Hair typing can be a controversial topic among naturals; some find it useful while others feel it revives the ‘good hair vs bad hair’ debate. But blogger Karsheera Latash of Wild Sunshine Bliss has come up with a new system to classify kinks, coils and curls. I gotta say, even though I’m not a hair typing kind of girl, I love that this is so simple. I could immediately identify my hair pattern (primarily C2 and 3 with a bit of A2). What do you think ladies?
This chart was originally spotted on the Natural Sunshine forum.
great visual! I’m not a hair typing person but I can identify with A2
I dunno. While it makes some sense, I don’t feel as though it’s all that different from the other system. Also, depending on how large the image is (or what % I have my zoom set on), the curl size will be different. I’m not a fan.
I still say that it doesn’t matter what your curls look like! That will never be a good reliable indicator of how a product will behave on your head.
Agreed! Texture and porosity are what’s important when learning how to take care of your hair and what products to use. Curl size doesn’t matter.
Being a non american, ie a European, we don’t tend to use or have any form of hair typing. We just tend to do what everybody else does, which is to experiment and find out what product suits our hair best. Can someone please tell me, am I missing something?
Does this picture represent the actual size of hair strand? What I mean is that: can i put a strand of my hair on the picture and get an actual hair type? I don’t know if I made some sense.
I have some curls on my head that don’t fit into this diagram at all, particular the looser textures that are less elevated s waves, but I know that no system will ever really be able to include every curl, so more power to one that’s less confusing than Andre’s.
No. Its worst.
I can’t seem to identify my hair with this one. I find the pics and descriptions on this site
http://www.naturallycurly.com/pages/hairtypes/type4
to be accurate for my hair and I also think the illustrations/photos to be much more helpful with identification.
Also to Angie’s comment above- for me it has been the exact opposite. In almost every case, if it says (or has been recommended to me) for type 4b hair, it has worked for me.
I don’t like hair typing in general because I feel its inherently racist ( rather intentionally or unintentionally ). In the classic 1a-4c hair typing, the stereotypical Afro American pattern is dead last on the ” hierarchy “. I think simply a S for s curl, C for coil, and Z for zig zag would suffice. Enough with the school grade lettering and number system.
So you want us to leave what you called school grade lettering and number system in favor of S for s curl, C for coil etc…. which is just another lettering system? S for s curl is just as bad 1 – 4. And what happens if I have Z type pattern? based on the system you posted, i’m dead last on this ‘hierachy’, does that mean that this system is racist too?
If an s, z, c system was used it would not be hierarchical, it would be based objectively on the curl pattern. C would not be better than s or z, it’s just the shape of the curl. It makes perfect sense. s-curl, z-curl, c-curl.
B.S. the number system is no more a hierarchical system than this s is for system that you posted. It is us that turned the 1 – 4 system into something that is was never meant to be. You can continue to use the s, c, z system if you want (obviously you will), but so far no-one has posted a reason (a good one) why the original 1 – 4 is bad.
I’m type 4 and loving it.
Relax EG! Geez….
I think it’s okay. I agree with the poster above that using s, c, and z to describe the hair would be even better. That was the problem with the other system. It was hard to know what Type A, B, and C were for afro textured hair.
I don’t have a problem with this hair tying system as well as the more notable one. However, I believe the problem comes in how we use it. I don’t use hair typing that much, but when I see others using it, I see it as a small reference into how their hair may look like. What I don’t mind about people typing their hair is that I can kind of understand how it looks like.
Then for some reason people started to feel like if you had one hair type, it was “better” than the other one. How mature. Or if you had a certain hair type, people thought you could or couldn’t use a certain product. NOT TRUE.
Since a lot of the natural hair things are happening online, its good to get a good idea of what someones hair may look like. But when all these assumptions are made,(ex: Oh, you can’t really be a 3a), then that is when things start to go down hill.
The hair typing system did give new life to the good hair bad hair debate. People who hate african features will always find a reason to mock it. What do you think is going to happen when you stop using type 1 – 4? Do you honestly think that people are going to go, well gee, how do I mock them now? Pulease…they will just go back to ‘nappy, ugly, slave hair etc’ I have type 4 hair and i’m proud of it. Anyone who doesn’t like it can just kiss……
I don’t even care about hair typing anymore…
+1
+2
Lawd THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told a new natural my hair is a 4qzfb. Basically I.DONT.CARE.
I think that we should not be so sensitive to hair typing. Like BeautyIam said, it depend on wt it’s is used for. If you’re using it just to compare texture then wts the point. Its simpily a scale of wt texture you have, to know what type of products to use. I usually use my own scale which is….fine,medium or coarse. Which can go into medium fine or medium coarse combinations. The 1-4 scale is not bad, takes some getting use to, but not bad. You need to know your texture when ppl are refering products. Thats why you have so many ppl saying “that didn’t work for my hair” well if you knew her texture before hand you would have known that the product wont work on fine hair, or that if your hair is a 4c you need a heavier product in order to make it look a certain way. If someone with a finer texture do twist and it looks shinny and really defined, then you as a 4c can more then likely get the same look by khowing ur texture and knowing tht u need a heavier prod. I dont think the scale was set up to be critical of certain hair types but to break down all the diff types because our hair is so unique. I have a 4b type and that lets me know what styling prods I can use like something thick and heavy or something light. I have ppl coming to me saying they wish their hair would look as thick as mine if they have fine wavy hair. Lets not be so sensitive about everything ladies…
The problem with your comment is that someone can have a 4c hair texture and have fine strands so a heavier product may not work for them. The tying just relates to curl definition and appearance, it has nothing to do with hair texture (strand size).
You don’t even seem to understand what you are advocating.
Ditto.
I disagree. I have all of the 4′s, which makes wash day interesting to say the least. What I have learned is that the heavier products like shea butter work for me, but I have to cut them with aloe vera gel, and I now add glycerin to the concoction as well. This keeps the products from being to heavy for my fine strands, while helping me retain my moisture. So while she may not have aritculated the benefits of hair typing to your liking, I consider myself living proof that hair typing works, it has saved my hair for the very reasons she mentioned.
You disagree about what? That hair typing has nothing to do with hair texture (strand size)?
That is fine. You are welcome to your ignorance, but for anyone that wants accurate information, here is some more: http://livecurlylivefree.blogspot.com/2009/01/hair-texture.html
June I think for styling purpose the typing systems could be helpful if they covered most aspect of texture which they don’t. I think for system to be truely useful they need to cover curl patter, curl diameter, strand thickness and hair density. I would include porosity but I think it will not affect what hair looks like visually but how it will act under different weather conditions and product applications.
Hard for me to explain but I equate porosity of the strand to the sensitivity of skin. You can apply makeup properly based the oiliness/dryness of the skin but the sensitivity is will determine what makeups you can use and how long you could use them for and what you may use under your makeup. I hope got the analogy correct.
I agree with you. If curl defining is a necessity then the typing system is your friend. But, if a person is concerned about having hair that is healthy, texture and porosity is key.
I am so glad I knew nothing about the hair typing system when I went natural. No clue whatsoever. I just don’t get the attention to it or the hang ups about it. It is obviously not science as I have been labeled everything from 3B to 4B depending on if I use a gel or not, how watery or creamy my leave-in was, or if I had just woken up with a bonnet or not. It is ridiculous how people are so determined to label their hair, and anyone around them, with this typing system that is so very limited.
Agreed.
I like it. But it doesn’t show hair density(thin, thick, medium) Sometimes you can have any type of hair but you need to at least know how many strands on the head and if the apperance and weight is heavy, medium or light(see through).
Also typing in and of itself doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is the “intention”. I use typing to get a sense of who has hair like mine so I don’t have to search one million videos, for instance. But I don’t use it to identify who has a particular type of hair, because, I necessarily find it to be better than mine.
Let’s not mix up a “definition” with an “intention”. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.
If you still have that negative connotation of “good hair” stuff in your mind, then you have issues, regardless if their is a hair typing system at all.
Uhmmm hair typing…probably A4 fine/medium strands
this is pretty neat, but I don’t know how you tell what the sizes are. I think hair typing can be handy because it helps find people with similar hair. I have fine strands and tight coils and s’s, and so I make sure to take a peek when someone says their hair is 4a because I have a hope of seeing something that will behave like mine. I also peek at other fine haired people with different curl patterns because they might have some advice I can use too. The reason the Andre system is numbered with straight as “1″ is probably because you can’t get straighter than straight, but how do you pick the curliest curl? Increasing number means increasing curliness from a baseline… people say tight coils are “at the bottom”, but it’s the highest number! I would bet money that if it was the other way around people would complain that the low number meant out hair was beneath other types. I don’t think the problem is the typing system at all, it’s how people use it, and what the different curl patterns mean to them. If you don’t type your hair, fine, but I think it can be helpful if you don’t let it mean the whole world to you.
I like the idea of a hair typing chart. It helps us to understand how to care for our hair. Being only 10 months natural I often refer to the hair chart for product buying, handling and moisture issues. I wish that we could all just take things a little lighter. The chart isn’t telling us what texture is better or worse, its just a guide ladies. We should try not to be so defensive, unless we can offer something better. :-)
Just from the above discussions, I am glad that we don’t hair typing systems.
From the rest of the world
If helps individuals to deal with their hair,then all power to your elbow. As an outsider,I am not criticising,just making observations…………..
Goodness, there are so many freakin’ typing systems. It’s like one comes out every few years.
Although many (particularly naturals) have a problem with it, I’m partial to Andre Walker’s original chart.
I don’t and never have used any typing system myself, but his seems to be pretty simple and straightforward.