We all come into this world with hair, yet we know so little about it. Knowing your hair type is SO important when determining how to care for it best. Before you read on, remember that your hair's current state can be much different than what it is naturally if your hair has been color treated or stressed from other factors. For instance, scalp oiliness may be a symptom of over washing rather than your head's natural tendency and dry hair may be more straight and frizzy than your texture actually is.

Porosity - The amount water and product molecules can enter and leave the cuticle; its permeability. This is controlled by the condition of the cuticle scales. The cuticle layer is more porous if the scales are broken or missing and/or stand up. Healthy hair tends to be less porous than damaged and unhealthy hair this way. Low porousness can also be a challenge if this hair strand loses moisture due to everyday damage and styling and since the cuticle is tight it is more difficult for moisture to be replenished in the shower or during conditioning treatments. To roughly determine your porosity, grab a washed and dry hair strand that has been shed and drop it into a glass of water. Since our hair is less dense than water, it will float at first. Tap it a little now to break the water's surface tension. The faster it sinks, the more porous our hair is as indicated by the speed at which water can penetrate the strand and increase its density. If it sinks in the span of a few minutes, the hair is likely porous. If it never sinks, your hair is very un-porous. This isn't an exact test, but it can give you an idea. Close monitoring of how smooth a single strand feels, how shiny it is, and how well penetrative oils absorb into your hair will also be indications of your porosity. Thicker oils, heavy conditioners, proteins, and silicones will be more likely to have a weighing-down effect on low porous hair than high.

Oiliness - The amount of oil your scalp produces naturally. As mentioned earlier, over washing can increase the amount of oil your scalp produces (it's trying to keep up with you!). So while some people naturally produce enough oil that the hair needs washing every day and would thus consider themselves as oily, for most people decreasing the frequency of wash and using less-harsh surfactants/fewer products that build up will decrease oil production. On the other side of the coin is a dry scalp, characterized by dandruff and itchiness (though these may also be signs of a more serious condition). Over washing with harsh shampoos may be stripping out so much oil that your head can't keep up, or your head may be naturally dry.

Shine - The amount of light reflected from the hair shaft. Shiny hair resembles a polished surface with a crisp line of light reflection, while matte hair reflects less light. Examples of matte hair is cool toned hair color, both natural and color treated. What light that is reflected looks more diffused. While amount of shine can be influenced by hair condition, there is a natural level our hair is capable of depending on amount of curl, hair shaft shape (rounder reflects more, flat reflects less), and porousness (more cuticle uplift = more textured surface = light is diffused, not reflected back to your eye). East and South Asian hair tends to be roundest and least porous, while African hair tends to be flattest and most porous.

Shaft Thickness - There are two kinds of hair "thickness," but this is the one referred to most often. It is the width of an individual strand of hair. Strands with relatively small widths are termed as thin or fine, while wider hair is thick or coarse. Determining this requires comparing your strands to that of others and seeing how often yours appears thicker. Blonde Caucasian hair is typically the finest, while black East Asian hair is typically the thickest. Fine hair is more prone to breakage than thick hair, simply because there are fewer protein bonds to break in the shaft. It is also easier to weigh down with products and can't absorb as much protein/moisture/conditioner. Heavy conditioners, non-volatile silicones, and multi-layering silicones will be more detrimental to fine hair than thick.

Density - The other form of "thickness" is the density of hair on your head, or number of strands per square unit of area. Discovering this means comparing the diameter of a ponytail against someone with similar strand thickness. Because of these two variables, hair can be thick and dense, thick but sparse, fine but dense, or fine and sparse. Density influences the amount of product you need to apply. Denser hair can also mean a sweatier scalp.

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