Mythili Nori, Andrew Miller, Megan Franklin and Jennifer Weinstein • BASF

The personal care industry is undergoing a significant shift in consumer purchasing behavior, with more individuals embracing customizable routines and seeking personalized products tailored to their unique needs. The desire for effective solutions has led them to prioritize ingredients that cater to their specific hair types and concerns. One critical aspect they are exploring is hair porosity. While every hair type has its inherent porosity, textured hair often faces additional challenges. Understanding hair porosity is vital for selecting products that effectively meet individual hair care needs.

In this article, we will delve into consumer insights and product claims related to porosity concerns, aiming to identify ingredients that address specific hair care requirements. Although hair porosity has been covered in various blogs and articles, a complete understanding remains elusive. In collaboration with the data science company Gadfly Zone, we conducted a comprehensive analysis to uncover insights into porosity, brand language, and consumer needs, with the goal of identifying gaps in knowledge.

Social Listening Approach

Throughout our research, we utilized Andre Walker’s system¹ for hair type classification to investigate specific porosity needs. Data from various open sources was analyzed, and insights were extracted using AI-based algorithms to identify and map key questions that need to be addressed. This approach has enabled us to gain a deeper understanding of concerns surrounding porosity, identify gaps in the current product landscape, and uncover opportunities to provide tailored solutions.

Global Awareness on Hair Porosity

Google search trends over the last five years indicate a growing global curiosity about hair porosity, with countries like India, the United States and the Philippines leading in monthly search volume. Examining relative popularity by hair-type search shows that regions outside the Americas where textured hair is common show the strongest relative engagement. This suggests that while porosity is a topic of interest worldwide, its relevance is particularly pronounced in communities where textured hair is prevalent.

Increasing awareness around hair porosity reflects a broader cultural shift towards embracing and understanding diverse hair types. Data shows that men are also increasingly interested in determining their hair type, particularly in countries like Australia, the Philippines and the UK.

Exploring Diverse Needs Across Hair Types

Consumer discussions highlight that moisture, frizz management, and repair are essential across all hair textures, with specific needs varying by individual concerns. 

Wavy and straight-haired consumers focus on volume, while curly and coily-haired individuals prioritize curl definition and shrinkage. Additionally, rising ingredient consciousness is influencing purchasing behavior, leading to a preference for cleaner formulations.

Textured Hair: A Spectrum of Porosity Needs

It’s established that porosity is inherent to every hair type, regardless of its texture, and is influenced by the condition of the hair cuticle. This condition is affected by factors such as genetics, chemical treatments, heat exposure, and overall hair health. Additionally, porosity can vary along the hair shaft, adding to its complexity.

Findings indicate that textured hair (Type 2-Type 4) often face more porosity-related challenges. Contrary to expectations, textured hair does not skew exclusively towards high porosity. In fact, in-depth interviews conducted at BASF’s Consumer Testing Center revealed that low porosity is the most commonly self-identified among textured hair consumers, accounting for up to 50% of consumers. Consumers often turn to DIY hair porosity tests (Fig. 1) to identify their porosity type. However, these methods are frequently unreliable, leading to confusion and ineffective product choices that fail to deliver optimal results within their hair care routines.

Consumer Needs by Porosity Type

Through social listening and targeted interviews, we identified unique needs and challenges for low and high porosity hair, while some concerns call for quick remedies while others require long-term care (Fig. 2). Both porosity types demand products formulated with tailored ingredients. 

Hydration & Nourishment: A Universal Concern

Across all porosity types, hydration emerged as the top need. However, the nature of this concern varies:

High porosity hair struggles most with moisture retention. Consumers report they search for “long-lasting” moisture solutions that can be used frequently to leave hair nourished. 

Low porosity hair faces absorption challenges that result in product buildup, leaving hair coated and weighed down. Consumers prefer water-based or lightweight formulations, along with heat-assisted treatments, to enhance penetration and achieve optimal hydration and nourishment.

Key Concerns Unique to Porosity Type

High Porosity: Hair is prone to tangling, dullness and breakage. Consumers seek intensive reparative solutions that restore strength and reduce breakage while striking protein-moisture balance.

Additionally, their hair absorbs and loses moisture quickly, causing struggles with frizz and hold, which complicates styling. This group often reports limited styling options and the need to use multiple products to achieve desired results.

Low Porosity: Consumers frequently cite residue and product buildup as key issues that not only result in poor absorption but also making it difficult for individuals to achieve their desired styles. They seek frizz management solutions that maintain definition without making hair greasy or limp.

Overall consumers distinguish between aesthetic fixes (e.g., shine, curl definition) and long-term health goals (e.g., moisture retention, damage repair). High porosity users tend to lean toward long-term solutions that address the underlying issues of moisture retention and structural integrity. In contrast, low porosity users frequently seek immediate results that don’t compromise absorption. 

Striking the Balance: Medium Porosity 

Achieving medium porosity is considered the “holy grail” for consumers. Those with medium porosity face fewer hydration and product buildup concerns but still need to maintain natural texture without excessive product use. Their challenges often arise from external factors like heat styling or color treatments. Consumers seek products that balance protein and hydration, preferring clean, non-toxic solutions that support long-term hair health, with a growing interest in daily, scalp-friendly products.

Consumer Perspective: Product Preferences and Ingredient Desires

Fig. 3 illustrates the variety of products formats consumers use based on their hair porosity. Their preferences reflect a desire for ingredient narratives that align with their specific porosity needs.

Low porosity: Focus on humectants, lightweight emollients, and soothing agents to enhance moisture penetration. 

• Hyaluronic acid is recognized as a highly effective humectant, providing lasting hydration and softness without weighing hair down.
• Coconut oil is widely preferred for its hydrating properties and ability to enhance curl definition, moisturized hair with shine and manageability when used correctly.
• Silicones are viewed unfavorably as they coat the hair shaft, weigh it down, and hinder moisture penetration, which is particularly problematic for low porosity hair.

High porosity: Seek conditioning agents, heavier oils, proteins, and film-formers to repair and seal raised cuticles. 

Butters (shea, mango) and oils (argan, olive) are common in conditioners and leave-in treatments, seal moisture and enhance softness, addressing intense nourishment needs to prevent brittleness and breakage.

Proteins and amino acids are found in product treatments to repair damage and fortifying hair. These ingredients penetrate to rebuild bonds, reduce breakage and improve elasticity.

Emerging categories such as nutraceuticals and skinification of haircare are gaining traction, with a growing emphasis on scalp health, hair growth, and holistic hair care.

Market Landscape & Brand Claims

Brands are actively educating consumers and raising awareness about hair porosity, yet most products on the market do not explicitly market themselves as “porosity-targeted.” Instead, they address related concerns such as dryness, damage, frizz, poor curl definition, and lack of shine, without naming porosity as the root cause. 

Consumers look for key claims such as “hydration and nourishment,” “repair & strengthening,” frizz management & smoothness,” “lightweight & no residue,” “shine and luster,” “gentle and clean” when purchasing their products. They often rely on these symptom-based claims to guide their purchases without the confidence that they truly addressing their concerns. Research conducted at BASF also reinforces a disconnect between consumer expectations and product labeling. While porosity is a key concern, it is rarely featured prominently in marketing language. This gap presents an opportunity for brands to differentiate by aligning product claims more closely with porosity-related needs. 

Identifying the Gaps: What’s Missing and Opportunities

• Lack of Tailored Formulation Development: While ingredient solutions are available, there is a pressing need to develop and evaluate complete formulations specifically tailored to high and low porosity hair. This should encompass creating comprehensive regimens from wash to style that address and remedy porosity-specific concerns.
• Brands/Claim Language: Brands have an opportunity to shift from symptom-based claims to positioning porosity as a central marketing concept, including clear labeling of products that highlight their porosity-targeted benefits.
• Consumer Education Tools: There is significant demand for tools that help consumers accurately identify their porosity and select suitable products. These tools could include test kits, AI-based quizzes, or partnerships with influencers.

Addressing Consumer Needs 

At BASF, we have taken a proactive approach to bridge the gap between consumer language and technical solutions. Through a social listening initiative and in-depth ingredient mapping, we identified top consumer concerns, such as moisture retention, frizz management and breakage, and aligned them with existing ingredient solutions.

While we have made significant strides in aligning ingredient solutions with porosity needs, several gaps remain. We are exploring strategic approaches to address consumer needs to begin with: 

• Porosity-Tailored Ingredient Mapping: Linking specific BASF ingredients to porosity-related concerns, such as using actives, emollients, and conditioning agents for high porosity hair.
• In-Vitro Testing Methods: Developing lab-based methods to validate porosity claims and debunk consumer confusion around porosity assessments.

We will use performance testing data to demonstrate measurable improvements in fiber properties, such as frizz manageability, conditioning, and strengthening, based on tailored ingredients in various product treatments.

Conclusion

We recognize that understanding porosity is crucial for crafting effective hair care products, and we are committed to investing in consumer research, performance testing, and exploring novel methods to provide reliable insights into individual hair characteristics and identify ingredient solutions to address specific porosity challenges. 

This article is the beginning of our continued research into science-backed data that substantiates marketing claims and provides scientific validation for product development focused on high porosity hair. Our goal is to develop an ingredient toolbox that leverages our formulation expertise, empowering brands to provide personalized, effective, and scientifically grounded hair care solutions. By addressing the persistent challenges of hair porosity, we aim to strengthen consumer trust and enhance satisfaction.

Reference

1. https://www.divinablk.com/en/blog/item/348-get-to-know-your-hair-type-with-the-andre-walker-method

Mythili Nori is Senior Scientist, Performance & Claims; Andrew Miller is Senior Marketing Manager–Hair, Body & Oral Care; Megan Franklin is Applications Personal Care and Jennifer Weinstein, Head of Product Performance & Claims Substantiation, at BASF.