How do you know your hair type?

Author: Demetrius Mitchell Sr.  |  Last update: Tuesday, May 3, 2022

How To Determine Your Hair Type?
  1. Straight Hair. If your hair falls flat from the roots to the tips, you have straight hair. ...
  2. Wavy Hair. Wavy hair lies between straight and curly. ...
  3. Curly Hair. Check if your hair strands have an 'S' pattern. ...
  4. Coily Hair. Coily hair follows a 'z' pattern.

What are the 4 types of hair?

Hair type is all about your hair's curl pattern. Type 1 hair is straight. Type 2 is best described as wavy. Type 3 hair is curly, and type 4 is coily.

Is my hair 3C or 3B?

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.

Is my hair 3C or 4a?

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.

What is Type 4a hair?

Type 4a hair has medium-sized, loosely packed curls. The curls have a springy S-shape and are about the size of a crochet needle. If you look closely at the 4a hair type, you'll notice the curls are not as interlocked as 4b or 4c curls. Each 4a strand independently curls or spirals away from other neighboring strands.

Find Out What Your Hair Type Really Is

What does 4C hair look like?

Type 4C. 4C textures are similar to 4B textures, but the tightly-coiled strands are more fragile and have a very tight zig-zag pattern that is sometimes indiscernible to the eye. This hair type experiences the greatest amount of shrinkage — about 75 percent or more — than the other textures.

What do 3a curls look like?

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.

What does 2C hair look like?

Type 2C hair has defined waves that start at the roots, and is thicker than the other subcategories. This hair type starts to form loose spiral curls and has that “S” shape. Type 2C tends to be the most prone to frizz of the Type 2 category. With wavy hair, the biggest frustration is that it tends to frizz easily.

Is my hair 2A or 2B?

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.

What is 1C hair?

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.

Is 4c curly hair?

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!

Do I have Type 3a?

Type 3a hair is characterized by well-defined spiral curls that are typically the size of a piece of sidewalk chalk. Although the circumference of 3a curls is wider than that of 3b and 3c hair, it can be difficult to tell the three curl types apart.

What is 3b hair type?

Within the category of type 3 hair, 3b curls are a collection of bouncy ringlets. The circumference of each swirl is roughly that of a Sharpie marker. Because your curl type straddles the happy medium between 3a and 3c hair, you may also have some loose spirals and springy corkscrews in your locks.

How do I know if I have 4A hair?

Type 4A hair type has lots of tight coils and forms an “S” pattern when stretched. It has a clear, well-defined curl pattern, and it tends to look darker than it really is because it has a high density, which means that it's usually very thick.

How do you know if you have 3C hair?

How do you know if you might be a Type 3C? You would have very curly hair that held on to its S or Z-curve shape even after being stretched out. You still retain a definite curl pattern and the texture isn't a frizzy coil.

What's the difference between 4B and 4c hair?

The curls in 4B are tighter and less defined, with strands ranging from fine, coarse, wiry and thin. While the 4c hair type is densely packed, its curls are less defined and experience more shrinkage. It's also more fragile, with strands ranging from super fine and soft to coarse and wiry.

What is type 3C hair?

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.

Can 3b hair get box braids?

Jumbo box braids are another great option for 3b hair. They take less time than small braids or scalp braids, and they're cheap and easy to do on yourself.

Is 2B hair curly?

2B Hair type is best described as wavy hair. This hair type is not quite curly and it's not quite straight. If your hair is mostly flat and straight at the roots but gets wavier and more “S” shaped toward the bottom, then you have 2B hair!

What is 2C 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.

What is 1A hair type?

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.

Is there a type 5 hair?

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.

What is the rarest type of hair?

Natural red hair is the rarest hair color in the world, only occurring in 1 to 2% of the global population. Since red hair is a recessive genetic trait, it is necessary for both parents to carry the gene, whether or not they themselves are redheaded.

What does type 2A hair look like?

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.

Previous article
Is thread lift painful?
Next article
How long does purging with Differin last?