight curls or coils (Type 3 and 4). Scientifically your curl pattern is determined by the cross sectional geometry of the hair follicle, whether it’s oval or round: round follicles typically produce straight hair strands and oval follicles produce curly to coily hair stands.

Hair porosity, on the other hand, is about performance. It’s a measure of how the hair responds to water and moisture, observed by how quickly it absorbs and how it retains it. This is a clear indicator of how your hair will respond to curly hair products. 

If you’re new to Emerson, welcome!

We take a science backed approach to decoding curly hair which is proven and tested through experience. When we make statements like porosity matters more than your curl pattern, we mean it, and here’s why.

What Hair Porosity Means For Your Curly Hair Routine?

Have you ever tried to replicate a curly hair routine you saw an influencer follow on Instagram and TikTok, using the same products but your results just seem completely different despite having the same hair type? Or your results seem the same on day 1 but by Day 2 or 3 your curls are completely different? This is exactly where porosity comes in, it determines how your curls respond to products and your environment.

Once you discover your hair porosity, you can build a regimen around the best curly hair products for your curls. In the next section of this post, we will guide you on how to build a curly hair routine.

Low, Medium, High Porosity: Learn the difference

Low porosity simply means your curls absorb moisture at a slower rate as the hair cuticles lay flat, it’s hard for hydration and moisture to enter and penetrate the hair shaft.
On the flip side, it does mean that once your curls do absorb moisture, it’s not so quick to lose it due to this flat cuticle nature.

Medium porosity means your curls absorb moisture neither too quick or too slow. This highlights that the cuticles are semi open (less tightly bound) which allows for optimal moisture flow into the hair shaft.

Though, medium porosity adapts well to seasonal changes, it is not immune to environmental factors that can lead to damage, frizz and breakage which can be masked in the early stages. 

High porosity means your curls absorb moisture and products with ease, as the cuticle structure is raised it allows for easy moisture flow to the hair shaft. However, that easy access due to the raised cuticle means moisture evaporates just as quickly if proper sealing is not incorporated into your curly hair routine.

Given the key structural differences with porosity types you will find a significant difference in products used as part of a low porosity curly routine compared with a high porosity curly routine.

If you’re based in Dubai or the wider Middle East and already have a good grasp of your hair porosity, you can skip the next section of this blog and go straight to understanding why and how your curl porosity behaves differently in the Middle East’s hot and humid climate.

How to determine your hair porosity?

We’ve listed common characteristics of the various porosity types to enable to you answer the question what is my hair porosity?

It’s important to highlight that while medium porosity is the ideal, porosity can change over time due to hormonal changes, lifestyle, environmental changes and the likes. However, the area of focus should be understanding your hair as it is and building a regimen that delivers results. We detail key ingredients you should look for based on porosity from lightweight ingredients for low porosity to rich emollient ingredients for high porosity. Read our full hair porosity ingredient guide.

• Water beads are still present on the hair shaft even after 2-3 mins post water misting – difficult to wet
• High moisture retention
  
• Frequent product build up and residue
• Protein treatments can cause stiffness (if used too frequently)

Common characteristics of medium porosity curls:

• Water and products absorb relatively well (not too slow and not too fast)
• Doesn’t experience chronic dryness 
• Responds well to both moisture and protein-based treatments
• Hold styles well with minimal maintenance
  

Common characteristics of high porosity curls:

• Rapidly absorbs water and products
• Quick to dry and become frizzy
• More prone to tangling and damage after excessive heat exposure and chemical treatments
  

Hair Porosity Test That Works: A Science-Backed Guide for Curly Hair

If you've ever Googled "How to test your hair porosity", you've probably come across the popular float test which suggests placing a strand of hair in a glass of water and observing whether it sinks or flats. The sad truth? This test is unreliable and has no scientific basis.

Whether hair sinks or floats in water can be attributed to many factors, air bubbles, product build up, oils and surface tension found in the water itself. 

While hair scientists typically measure porosity using microscopes to view the hair cuticle along with other controlled studies, we break down a simple and practical hair porosity test you can perform, which is directly linked to how your curls behave day to day below:

The Emerson 3 Step Porosity Check

Over your next few wash days, pay attention to these three things:

1. The Wetting Test

When: The first 20-30 seconds under the shower, do this after cleansing.

Low Porosity: Water beads appear before your hair feels completely wet. You may even notice droplets sitting on the top of your hair

Medium Porosity: Hair wets fairly evenly within seconds

High Porosity: Hair soaks water almost instantaneously, feeling heavier and fully saturated immediately.

This is the most directly observable high porosity test for how easily water penetrates the cuticle layer.

2. The Drying Time Check

When: After a wash day routine, allow curls to air dry to observe.

Low Porosity: Takes several hours to completely air dry - up to 6 hours

Medium Porosity: Dries within 4-6 hours

High Porosity: Dries quickly, typically within 3-4 hours

Porosity refers to both water intake and water or moisture loss, this is a key consideration for building a curly hair routine for frizz control and defending against humidity. 

3. The Product Absorption Test

When: Apply your leave in or curl cream to damp hair.

Low Porosity: Product sits on the hairs' surface for a while, and may require heat or product emulsification to help it penetrate and sink in.

Medium Porosity: Product absorbs quite well with light smoothing

High Porosity: Product disappears into strands quickly and may require more product .

High Porosity: Dries quickly, typically within 3-4 hours

With this core understanding of your hair's response to water and moisture absorption and retention, you're well on your way to building an effective regimen for your natural hair.

Building A Curly Hair Routine Based on Porosity

We've formed a baseline that low porosity curls naturally repel water as the hair cuticle lays flat, so let's now explore what that means when choosing the best products for your natural hair. Humectants are must have ingredients in products that will form part of a low porosity hair regimen, humectants help draw moisture into the hair.

Remember your curl pattern is irrelevant here, whether you have 3A, 3B or 4C curls, low porosity suggests your curls need to help to draw in the moisture that curly hair naturally demands.

Humectants such as honey, agave nectar, aloe vera, glycerin and sodium PCA and Propanediol are fantastic humectants to include in your routine. Look for these ingredients in everything from shampoo, conditioners to curl creams and gel based stylers.

Here's an example of an effective low porosity curly hair routine:

• Cleanser: TréLuxe Curl Renew & Restore Gentle Cleansing Rinse 
• Deep conditioner: Camille Rose Algae Renew Deep Conditioning Mask
• Leave In Conditioner: Inahsi Naturals Aloe Hibiscus Leave In Conditioner & Detangler
• Styling Mousse/Foam: The Doux Mousse Def
• Styling Gel: Camille Rose Curl Maker

Let's assess the demands of high porosity hair. High porosity drinks hydration and moisture fast but it evaporates equally as fast. Similar to low porosity hair, high porosity benefits from humectants under specific conditions, however the core of focus is on moisture retention. So more dense, sealing emollients and oils play a key role in an effective regimen.

Here's an example of an effective high porosity curly hair routine:

• Cleanser: Innersense Hydrating Cream Hairbath
• Deep conditioner: Inahsi Naturals Mango Avocado Restorative Hair Masque
• Leave In Conditioner: Ecoslay Rice Pudding Leave In Conditioner
• Curl Cream: TréLuxe Curl Supreme™ 4-in-1 Hydrating Crème
• Styling Gel: Kinky Curly Curling Custard

So, Does My Curl Type Matter at All?

Yes, your curly type does matter, but not in the traditional sense that most people think. The curly typing system was made popular by Andre Walker in the late 90's as a way to categorise different hair textures.

Unfortunately, it has been misused and misinterpreted to some degree and viewed as the ultimate reference for understanding hair textures, it is not a curly hair dictionary as such cannot help you understand your curls' behaviour or unique needs, it simply refers to the aesthetic feature of your hair texture.

It's porosity that determines how products perform on curly hair, how it absorbs and retains moisture and responds to heat and humidity a common challenging factor for curls in Dubai, Saudi and other key Middle East hotspots. When you build your curly hair regimen around porosity first, curly type second, you'll stop using the wrong references and start to see consistent results. This is why with the release of every Emerson edit we ensure our curated range of products are porosity tested, pH-aligned rooted in curl science for high performance to deliver real results.