Is Your Hair Healthy? How to Check Your Hair Condition

Porosity refers to how well your hair is able to absorb and hold moisture. It is affected by the flexible outer hair layer called the cuticle, which determines how easily moisture and oils pass in and out of your hair. For most, porosity is genetic, but it can also be affected by external factors such as exposure, heat treatments and chemical processing. Knowing your hair's porosity can help you choose the right products to keep your hair well-moisturized, supple, strong and shiny.

Pluck a clean strand and drop it in an eight-ounce glass of water. If it floats, your hair is in good condition. If it sinks, you've got "high porosity" issues. The reason it plunges is because water is able to push through the cuticle, leading to frizz and quickly fading color (color molecules escape more quickly from porous strands). To combat this, use a weekly hydrating mask with amino and fatty lipids, which will bolster your hair's outer layers, keeping your strands smooth and your shade on lockdown.

Take a strand of hair and slide your fingers up the shaft (toward the scalp). If you feel little bumps along the way, this means that your cuticle is lifted and that you have high porosity. If your fingers slip smoothly, then you have low porosity hair.

The tug test measures the elasticity of your hair. Healthy hair is slightly stretchy, while unhealthy hair is brittle and breaks when put under even minor stress. To perform a tug test, dampen a section of your hair. Grip two to three strands between your thumb and forefinger and gently pull on the ends. If it stretches by about one-third of its original length and bounces back when you let go, it's healthy. However, if your hair breaks off, it has suffered some damage to the cortex and is not structurally sound.

o perform a follicle test, pluck one strand of hair from your head, gripping it close to your scalp so that the root comes out still attached to the hair. Examine the root end of the strand. If it is bulb-shaped, that means that your hair is strong and healthy. If there is no bulb or if the section is puny, your hair is damaged.