Hair Types

For those of you who don't know or understand hair typing ,here is a brief chart on it.There are other types like type 1 and type 2, but i didn't include them considering you and i are on a journey to learn and understand afro-textured hair.This may help you pin point your hair type a little bit ,although, I will be posting more on hair types in the future. Peace!!




Type 3 hair has a tighter curl pattern. It can be categorized at 3A/3B and 3C hair. 3A hair types have a looser curl pattern, while type 3B hair has a tighter curl pattern (picture on the left) and type 3C hair has a tightly curly look and may look slightly kinky (picture on the right). This type of hair has a lot of body and can be styled in many different styles. When wet, type 3 hair easily absorbs the water and shrinks quite a bit. But it is not as shiny as straight hair because the hair cannot reflect the light as easily.

Type 3 hair is very springy. If you pull on it, it bounces back into its original curly state. This type of hair can sometimes be a challenge to straighten, especially 3C hair. However, if you blow-dry and use a hot comb or straightener the hair will have a smoother sleeker finish.





Tightly coiled type 4 hair is a lot kinkier than the type 2 and 3 hair types. Although this hair type is much more textured and appears thicker than other curly hair, it is actually quite fine. Type 4A hair has an “S” pattern to it, while type 4B/C hair is more wiry with a zig-zag pattern.

These coiled afro pics show the texture of type 4 hair. The picture on the left is more type 4a hair, while the picture on the right is more of a 4b/c hair. Type 4 hair is hard to grow since it has fewer cuticle layers than the other hair types. Once brushed or combed it’s common for hair to break, leaving it shorter and easily susceptible to damage. (Note: Never brush dry curly hair as this creates frizz and can lead to breakage.)

An easy way to rid yourself of this damage is through proper conditioning, hot oil treatments and not putting tension on the hair daily with pony tails or styles that pull on the hair and add tension. If you do these things there is no limit to how long your hair can grow.

Type 4 hair is extremely versatile and holds well on it’s own without the aid of styling products. Some common styles of this hair type are curly fro’s, afro puffs, two-strand twists, braids, straightening, cornrows and so much more.