Finally Understand Your Hair: A Stylist's Guide to Porosity, Density, and Curl Type

I see it every week. A client sits in my chair at Bokaos Aveda, points to a bag full of expensive products, and says, "I've tried everything, and nothing works."

Just last month, a woman named Rachel came in completely frustrated. She'd spent probably $300 on products in the last year. Her hair was still frizzy, and conditioner seemed to just sit on top without doing anything. I asked her, "Have you ever thought about your hair's porosity?"

She looked at me like I was speaking another language. And that's not her fault. For too long, we've only talked about hair in the simplest terms like "oily" or "dry." But the real secret to great hair isn't found in a bottle. It's in understanding how your hair actually works.

My name is Hasblady Guzman, and with over 30 years in this industry, I can tell you that understanding three key things - porosity, density, and texture - is the most important step you can take for your hair's health.

Let me break down what these terms really mean, so you can stop guessing and start making choices that actually work for your hair.

The Most Important Thing You're Not Tracking: Hair Porosity

If you learn only one thing about your hair today, make it this. Hair porosity is simply your hair's ability to absorb and hold onto moisture. It's determined by the condition of your hair's cuticle, which is the outermost layer.

Think of the cuticle like shingles on a roof. When they're lying flat and tight, they protect the house. When they're lifted or damaged, anything can get in and out.

Low porosity hair has cuticles that are very tightly packed. This hair often looks shiny and healthy, but it resists moisture. Water and products tend to bead up and sit on the surface. If you feel like conditioners make your hair greasy or weighed down, you likely have low porosity hair. It takes forever to get wet in the shower and forever to dry.

Normal porosity hair is the ideal balance. The cuticles are slightly raised, allowing moisture to enter easily and stay there. Hair with normal porosity holds styles well and responds predictably to color and treatments. It's the easiest to manage.

High porosity hair has cuticles that are raised, chipped, or have gaps. This can be genetic, but it's often the result of damage from chemical processing, heat styling, or even our constant Pasadena sun. High porosity hair soaks up moisture like a sponge but loses it just as quickly. This leads to chronic frizz, dryness, and breakage. If your hair gets wet instantly and dries fast, you might have high porosity.

Rachel's hair was high porosity from years of bleaching and heat styling. That's why nothing was working. She was using products designed for normal hair, which couldn't possibly address what her damaged cuticles needed.

The At-Home Porosity Test

You've probably seen this online. You drop a clean strand of hair into a glass of water and see what it does.

If it floats, that's low porosity. If it sinks slowly or suspends in the middle, that's normal porosity. If it sinks quickly, that's high porosity.

To do it right, make sure your hair is completely clean of any products. This test is helpful, but it's not perfect science. Things like mineral deposits from our local water or leftover product can mess with the results.

It's a great first step, but a stylist can confirm it by feeling your hair and seeing how it reacts to water at the shampoo bowl.

Choosing Products Based on Your Porosity

Once you know your porosity, product selection becomes so much clearer. You're no longer buying what's popular. You're buying what's compatible with your actual hair.

For low porosity hair, you need lightweight products that won't just sit on top. Look for hydrators with smaller molecules. Aveda's Nutriplenish Light Moisture line works really well. It provides hydration without heavy butters or oils that cause buildup.

When you condition, use a shower cap or warm towel for a few minutes. The gentle heat helps lift the cuticle slightly so the product can penetrate.

For high porosity hair, your hair needs two things: moisture to fill it up and sealants to lock it in. Protein is also your best friend because it helps patch the holes in the damaged cuticle.

Aveda's Botanical Repair collection is incredible for this. It rebuilds the bonds in the hair, strengthening it from the inside out. Follow up with the richer Nutriplenish Deep Moisture line or a sealing oil to close the cuticle and prevent moisture from escaping.

Layer your products. Apply a leave-in conditioner to damp hair, followed by a cream, and finish with a light oil on the ends to seal everything in. This is especially crucial if you get regular blonding or highlighting, as those processes naturally increase porosity.

When we figured out Rachel's porosity and switched her to the right products with proper layering technique, the difference was dramatic. She came back six weeks later and said, "My hair finally feels soft. I didn't think that was possible anymore."

Density vs. Texture: Not the Same Thing

People use "thick" and "thin" to describe hair all the time, but they're often talking about two different things. Let me separate them, because it impacts everything from the amount of product you use to the type of haircut you should get.

Hair density is about quantity. It's the number of individual hair strands per square inch of your scalp. You can have low, medium, or high density.

A simple way to estimate it at home is the ponytail test. Pull your hair back into a ponytail and measure its circumference. Less than 2 inches is low density. 2 to 3 inches is medium. Over 4 inches is high density.

Knowing your density helps you and your stylist decide on the right cut. If you have high density hair, we might use techniques to remove weight and add movement so it doesn't feel like a helmet. For low density hair, we focus on creating blunt lines and styles that give the illusion of fullness.

Hair texture refers to the diameter, or thickness, of an individual hair strand. It's generally classified as fine, medium, or coarse.

To figure yours out, take a single strand of hair and feel it between your fingers. Fine hair you can barely feel. It's thin and silky. Medium hair you can feel, and it's about the same thickness as sewing thread. Coarse hair feels substantial, wiry, or hard.

You can have any combination of these. Someone can have fine texture but high density (a lot of silky strands). Or they can have coarse texture but low density (fewer, thicker strands).

I learned this distinction the hard way early in my career. I had a client with what looked like really thick hair. I gave her a heavily layered cut thinking we needed to remove weight. But she actually had fine texture with high density. Those layers made her hair look stringy and thin because each individual strand was delicate.

I had to grow it back out with her and start over with a blunt cut. She was gracious about it, but I felt terrible. Now I always assess both density and texture before I make cutting decisions.

Understanding Your Curl Pattern

The hair typing system ranges from Type 1 (straight) to Type 4 (coily). This is a guide, not a strict rule. Many people have a mix of two or even three different curl patterns on their heads.

Type 2 is wavy hair. It forms a loose S shape. 2A is barely-there waves that are easily weighed down. 2B has more defined S-shaped waves starting from the mid-lengths. 2C is the waviest, with defined waves starting at the root and some individual curls forming.

Type 3 is curly hair with well-defined spiral curls. 3A has large, loose, shiny spiral curls. 3B has springy, voluminous ringlets about the size of a marker. 3C has tight, dense corkscrew curls about the size of a pencil.

Type 4 is coily hair, the most fragile type with very tight curls and zig-zag patterns. 4A has tightly coiled S-pattern curls. 4B has a sharp Z-pattern with angled bends instead of defined curls. 4C has densely packed zig-zag pattern with lots of shrinkage and less definition. It requires maximum moisture and gentle handling.

Understanding your general curl pattern helps you find the right styling techniques and products to enhance what you have naturally.

My client Jennifer has 3B curls but was treating her hair like it was straight. She was blow-drying it smooth every day and wondering why it was so frizzy and damaged. When we embraced her natural curl pattern and gave her the right products and techniques, she was shocked at how beautiful her curls actually were.

She told me, "I've been fighting my hair for twenty years. I didn't know I could just work with it instead."

Why a Professional Eye Matters

Reading articles like this is a fantastic step. But after all the home tests, you might be left with more questions. "My hair floats, but it feels dry. What does that mean?" or "I think I have 3B and 3C curls, how do I care for both?"

This is where we come in.

In the salon, we can assess your hair's elasticity, feel its true texture without any product interference, and see how different parts of your head vary in porosity. The ends of your hair that have seen years of sun and styling will have different porosity than the new growth at your roots. A home test can't tell you that.

A consultation with a stylist is a partnership. It's a conversation where we combine your daily experiences with our professional knowledge to build a routine that finally works for you.

Stop the guessing game. Let's discover what your hair truly needs to thrive.

Ready to get a personalized hair analysis? Book a consultation with one of our stylists at Bokaos Aveda Salon. We're located at 52 Hugus Alley, Pasadena, CA 91103. Give us a call at (626) 304-0007 or book your appointment online today.

We can't wait to meet you and help you actually understand your hair.