KNOW THE DIFFERENCE : Hair Types

dlemieux/flickr

I have to admit it.

Hair Typing didn’t seem like something I would be into. Maybe because it sounds like categorizing the look of one’s hair and texture, which has usually been a turn-off for me.

HOWEVER, I’ve actually found that  hair typing your curl pattern can be constructive if you are actually gaining some knowledge about your locks — and how to better care for them.

Andre Walker (Oprah’s renowned stylist of years) has a particularly helpful book, Andre Talks Hair, which helps women to identify their hair types and counsels them on caring for their specific textures.

Knowing what you are working with, is the first step to working with it!

Here is a compacted version of Walker’s categorization system for hair types (which I found at beautifullycaptured.blogspot.com) :

Type 1: Straight hair that won’t hold a curl. Type 1A is fine and thin, type 1B is medium textured, type 1C is coarse.

Type 2: Wavy hair. Type 2A is fine and thin, type 2B is medium textured, type 2C is coarse.

Type 3: Curly hair with soft smooth curls. Type 3A has loose curls, type 3B has a medium amount of curl.

Type 4: Kinky or very tightly curled hair. This hair is very fragile. Type 4A is tightly coiled in a S pattern (like ringlets). Type 4B is in a Z pattern, and the hair bends at angles.

**To determine your hair type look at 1 inch or more of untreated hair (hair that has not been chemically processed or straightened) and see where it falls.

Also, many women don’t carry just one hair type on their crowns! It is very common to have a mixture of two (or possibly even more) textures among your tresses.

If you’re more of a visual person, here are some links that actually show each respective hair type, along with a detailed description.

rockyournatural.blogspot.com

motowngirl.com

::Grow On::

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Filed under: Know the Difference