How to Moisturise for Your Hair’s Porosity

Your hair’s relationship with moisture describes its porosity. In plain English, how easily your hair lets water or products in, and how easily it lets either go. When you understand that, then you’ll have a clear understanding of how to effectively moisture your hair. Haircare becomes more... predictable.

Here’s the part that matters: your porosity decides whether you need to focus more on “getting moisture in” or “keeping it in”. Same goal, different strategy.

If your hair leans LOW porosity, you’ll notice:	If your hair leans HIGH porosity, you’ll notice:
●      Water and product sit on top for a while before sinking in ●      Your hair takes forever to dry ●      Build-up happens quickly if you layer too much	●      Hair gets wet fast and dries fast ●      It feels dry again quickly after moisturising ●      It tangles easily, frizzes easily, and breaks easily (especially at the ends)

Medium porosity hair behaves most ideally. Moisture goes in without a fight and lasts a good amount of time. Medium porosity hair is ke show-off (jk).

Something to keep in mind that you may not be aware of is that your ends are often higher porosity than your roots because they’re older, have seen more friction, and have taken more strain over time. This is why cutting off split ends matters. You want to try to make sure that your hair routine works for all of your hair. Okay, now you know your porosity, what now?

If you’re LOW porosity: keep things light and help products sink in.

1. Apply your moisturising layers on properly damp hair (not barely misted).

2. Products like MPL Fermented Rice Water or MPL Clove Hair Food are your friend.

3. If you’re sealing, choose a lighter finish like MPL Vitamin E Hair Oil or a small amount of MPL Olive Hair Oil.

4. If your hair often feels coated, reset with MPL Charcoal Shampoo & Conditioner, so products don’t sit on top of old products.

If you’re HIGH porosity: you don’t struggle with absorption — you struggle with retention.

1. Prioritise a richer “support + seal” approach after your base moisture layer.

2. Use MPL Fermented Rice Water, then follow with MPL Hair Treatment 5 Oils as your softening/support layer.

3. Seal with something that holds on longer: MPL Coconut Hair Oil or targeted MPL Black Castor Oil on ends and fragile spots. MPL’s own high-porosity guidance leans into heavier ingredients for sealing because moisture escapes quickly.

If your hair is still dry but feels greasy, you’re probably layering wrong for your porosity, i.e., too heavy for low porosity, or not enough sealing/support for high porosity. You can do a strand test to verify your hair’s porosity and fix your routine accordingly.

How you layer your products matters, so don’t just mix everything. And nothing serves your hair more than a gentle hand and a watchful, patient eye. To informed hair care!

Love MPL,

Your Hair Doctor