RAIMU MENGKONO: Hair Types

Originally posted 8/31/10, this is the 3rd place most searched post according to Google and brings thousands to this site.

Hair Types
re-post: http://afroncurls.blogspot.com/2008/09/hair-types.html
1:43 PM Posted In hair types Edit This 10 Comments »
There has been a debate on hair types on my other blog, and I thought I would bring it over here, since this is the hair blog :)

The discussion is about hair typing has thrown people off. I will say this, most people don't really know their hair type. Black Hair Media has a great post on this. Number one, if you relax, you never really see it, and if you are transitioning, you really don't see it until you get 3 to 4 inches of new growth. If you type your hair when wet, it isn't very helpful either. Also note many times, you won't just have one type. I have at least two on me. I have been relaxer free since 1999, so I think it is safe for me to assume my hair type. I just learned my hair type maybe a year and a half ago. I did it to determine how I could style my hair outside of a bun or ponytail afro puff. For almost nine years, I never once thought to wear my hair down unless it was flat ironed.

It is hard to describe hair types, but I am going to try. I will start with 3b hair:

Per Naturally Curly

"Type 3B, on the other hand, is hair with a medium amount of curl, ranging from bouncy ringlets – think of Shirley Temple – to tight corkscrews"

In my interpretation of this, 3b would be something like this:

Then you have 3c hair, which we be described per Naturally Curly is:

"Type 3C, is hair with tight curls in corkscrews. The curls can be either kinky, or very tightly curled, with lots and lots of strands densely packed together. Some people refer to this as "big hair." Getting this type of hair to blowdry straight is more challenging than for 3A or 3B, but it usually can be done. This includes those with very tight curls but finer hair, as well as coarser hair. 3C has really really tight curls, like pencil or straw circumference. 3B is like sidewalk chalk or salt shaker circumference, and 4A is like coffee stirrer circumference."

My interpretation of 3c hair:

It is just more tightly coiled and less wave.

4a hair is:

"Type 4A, tightly coiled hair that, when stretched, has an "S" pattern, much like curly hair"

My interpretation of 4a hair is:

definitive coils are detected, if stretched it would look like an "S"

4b hair is

" Type 4B, which has a "Z" pattern, less of a defined curl pattern (instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter "Z")."

Again my interpretation.

Now in regards to the hair typing system. Some feel it is a new version of "good hair" vs. "bad hair", and I definitely can see that happening. I have met those who swear up and down they got naturally wavy hair from their great grandmother who was Apache. Or folks who like to talk about people's "kitchens", but I understand why there might be a system in place, and it has everything to do with how to care for your hair and what products might be better for your hair. I can't do my hair the same way that someone with type 1 hair (i.e. bone straight) does their hair, nor can I use the all of the products they use and vice versa. Twists don' work well for my hair like I see on some folks with 4b hair. Their twists are beautiful, mine unravel and just make my hair frizzy. Glycerin works well for some people and shea butter is the devil, but I haven't had a positive experience with glycerin, and me and shea butter are BFFs. I say use it as a guideline, rather than a lifestyle and it could be beneficial.

http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types

About the Hair Type Classification System

Andre Walker, who has won numerous Emmys for his work on the Oprah show, has worked out a curly hair types system, which NaturallyCurly readers have adopted and modified. Many of you have seen it referenced on the discussion boards. For your convenience, we've put together these handy charts detailing the different types of curly hair, as well as added some recommendations and curly hair tips for all types of curls. You'll find information about all the curly hair types: Type 2a hair, Type 2b hair, Type 2c hair, Type 3a hair, Type 3b hair, Type 3c hair, Type 4a hair and Type 4b hair.