Medium porosity hair. Are there only disadvantages?

If something is medium, we think weak – neither in good condition nor entirely damaged, just dull. It is not necessarily the case with medium porosity hair, that contrary to appearances may actually look quite good. What is porosity of hair and what does it mean in practice?

Hair condition can be determined by, for example examining their porosity. It is best to do this under a special microscope that in high-magnification will show you how the given lock look like. However, you can also determine porosity of hair with use of home made methods, which are not 100% foolproof.

What is the porosity of hair?

You may wonder what actually you will determine while examining the hair. Porosity is a hair structure, and hair are built of hair shaft and adhering cuticles. Raise of cuticles can have various levels. Low porosity means that cuticles create tight armour, while high porosity means that cuticles are raised and distance between them is increased. What about medium porosity?

Unfortunately, it can not be precisely determined when hair start to belong in medium porosity category. The boundaries between given porosities are extremely blurred. And so, medium porosity hair belong somewhere in between. Their cuticles are raised, but not to the maximum. What is more, they can raise even more, which will lead to high porosity.

Characteristics of medium porosity hair

Medium porosity hair can be described as: normal, prone to frizz, split ends and dryness, slightly damaged. These hair have their advantages and flaws, which are worth to talk a little bit more about. Saying that medium porosity hair are always bad is a mistake, because often they are quite natural for a given person.

Advantages:

Firstly, (and probably foremost) advantage is fact that their condition is really not that bad. It is far worse to have high porosity hair. If your hair have medium porosity hair, it is easier to work with them, because they are more liable to stylisation, e.g. with curler. Natural wavy hair have the most commonly medium porosity. Thanks to raised cuticles they better absorb cosmetics dedicated for hair care and stylisation. On top of that, medium porosity hair are less fussy than low or high porosity hair, which tend to react very abruptly to the substances they dislike.

Disadvantages:

Sadly, medium porosity hair have also quite few drawbacks. If you do not care about their proper care, they can easily be damaged. Raised cuticles result with faster loss of nourishing ingredients and water. There is just one step separating them from high porosity, so they are in need of constant protection.

Medium porosity hair are prone to frizz, can suffer from split ends, dandruff or dryness. They can react in various ways on water, e.g. rainy days, when they can frizz and curl uncontrollably. At contact with straightener or curler you can easily burn them. On top of that, medium porosity hair require frequent ends cut.