If you can understand your hair, you will be able to treat it right, find the right hair products, and help get you the healthy hair we all want. So, what are the types of hair, and what is your hair texture? Let’s get into how to figure out your hair type with a few hair characteristics.
Hair Characteristics
There are a few different characteristics that play into what are the types of hair and what your hair type is.
- texture
- porosity
- Scalp Moisture
- density
- Type
Let’s break each one down, how to determine yours, and where to go from there.
Hair Texture
The thickness of the individual hair strand. The thickness of your hair is either classified as fine, medium, or coarse.
*Don’t get fine hair texture confused with thin hair. Those are two different things but sometimes get thrown around interchangeably.
You can figure out your hair texture in two different ways.
For the first test, you can figure it out by how your hair holds a style. Fine hair doesn’t hold on to curls well. Medium hair is pretty easy to style and holds for a long period of time. Coarse hair holds a curl but is hard to initially style because it’s less supple.
**If you want to learn some ways how to help your hair hold a curl, check out this blog post.
For the second test, take a strand of hair on a piece of paper and lay it next to a piece of sewing thread. If your hair appears thicker, your hair is more likely coarse, if it’s thinner, you have fine hair. If it’s in between, it’s medium.
Hair porosity
The amount of moisture your hair absorbs. Porosity is determined by the amounts of gaps or tears in your hair cuticle. The cuticle is the outer part of your hair that protects from wear and tear.
High porosity means your hair absorbs all the moisture.
Low porosity means your hair doesn’t absorb moisture easily.
Scalp Moisture
Determines how oily your hair is. Depending on how oily your scalp is will determine how often you should wash your hair and the type of products to help your hair look fresh and clean.
Hair Type
The shape of your hair fibers.
Type 1 AKA Straight Hair
Straight hair is type 1 hair and is considered to be the most resilient yet oiliest hair type. Because the hair is straight, it makes the natural oils from the scalp travel to the ends easier. Straight hair can be hard to curl.
1A – Straight, superfine, and fragile – Sheds & falls out easily
1B – Straight, fine, and thin – Shiny and sleek with a few course fibers sometimes with flipped ends
1c – Straight, thick, or coarse – lays flat at the root but with volume and has a slight bend
Type 2 AKA Wavy Hair
Wavy hair is type 2 hair and has an average amount of body and shine but is also prone to frizz. It’s easy to style.
2A – Wavy, fine, but almost straight – waves start at eye level
2B – Wavy – more of an S-shaped wave towards the end when air dried
2C – Course and tight waves – sometimes confused with 3A but the S wave starts at root
Type 3 AKA Loose, Curly Hair
Type 3 hair is grouped by the tightness of the curls and is considered a dry hair type as the tighter the hair curls are, the harder for the oils to travel down the hair. It can be prone to damage and breakage when treated rough or with chemicals.
3A – Loose ringlets and fine to medium texture – well-defined springy curls size of sidewalk chalk
3B – Between bouncy ringlet and tight corkscrew – usually the size of a permanent marker
3C – Tight corkscrews – lots of strands densely packed together – the size of a pencil
Type 4 AKA Tight, Curly Hair
Type 4 hair is more of a Z pattern
4A – Tight Coil with volume – they are about the size of a crochet needle and not as interlocked as the other type 4 curls and are more ‘independent’ curls
4B – Z coil with no visible curl pattern can form into an afro – horizontal hair growth and curls are stiff and dense
Hair Density
The actual number of hairs on your head. The more hair, the higher density your hair is.
Did you figure out your hair type and the different types of hair?
XO, Annie
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