Hair Porosity Explained: Why the Water Float Test Isn't Enough

While the water float test is often treated as the gold standard for determining porosity, it only captures a single moment and your hair is far more complex than that.

Factors like product buildup, natural oils, strand thickness, and even trapped air can influence the result, which is why the test doesn't always reflect how your hair behaves in real life. Two people can get similar float test results and still have completely different experiences when it comes to moisture retention, product absorption, and styling.

A more reliable approach is to observe your hair's behaviour over time. Pay attention to how quickly your hair becomes saturated during wash day, whether products absorb easily or sit on the surface, and how long your hair stays moisturized after styling. These patterns provide valuable clues about how your hair interacts with moisture on a day-to-day basis.

Think of the water float test as one piece of the puzzle, not the entire picture. The more you understand how your hair responds to water, products, and environmental factors, the better equipped you'll be to choose products that support its unique needs.

When people talk about porosity, they often treat it like a permanent hair type. Once you're labeled low porosity or high porosity, that's supposedly the end of the story.

Not quite.

Your hair is constantly exposed to things that can affect how it absorbs and retains moisture. Heat styling, hair color, chemical treatments, sun exposure, and everyday manipulation can all impact the condition of the hair cuticle over time.

In fact, you may not have the same porosity from roots to ends. Your roots are the newest part of your hair, while your ends have likely experienced months or even years of washing, styling, brushing, and environmental exposure. That's why your ends may feel drier, absorb products differently, or require more attention than the rest of your hair.

The biggest takeaway? Porosity isn't something you determine once and forget about. As your hair changes, its needs can change too. If your favorite products don't seem to be performing the way they used to, your hair may be telling you it's time to reassess your routine.

Understanding your porosity is only useful if you know how to apply it to your routine.

That's where the LOC and LCO methods come in.

Both techniques are designed to help keep hair moisturized by layering products in a specific order. LOC stands for Liquid, Oil, Cream, while LCO stands for Liquid, Cream, Oil.

The Liquid step provides hydration, the Cream helps condition and soften the hair, and the Oil helps reduce moisture loss by sealing everything in.

While there is no universal rule for which method works best, many people with low porosity hair prefer the LCO method because applying cream before oil can help prevent products from sitting on the surface of the hair. Those with higher porosity hair may find that the LOC method helps lock in moisture more effectively.

The key is to pay attention to how your hair responds. If your hair feels moisturized, soft, and manageable for longer periods of time, you're likely on the right track. If not, it may be worth experimenting with different product combinations or switching the order of application.

Remember, healthy hair routines are not about following strict rules. They're about finding the combination of products and techniques that work best for your hair's current needs.