Often times, many naturals have more than one hair type or curl pattern. It's quite common for you to have a tighter curl pattern in one area and a looser pattern throughout your hair or vice versa.
It may sound simple, but like most attempts to define human characteristics, it isn't. You could have type 4C at your crown and 4A at your temples. Your hair could be straight at the root and wavy at the ends. The key is to understand what each type needs so you can style it well and keep it healthy.
Each person has a unique texture. There are four main types of hair texture: Type 1 - straight, Type 2 - wavy, Type 3 - curly and Type 4 - tightly curled. The hair type and texture can be further broken down into a, b and c based on the hair's curl pattern, density, porosity, width and length.
Genetic factors appear to play a major role in determining hair texture—straight, wavy, or curly—and the thickness of individual strands of hair. Studies suggest that different genes influence hair texture and thickness in people of different ethnic backgrounds.
And the answer is a resounding yes! It's actually quite common for those with textured hair to have various textures at one time. While it can be a bit of a struggle to manage your mane, as long as you care for each texture the right way, your strands will be in good shape.
4c hair type has the tightest curl pattern of all the curly hair types. Strands are formed in tight, springy, ringlets. 4c hair tends to clump more at the ends and is even more prone to shrinkage than 4b hair. According to CURLS, 4c hair can shrink up to 75% of its length!
If your curls easily wrap around the sidewalk chalk, then you have type 3A hair. If the permanent marker is the best fit, then your hair type is 3B. If your spiral curls are the size of a pencil, you have type 3C hair.
Type 2 hair refers to wavy tresses. If you have hair that is straight from the roots to near the eyes and then falls into gently tousled waves, you have 2A type hair. It is best described as not quite straight and slightly curly hair. The slight S-shaped bends in the hair provide a natural bounce and body.
More than 90% of Han Chinese, 70% of Japanese and Thai people, and 60% to 90% of Native Americans carry the “thick hair" version of the gene. Meanwhile it's almost nonexistent in people of African and European descent.
Type 1A hair is very straight and fine, with no hint of wave or curl. As it is so straight and fine, when the natural oils travel to the ends, it tends to cause it to look like oily hair. It is the rarest hair type and is common among women of Asian descent.
Type 1B is distinguished from 1A by its ability to hold a curl. The ends of Type 1B tend to curl under slightly versus them being completely straight. Type 1C is generally straight, has body like 1B, and has a few waves hidden here and there.
How Does Baby Hair Texture Change? The texture of your child's lanugo hair may be drastically different than his terminal hair. That's because, over time, the diameter of your child's follicles enlarge as your child grows. And as the diameter changes, the shape of the follicle develops into its adult form.
Type 5 hair typically refers to natural, multi-textured hair with a mixture of frizz and curls within its fine strands. In its natural state, you'll find that type 5 hair ranges from loosely coiled to tightly coiled, usually with S or Z-shaped curls that would typically fall under the 3A to 4C hair type categories.
3A hair is made up of well-defined and springy curls that have a loopy, “S” shaped pattern. Their circumference is the size of a piece of sidewalk chalk. 3A ringlets have a fine to medium texture. This curl type benefits from lots of body and movement, but is prone to frizzing and dryness.
The African hair is more coiled and drier; Asian hair (Korean, Japanese) is straighter and thicker; and Caucasian hair is somewhere in between with around 45% having straight hair, 40% having wavy hair, and 15% having curly hair.
In most cases, ethnicity has been classified into three groups: African, Asian and Caucasian. It has been reported that Asian hair is generally straight and is the thickest, while its cross-section is the most round-shaped among these three.
Many Asians have naturally straight hair, but there is a significant group of us who do have naturally curly or wavy hair! However, because it's the norm to see straight and sleek hair, curly haired boys and girls tend to think that their hair is some kind of unruly straight hair that isn't behaving.
The thickest strand of human hair is 772 micrometres (0.03 inches) and was plucked from the beard of Muhammad Umair Khan (Pakistan), in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, as verified on 3 March 2021.
3C hair is made up of well-defined, tight corkscrews or coils with lots of strands densely packed together. Their circumference is the size of a pencil or straw. 3C curls have a fine to medium texture. This curl type is prone to dryness, tangles, and lack of curl definition.
2A hair tends to have a tousled texture. 2B hair consists of 'S' shaped waves in the lengths, but sits relatively straight at the roots. 2C hair has even more defined 'S' shaped curls that start from the root and continue down the lengths of the hair.
Type 2c hair is the apex of waviness. Its ultra-defined natural waves are not easily ignored or erased. Through wind, rain, or shine, it's wavy texture will not lose its shape— though it may experience a little frizz or excess volume. Even when your 2c hair is being unruly, don't take this hair type for granted.
3C hair strands have larger curls than 4A hair, which are a bit more tightly coiled. 3C hair has a reputation for being tightly densely packed, but otherwise soft to touch.
2c hair has “S” shaped waves that go down the whole strands. However, 3a hair has loosely wound spirals that start at the scalp itself. What is this? You might see that 2c hair appears straighter in a few places and curlier in others, but 3a hair has a consistent pattern of curls throughout.
1C hair is straight but thick and coarse. It has a natural tousled look and tends to frizz. Type 2 is wavy hair. Wavy hair follicles tend to have an “S” shape. Wavy strands are bendable, lay flatter than curly or coily hair, and can be fine, coarse or in between.