High Porosity Hair Routine: How to Treat and Moisturise It

Hair porosity is a measurement of damage state, not a hair type you were born with.

A routine for high porosity hair has to do three things in order: stop adding damage, hold moisture in, and rebuild the strand from the inside. High-porosity hair drinks water and loses it just as fast, so the instinct to keep piling on moisture treats the symptom and misses the cause. The cause is a broken structure, and a routine that addresses the structure is the one that holds.

Why moisture alone does not hold

High-porosity hair cannot keep moisture because its surface coating is stripped and its scales are lifted, so water rushes straight back out. Pouring on more conditioner without sealing the surface is filling a bucket with a hole in it. The moisture step matters, but only once the structure can hold it.

The routine, in order

1. Stop the damage. Pause bleach, keep heat under about 180C, rinse after chlorine. The cuticle recovers over roughly eight weeks if you stop adding to the damage.
2. Clarify the minerals. Porous hair pulls calcium, copper, and iron from tap water and stiffens; a chelating shampoo clears it. This is the step most routines skip. See hard water and hair.
3. Rebuild the core. A bond-rebuilding treatment restores strength by re-forming the broken disulfide bonds. This is what stops the gummy, stretchy, snapping feel.
4. Seal the surface. Replace the lost 18-MEA coating with a lipid treatment so moisture stays in and the layers stop grinding (hygral fatigue).
5. Then moisturise and protect. Now that the structure can hold it, regular conditioning and a leave-in keep hair balanced. Heat protection and gentle handling preserve the work.

How to keep it moisturised, specifically

For day-to-day moisture in high-porosity hair: condition every wash, use a leave-in that also seals the surface, avoid stripping sulfate washes, and protect from heat. But remember the sequence: a leave-in that seals (steps 3 and 4 above) is what makes the moisture stay, which is why a treatment that rebuilds and seals in one step is more effective than moisture layered on a broken strand. The mechanism is in High Porosity Hair and the three-layer Leave-In.

Frequently asked

How do you treat high porosity hair? In order: stop adding damage, clear mineral build-up with a chelating shampoo, rebuild the core bonds with a bond treatment, seal the surface with a lipid treatment, then moisturise and protect. Treating the structure first is what makes everything after it hold.

How do you keep high porosity hair moisturised? Seal the surface so moisture stays in, rather than only adding more moisture. Condition every wash, use a leave-in that also reseals the surface, avoid harsh sulfate washes, and protect from heat. Moisture holds once the structure can hold it.

Why does my high porosity hair get dry so fast? Because the surface coating is stripped and the scales are lifted, so water leaves as fast as it enters. Resealing the surface is what slows the loss; more conditioner alone does not, because it leaks straight back out.

What order should a high porosity routine go in? Stop damage, chelate, rebuild the core, seal the surface, then moisturise and protect. The structural steps come before the moisture step, because moisture only stays in a strand that can hold it.

Do I need protein or moisture for high porosity hair? Both, but in balance, and after the core is rebuilt. High-porosity hair usually needs genuine bond rebuilding first; protein and moisture treatments then maintain it. See protein-moisture balance for how to read which you need.

References

• Ahn, H.J. & Lee, W.-S. Int J Dermatol 41:88-92 (2002). doi
• Breakspear, S. et al. Int J Cosmet Sci 47:639-651 (2025). doi
• ANATOMY / SGS Proderm, study 22.0088-96 (2022).