.: Find out what your hair type is

Find out what your hair type is

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Finding what your hair type is essential for you to better care for your hair. I've combined methods hair professionals use to determine hair types.
(See chart below)

There are many ways for determining hair types. Scroll up to read more. Don't worry about understanding everything, I've added pictures below so you can easily determine what your hair type is. So just go to the pictures section below if you don't want to read the explanations and you'll do just fine.

Scroll up to read more about hair texture, porosity, elasticity and

There are 4 different numbers you'll fall into (hair wave patterns):

1- Straight Hair
2- Wavy Hair
3- Curly Hair
4- Kinky Hair

(kinky hair is sometimes labeled as curly hair)

Within those 4 numbers there will be many more different categories depending on your hair texture, (yes you can have straight hair with a coarse texture just like you can have curly hair with a fine texture), hair elasticity, hair porosity and hair density. Don't worry, it seems a bit confusing now but it's not. Just look at the chart below and you'll know immediately where you fit in.

IMPORTANT NOTE 4 MULTIETHNIC HAIR: Although I have featured pictures of caucasian women in the chart to have a wide range of examples available for you (some are white latinas), multiethnic curly hair have DRASTIC DIFFERENT needs than, let's say Nicole Kidman’s curly hair. Caucasian hair tends to produce more sebum (oily secretion created by the sebaceous gland). That's why multiethnic curly hair requires more oil. When looking for products, check if the box mentions natural oils and quality ingredients. But make sure the products are not too oily as multiethnic haircare tends to need less oil than black haircare...with too much oil the hair can get greasy.

++ CURLY HAIR has the most variety and different textures/waves pattern combination possible out of any hair type followed by wavy hair.

(FOR CURLY/WAVY HAIR: Remember no 2 hair is exactly the same, those are only examples...obviously you can achieve many types of curls using curling irons and rollers, so the images below apply to your NATURAL hair either right after shampooing and conditioning and air-drying or after you use leave-in conditioning or other lotions and air dry your hair but WITHOUT BRUSHING OR COMbING your hair -but no curling iron or rollers-)
Note: There is no universal way of naming curly hair types, people usually use their own labels, the one I am using is the most frequently used. Curls are usually rated according to TEXTURE and WAVE of the curl. The rest tends to vary or follow along)

STRAIGHT HAIR CHART:

If your hair has absolutely no curl and no wave, you have straight hair. Your hair is very strong, tends to be oily, rather than dry. Straight hair can be fine and thin; medium-textured; and coarse. Straight, fine hair is very soft. It is hard to get this hair to do what you want. Medium-textured hair has lots of body, and coarse, straight hair is the hardest to curl or shape

S1	Fine and Thin (usually very low elasticity and very high porosity, very low density-that's why it's thin-) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of S1
S2	Medium hair texture with body (no elasticity, very high porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of S2
S3	Coarse hair texture (not same as curly coarse) with a lot of body it almost looks wavy (low elasticity, medium porosity, high density) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of S2

WAVY HAIR CHART

This type of hair has an “S” curve to it. It lays flat against the scalp instead of standing away from the head, as curly hair does. Wavy hair can be fine and thin, medium-textured, or thick and coarse. Sometimes wavy hair can resist styling and have a tendency to frizz.

W1	Fine texture with natural waves (usually low elasticity and porosity, density varies but usually low) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of W1
W2	Medium Texture with longer waves (usually medium elasticity and porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of W2
W3	Thicker hair (but not coarse) with very wavy hair (usually high elasticity and porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of W3

CURLY HAIR CHART

This hair has a definite “S” pattern and doesn’t lie flat against the head. It is not as shiny as straight or wavy hair because the hair doesn’t have a smooth surface for light to reflect off of. Humidity makes curly hair swell or become frizzy. Curly hair has a lot of body . The longer the hair, the more curl. Usually the crown of the head is the curliest section.

C1a	Fine texture with tight curls (usually high elasticity and porosity, density varies but usually low) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C1a
C1b	Fine texture with loose curls (usually high elasticity and porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C1b
C2a	Fine to medium texture with tight curls (usually high elasticity and porosity, density varies). CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C2a	Note: Beyoncé has HIGH density hair here, not coarse texture. Its density is high but texture fine-medium.
C2b	Fine to medium texture with loose curls (usually high elasticity and porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C2b
C3a	Medium texture with tight curls medium thickness (usually high elasticity and high porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C3a
C3b	Medium texture with loose curls (usually high elasticity and high porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C3b
C4a	Medium to coarse texture, very thick with small tight curls almost ringlets. It's different than C3a bc the hair is much more coarse although it is easy to confuse the two. (usually high elasticity and low porosity, very high density) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C4a
C4b	Medium to coarse texture with loose curls (usually high elasticity and high porosity, density varies) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of C4b

KINKY HAIR CHART

This hair is very tightly coiled, and very fragile. It appears to be coarse, but is actually very fine, with tightly packed thin strands. The reason it is so fragile is because it has fewer cuticle layers than any other hair type, so it has less protection. Many people with kinky hair use chemical relaxers to make their hair easier to control. Kinky hair can be tightly coiled hair that when stretched has an “S” pattern, or that has a “Z” pattern. The “S” pattern has more moisture than the “Z” pattern. Some people would say kinky hair starts with C4b medium to coarse texture...it really is up to you to decide

K1	Coarse texture, thick hair with small to tiny ringlets the hair looks very puffy and almost like mousse esp. when combed...can be styled differently. (usually medium elasticity and very low porosity, very high density) CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of K1
K2	Very Coarse texture, dreadlocks CLICK for products that work best on this hairtype
Examples of K2