How do you perform a porosity test?

How do you perform a porosity test?

• A. Slide your thumb along the strand from the base toward the ends; a rough texture indicates porosity.
• B. Slide your thumb along the strand from the ends toward the base; a rough texture indicates porosity.
• C. Soak the strand in water and observe weight change.
• D. Use a specialized porosity meter.

Answer: (B)

Porosity refers to how open the hair cuticle is and how it interacts with moisture. To test it, slide your thumb along a strand from the ends toward the base. If the strand feels rough or snaggy, that indicates lifted cuticle scales and higher porosity. The direction matters because moving from the ends toward the base reveals roughness caused by scales that aren’t lying flat along the strand, giving a clearer sense of porosity. Soaking the strand in water and weighing it can hint at moisture uptake but is less precise in practice, and a specialized porosity meter is a more lab-oriented tool. The ends-to-base tactile test is the quick, practical method.

Porosity refers to how open the hair cuticle is and how it interacts with moisture. To test it, slide your thumb along a strand from the ends toward the base. If the strand feels rough or snaggy, that indicates lifted cuticle scales and higher porosity. The direction matters because moving from the ends toward the base reveals roughness caused by scales that aren’t lying flat along the strand, giving a clearer sense of porosity. Soaking the strand in water and weighing it can hint at moisture uptake but is less precise in practice, and a specialized porosity meter is a more lab-oriented tool. The ends-to-base tactile test is the quick, practical method.