Test time.

Ever wonder how healthy your hair is? Well there are many ways to test this, but here are a few you can do real fast when you are bored. It is a test to check the porosity of your hair. Porosity is the hair's ability to retain moisture. If you have high porosity your hair tends to be a bit more damaged while low porosity usually means your hair is healthier and the cuticle is sealed down giving a smooth, shiny, healthy look. When your hair is overly porous it become dangerous to chemically treat, breaks off easier, and always looks fried or frizzy. You will also notice it takes longer to blow dry.

So how can you tell aside from just looking at your hair how porous it is? There are a few ways, but let me share the fastest and easiest. Rip a hair out of your head. You can take one from a few different areas to compare damage (hair in the front is almost always more damaged). Place the root of your hair between your thumb and index finger then slide your fingers tightly down the entire hair shaft. Is it smooth or was it a bit bumpy? If your fingers had a smooth ride your hair is probably healthy but if you felt a rough texture that might mean you have a porosity problem. You might have also noticed it gets rougher as you get towards the end of the hair strand.

One other test you can do really fast is to place your hair in a cup of water. If if floats, it is healthy because the cuticle is properly sealed protecting your hair. If it sinks, it is time for some repair! The biggest cause of porous hair is bleaching it too much, too often or other harsh chemical treatments like perms. Protein infused shampoo will definitely do some good, along with regular trims.

So if you didn't quite pass this test, don't fret. Hair is fixable and with the right treatments you will have smooth, floating hair in no time.