Do you know what number/letter group your hair falls into? (2abc, 3abc or 4abc) If you don’t it’s ok because I did not know what any of that meant until some time ago but once I discovered about it, it made such a difference!
Once you know what your hair type is and the category it falls into, you will know what type of care it needs and what products you need to use! Let me explain a little more. (quiz link at the bottom)
Andre Walker, who is Oprah’s hair stylist, has created a widely used hair classification system.
There are 4 categories and each have 3 sub-categories.
Type 1: Straight Hair
| 1a | Straight (Fine/Thin) | Very Soft, Shiny, Hard to hold a curl, hair tends to be oily, hard to damage. |
|---|---|---|
| 1b | Straight (Medium) | Has lots of body. (i.e. more volume, more full) |
| 1c | Straight (Coarse) | Hard to curl. (i.e. bone straight) |
Type 2: Wavy Hair
| 2a | Wavy SWAVY | Can accomplish various styles. Definite “S” pattern. Hair sticks close to the head.Easy to style and handle. |
|---|---|---|
| 2b | Wavy CURVY | A bit resistant to styling. Hair tends to be frizzy. |
| 2c | Wavy WHIRLY | Hair has thicker waves. Also resistant to styling. Hair tends to be frizzy. |
Type 3: Curly Hair
When this type of hair is wet, it looks pretty straight. As it dries, the hair goes back to being curly.
Humidity tends to make this type of curly hair even curlier and frizzier. Type 3 hair has a lot of body and is easily styled in its natural state, or it can be easily straightened with a blow-dryer into a smoother style. Healthy Type 3 hair is shiny, with soft, smooth curls and strong elasticity. The curls are well-defined and springy. It is not unusual to see a combination of type 3 all at the same time! ( This is me!)
| 3a | Curly TWIRLY |
Thick & full with lots of body. Definite “S” pattern. Hair tends to be frizzy. Can have a combination texture. |
|---|---|---|
| 3b | Curly SPIRALLY | Medium amount of curl. Can have a combination texture. |
| 3c | Curly COILY | Tight curls in corkscrews. The curls can be either kinky, or very tightly curled, with lots and lots of strands densely packed together. |
Type 4: Coily Hair
Type 4 tends to look very course but in reality it is actually soft and the most fragile of all types.
| 4a | Kinky SPRINGY |
Tightly coiled. Very Fragile. Has a more defined curly pattern |
|---|---|---|
| 4b | Kinky CRIMPY |
Tightly coiled. Very Fragile. Less defined curly pattern. Has more of a “Z” shaped pattern. |
| 4c | Kinky ZIGGLY |
Some say 4c looks identical to 4b except that the curls are so tightly kinked, there is seemingly no definition. |
Naturally Curly is an amazing website and you can find just about anything and everything about hair on here. Here is the link to the quiz where you can find out what hair type you belong to and hair care tips and suggested products.
http://www.naturallycurly.com/
Just click on the Hair Types and Take the Quiz from the drop down menu.
July 9, 2013 at 4:45 pm
I think that my hair is either 1a or 1c. thanks for the post.
https://styleandcreations.wordpress.com/
July 9, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Glad you liked it Sarah!
July 10, 2013 at 7:31 pm
Wavy Swavy just as I suspected. It used to be curlier but seems to have lost a lot of curl in the last few years.
July 10, 2013 at 8:34 pm
All I know is that your hair has always been so thick and strong. Like such good hair. And omg it always smelled like candy!
July 11, 2015 at 1:53 am
I have either curly coily or curly twirly
February 9, 2016 at 3:37 am
Do you happen to know what the name of 4A is? I’m looking for a model and she seems to fit. Thank you.
February 9, 2016 at 10:49 am
Well type 4 is coily hair so it would just be 4a. I don’t think there’s a specific name. If you go to the link I provided naturally curly website you can find out more info. Hope that helps.
February 9, 2016 at 10:56 am
Actually, I meant the woman, not the hair type
February 9, 2016 at 10:50 am
Actually if you look under the photo I have up there are names mentioned there. Kinky coily 4a.