Over the past few months several readers have asked us to break down hair typing. Whether or not you feel that hair typing is important, the fact remains that it can be difficult to follow along with online discussions without knowing the various texture references. After some searching we found NaturallyCurly.com’s hair typing guide to be the most comprehensive — although it does not include a type 4c category — so we’ve included excerpts here.
Type 4 – Kinky Hair
• Type 4 is kinky, or very tightly curled, with a clearly visible curl pattern
• Circumference: Crochet needle or even smaller
• The hair is very wiry, very tightly coiled and very, very fragile
• Type 4 hair can range from fine/thin to wiry/coarse with lots and lots of strands densely packed together
• Type 4 hair has fewer cuticle layers than any other hair type, which means that it has less natural protection from the damage you inflict by combing, brushing, curling, blow-drying and straightening it
• Type 4 hair is known to shrink up to 75% of the actual hair length
There are two Type 4 subtypes:
•4b: Has a “Z” pattern, less of a defined curl pattern. Instead of curling or coiling, the hair bends in sharp angles like the letter “Z”; has a cotton-like feel
•4b celebrities: Shingai Shoniwa
Shingai Shoniwa, 4b hair
•4a: Tightly coiled hair that, when stretched, has an “S” pattern, much like curly hair. It tends to have more moisture than 4b; has a definite curl pattern
•4a celebrities: Esperanza Spalding
Esperanza Spalding, 4a hair
Tips
• Use styling creams, butters and oils for type 4 hair
• This hair type needs extra moisture and tender-loving care because it can be fragile
• Detangle hair with a lot of conditioner in your hair and use a comb or detangling brush
• Let hair air dry or use a hood dryer
• Do not use a brush or comb on your dry curls
• Reduce tangles by sleeping on a satin pillowcase or wrap hair in a satin cap
Type 3c – Curly Kinky Hair
Subtype 3c is really more than a subtype. It’s a type NaturallyCurly members developed because the original system left out this hair type, which falls between 3b and 4a, having its own special characteristics.
• Type 3c hair has tight curls in corkscrews
• Circumference: Pencil or straw
• The curls can be either kinky, or very tightly curled, with lots and lots of strands densely packed together
• Getting this type of hair to blow dry straight is more challenging than for 3a or 3b, but it usually can be done
• The very tight curls are usually fine in texture
• 3c celebrities: Alicia Keyes, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Tracee Ellis Ross
Tracee Ellis Ross, 3c hair
Tips
• Use styling creams, butters and oils for type 3c hair
• This hair type needs extra moisture and tender-loving care because it can be fragile
• Detangle hair with a lot of conditioner in your hair and use a comb or detangling brush
• Do not use a brush or comb on your dry curls
• Reduce tangles by sleeping on a satin pillowcase or wrap hair in a satin cap
Type 3 – Curly Hair
• There is a definite loopy “S” pattern
• Curls are well-defined and springy
• Type 3 hair has a lot of body; it is easily styled in its natural state or straightened with a blow-dryer
• It isn’t coarse, like many believe, but soft and very fine—there’s just a lot of it
• Combinations of Type 3a and 3b curls are common
There are two Type 3 subtypes:
•3b: Medium amount of curl, from bouncy ringlets to tight corkscrews.
Circumference: Sharpie size
•3b celebrities: Keri Russell, Bernadette Peters, Melina Kankaredes
Keri Russel, 3b hair
•3a: Curls are naturally big, loose and usually very shiny.
Circumference: sidewalk-chalk size
•3a celebrities: AnnaLynne McCord, Debra Messing
Debra Messing, 3a hair
Tips
• 3a’s: Use gels and creams that offer light moisture and curl definition
• 3b’s: Use gels and styling creams with extra moisture and serious frizz control
• Use duckbill clips on the crown of your head to lift top curls
• Let hair air dry or use a diffuser
• Once your curls are dry, rub a little pomade into the palm of your hands and smooth over your hair gently
• Do not use a brush or comb on your dry curls
• Reduce tangles by sleeping on a satin pillowcase
Type 2 – Wavy Hair
• The wave or curl forms throughout the hair in the shape of the letter “S”
• Type 2 hair sticks close to the head; it won’t bounce up, even when layered
There are three Type 2 subtypes:
•2c: Thick and coarse and more resistant to styling and will frizz easily
•2c celebrities: Jennifer Nettles, Daisy Fuentes, Brittany Snow
•2b: Medium-textured and a little resistant to styling; has a tendency to frizz
•2b celebrities: Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado, Carrie Underwood
•2a: Fine, thin and very easy to handle; easily straightened or curled
•2a celebrities: Scarlett Johansson, Naomi Watts, Cate Blanchett
Tips
• Use lighter products such as mousses or gels that enhance curls, but don’t weigh them down
• Use duckbill clips on the crown of your head to lift top curls
• Let hair air dry or use a diffuser
• Once your curls are dry, rub a little pomade into the palm of your hands and smooth over your hair gently
• Do not use a brush or comb on your dry curls
• Reduce tangles by sleeping on a satin pillowcase
Ladies, which hair type are you?
I’m by no means a hair typing snob, but I can’t figure it out and I’ve tried the number system and CG method. I think my hair type has changed since I first went natural and started using different natural products. I recently dc’d after a protective style and my hair was longer and looked more like a 3b/3c/corkscrew curl and just 6 months ago it was shorter and definitely in the 4 range. I think the shorter parts of my hair still have a lot of characteristics of 4 types, but overall at its optimal health my curls are looser. Is it possible that my hair type could be changing without any hormonal changes having occurred or am I just imaging it?
No no no. Its not your imagination. My hair does the same-my mother’s too.
As the hair keeps growing the texture changes like its been going from 4c when it was really short, to 4a when its longer. The longer areas straighten when wet then 3c dry curls.
Your not alone:)
I wish they had something for people with mixed patterns, the back of my head is 3c while the egdes in the front of my hair is 4b and the rest of my hair is 4a. what do I do with that?
I am the same way. my crown is 3c, the nape and side edges are 4b and the rest is 4a….I think most blacks have similar combinations, but I’m not sure.
i think majority do…i’m pretty sure i have 4 textures on my head…the 4th is literally one random strand that is a type 3 while the rest is type 4…i also had this random LONG grey hair that is like a freaking 2b. I cut it and it comes back! I just call my whole head type 4 if someone actually asks and just look for products that help my whole head stay moisturized. I’m still trying to make peace with the different textures not looking uniform but i’m getting there. I know when I just chill and let my hair “be”, it flourishes.
I have a bunch of stuff also. I think my honey child har care sold a combo of stuff so you had a jar of product for 4a and 4b some time back. You could look up their website. I just try to use the same stuff for m whole head more conditioner where needed, but you could try different product per type.
If I had to “type” my hair I would say I lean closer to a C. My Hair has coil but it’s more defined at the ends. I love my thick coarse hair and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have never relaxed my hair with any chemical straighteners. I use to flat iron my hair but after I fried my strands I will never use another flat iron again. I know this site speaks against using heat on the hair but with my thick textured hair I have to relax my hair after each wash with a pressing comb or my hair breaks off. And my scalp gets sores if I don’t relax the base of my hair. Has anyone else experienced this or something similar? If so what remedy worked for you?
Cute!
For me the LOIS typing system was helpful. I have what they are classifying as 3C hair, but the LOIS system includes density and porosity. I went to a really good hair stylist and had her to analyze my hair and answer the important questions.
My hair is really crazy because I have have multiple hair types all over my head. The front bang area is 4a, the front mid-section and lower head area is something close to a 3b with non-kinky curls, the front left side is mostly 4a, and the front right side is a combo of 3b-3c curls. At first, my hair was a styling challenge, but it is becoming easier to style as it grows longer. The only complaint is that with all the different textures on my head, each section grows at a much different rate, in which the loose curls grow relatively fast and break less and the kinkier sections tend to be more prone to breakage and moisture issues. Every time I cut my hair, I have to cut it into layers, but it looks decent when styled. Knowing my hair types do not help me out one iota, but if I address the needs of the kinkiest part of my hair, it retains moisture and grows at a average rate.
I feel you. I have 3b and 3c on the mid section of my hair, 4a in the front and 4b in the back and two small random type 2 wavy hair patches on my sides. I always had to hide those in my fro and make sure they didn’t fall out. Looked way too weird!
I think this is all a waste of time and following this scheme is guarranted to either
1. make you very happy because you are able to really relate to a particular hair type & the related icon or
2. leave you very frustrated because your hair falls into neither of these categories and non of the icons have hair like yours. What to do then???
+1
3. Make you feel bad because you fall into the “difficult” type.
I don’t type my hair, I think it’s silly for the most part. I prefer not to use numbers to describe my hair. I know that I need extra moisture because I pay attention to what my hair responds to, not because some random dude tells me type____ tends to be more dry.
4a with bits of 3c and 4b.
Hell, just loc it up and you don’t even have to trip with all this hair typing business! LOL!
Wow, I was a bit shocked when I saw that picture of Esperanza Spalding. I’ve always seen her hair in a fro. This style makes her look younger. I think I have a mix of type 4a,4b and 4c hair. But my texture has changed a lot since I started using cassia and other indian powders. Plus, knowing my hair texture hasn’t helped me much in my quest for good hair products.
I have no idea what hair type I am. I am confused why it matters.
I’m not big on hair typing because it is all over the place and different people consider diferent textures to be different things. My hair is definitely a 4a in most places, and then it goes right into what most would call a 2 in a small patch in the back. My daughter’s hair is a 4a in the back, 4b in the middle, but a small wavy type pattern in the top that is too small to be a 2, but not curly enough to be a 3a-4b.
Can we PLEASE stop this hair typing nonsense. It serves absolutely no purpose. None. Reading that your hair falls into one category or another is not necessary for knowing how to handle your hair. The only way to learn how to best manage your hair, what products work best, etc is practice. When I decided to go natural, I had none of the current resources (blogs, vlogs…) available to me, so I had to learn as I went. I used to think this was a bad thing, but I realize now it was a blessing because I was free to discover my hair in all it’s glory without input from all sides.
I love sites like this one for styling ideas, but articles like this one only add to the ever-widening divide I see in the natural community.
I disagree with the description of how different hair types are described when it comes to how they feel. To say that 4 hair feels wiry is not true for all 4′s just like how the 3′s hair being soft and not coarse isn’t true for all 3′s. Whether or not your hair has a certain feel has to do with your hair strands thickness. I’m a 4 with hair that people would consider thick (only because there’s a lot of it)but the strands are fine and my hair is quite soft. However, I had two friends which both had type 3 hair but they were both totally different in the way their hair felt. When i did ones hair the strands where much thicker which made her hair feel wiry to the touch but her hair was also very shiny, the other ones hair strands were finer which made her hair feel softer but it wasn’t as shiny as the first one’s hair. My own hair almost has the feel of both because of the difference in thickness of hair strands at the top of my head compared to the sides and the back. The top of my head has hair that’s slightly thicker so i can feel the difference in softness and shine (it’s shinier), but compared to the thickness of my friends hair strand it does not even come close which is probably why it still has a soft feel to it. This is just my personal experience with the feel of different hair textures and what I’ve experienced when doing other people’s hair and my own.
Hi,
I vaven worn my pressed and permed for about 54 years. I had no idea what type of hair I had. I knew that my hair was soft,fine, and hard to curl. My beautician told me that not only was my hair soft and fine and that I didn’t have a head full of hair. My hair would not hold a curl long.
I have been wearing my hair natural for about a year. I was told that my hair type is 2. I am not sure if it is 2a or 2b. I would like to see several pictures of black Americian type 2a and 2b medium lenght hair. So far, the 2 type hair pictures I see are white or bi/racial.
P.S Please respond to my email ASP. By the way I am wearing the twist/out style. If you have videos on other hair styles for type 2 hair styles I would love to see them.
Thanks
Should you type your hair when it’s wet or dry? i can’t figure out between two types for my own. it may be best to also get two or three other people to weigh in with what they think…
asiila
me again. i also find my hair texture, thickness and and tightness of curl are changing with age. i’m 55…it’s more brittle, thinner and seemingly a bit straighter. is this just an age adjustment with the same type, or a whole new type for me…?
asiila
I’m not exactly sure what my hair is…. it’s somewhere between 4a and 4b…and a combination of both in some areas…oh well who cares!! lol i love it and thats all that matters =)
I’m not really sure about my hair type, so I’ve stopped bothering to try.
Lovely!
I think I’m type 3a and i love AnnaLynne McCord…good for me :P
I’m a multitextured lady and if I had to describe my hair most accurately it would be 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, &4c. I would prefer if it were just one type for uniformity, but sometimes I catch a glimpse of the intermingling of my various textures and am amazed that all of this is on one head. Genetics are pretty cool! Got maternal grandma’s hair, dad’s hair, and a lil sprinkle of mom’s hair…awww family =)
this is actually one of the most helpful pictures I’ve seen so far!!
IDK about all the word descriptions and pictures of white ladies on a black-dominated site, but giving examples with typical african american hair is MUCH more helpful!! (and also confirmed what I suspected, that my head is a big ol’ mess of 3a-4a so no wonder I could never figure that ish out!)