The Individual Hair Strand

Hair Type: All

Hair Porosity: All

Hair Sensitivities: All

Hair Goal: All

It is so important to understand the individual hair strand structure. The basis of all hair care and healthy hair regimens can be simplified to the individual hair strand structure. Let us take a closer to look to how our hair is organized.

The Cuticle Layer- The First Layer

The surface layer of your hair strand is the cuticle layer. This is the first layer of your hair strand and the gateway to your products. Your cuticles are the protective layer of your hair. They allow water, oils, and other bioactive molecules to enter into the hair. Hair that has water stored in your hair for a long period of time is considered moisturized. When hair gets past your cuticle layer into your cortex, water becomes truly beneficial to your hair. Moisturized hair is soft, shiny or full of luster, can be detangled, and has some weight to it.

How Cuticles Lay Determine Porosity

Everyone has different types of cuticles and it is important to know how your cuticles lay. Porosity is the determined by how flat or raised your cuticles are.

Low Porosity	Cuticles lay flat. This porosity has problems with absorbing water and product in general. This is because product tends to sit on top of the hair. This type of porosity is also picky and store-brought products do not always work due to its high acidity. Basic Behaviors and Low Porosity Traits: -When doing the hair strand test, the hair sits on top of lukewarm water after 3 min. -Hair takes time becoming "wet" or saturated. Hair poofs up and it can take up to 10-15 min for hair to finally get heavy and condense. -Hair can be chronically dehydrated because water cannot get past the cuticle layer. Takes a long time to release water and dries slowly.
Normal Porosity	The cuticles are slightly raised. This porosity has no problems absorbing water and product. It is pretty easy going and can handle most products. This porosity is sometimes categorized as high porosity because they both have raised cuticles. Normal and high porosity hair behave similarly to each other. Basic Behaviors and Normal Porosity Traits: -When doing the hair strand test, the hair will sink to the middle of the container after 3 min. It will then slowly sink to the bottom due to its open cuticles. -Hair becomes saturated quickly and becomes heavy with water when being washed. -This hair is usually easy going, absorbs the right amount of product, releases water at a normal rate. People with this hair type usually do not have many issues with moisture retention and build-up.
High Porosity	The cuticles are raised. This porosity readily absorbs water and product. Some may say that it absorbs more than it should. It does extremely well with thicker and heavier products. This porosity also loves store-brought products. Basic Behaviors and High Porosity Traits: -When doing the hair strand test, the hair will sink to the bottom. This usually happens quickly. -Hair becomes extremely saturated and heavy with water when washed. -Hair loses water easily and dries out within 10-30 min after washing.

How To Do the Hair Strand Test

1. Start with freshly washed hair. Hair with product will skew results. Hair that is sealed in with oils and creams could be mistaken as low porosity.

2. Take lukewarm/room temperature water. It is best to use purified or distilled water.

3. Take some shed hair or strands (try not to pluck a fresh hair) and place in the water.

4. Set a timer for about 3 minutes.

5. Refer to the table above to interpret the results of the hair strand test

Website Citation: https://theorganibrands.com

The Cortex- The Foundation of Your Hair

The cortex is the second layer and the very foundation of what your hair is made of. Melanin is stored in your cortex (your hair color). Water is stored in your cortex (hydrogen bonds). Your curl pattern and hair behaviors are within your cortex (disulfide bonds). Your cortex makes your hair YOU. When water, oils, and other bioactive molecules in your products penetrate or absorb into your hair, this is the layer they are trying to reach. Remember, products cannot benefit your hair entirely unless there is some absorption. It needs to reach the foundation. Healthy hair contains water and oils and unbroken bonds. Your cortex is also protected by an outer layer, the cuticle, which means it is somewhat fragile. Maintaining your cortex means maintaining healthy hair for your overall lifetime.

The Medulla- The "Third-ish" Layer

This layer is not present with all hair types. The medulla is only seen in coarse-textured hair. The medulla contributes to the thickness of coarser textured hair. This part is an added structural basis to the hair. There is still not enough research on the medulla because it is not present in all hair types but it does add to the thickness and volume of the individual hair strand. Only people with coarse texture have the medulla in their hair strands. It is important to note that coarse-textured hair is the thickest but it is still fragile. Chemical treatments can possibly collapse the medulla. This can compromise your curl pattern, your hair strength, and your overall integrity. Be mindful of your texture and what it can and cannot handle.

An Overall Diagram of the Hair Structure

Website Citation: https://www.hairknowhow.com/

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Just going over the hair structure basics. Tune in next week for more information about hair structure, vocabulary you should know, and more! Follow the social media pages on Tik Tok and Insta: @africanhaircarescience. Thank you for reading and see you next time :)