Hair Types

OK, so let's talk about hair types.  You may have never heard of hair typing or you may and are still trying to figure out what's your hair type.  Just so you know, your pretty, natural tresses can be a combination of two different hair types.

Type 1 Hair: Straight Hair
Type 1 hair is always straight and fine.  You won't find a curl in this hair!  Not only does straight hair have more shine, it can also be oily.  As such, it may need to be washed frequent.y.  Generally Asian and Caucasian women have type 1 hair.

Type 2 Hair: Wavy Hair
Type 2 hair is wavy and categorized as type 2A, 2B, 2C.  This type of hair has either a very loose curl pattern or a wave pattern that forms into the letter "S."

Type 2A hair is fine, thin, very manageable and can be easily straightened. Type 2B hair is medium textured and has more of a tendency to frizz. Type 2C hair is thick and coarse, has a greater resistance to styling and frizz.

Type 3 Hair: Curly Hair 
Type 3 hair is also categorized into A, B and C.  Many types of black hair may be considered Type 3.  This type of hair has a tighter and well-defined curl pattern than that of Type 2 hair. This type is very springy, shiny, and bouncy.

When wet, Type 3 hair looks slightly wavy to straight. It absorbs a lot of water and shrinks when wet; however, reverts back to curly when dry.  This is typical of some African-American hair textures. Type 3 hair is prone to frizziness and of course humidity can make the frizziness worse!  This type can be easily blow dried and straightened.

Type 3A hair has the loosest curl pattern. It tends to be shinier with big curls.  Type 3B hair has a tighter curl pattern. This type has a medium to tight corkscrew curls.  Type 3C hair has a tightly curly look and may look slightly kinky. 3C hair texture has a tight corkscrew curl to kinky curl pattern. The curls are very tightly curled and the strands tend to be densely packed together.

Type 3 hair typically refers to bi-racial and black hair textures.

Type 4 Hair: Kinky/Coarse Hair
The number 4A, 4B, 4C indicates very tightly curled to kinky hair.  African-American/Black hair usually falls into this category. (This is sooooo me!)

This type is typically very curly to coarse hair with a tendency to be prone to dryness and frizziness.  As such, this type of hair is more fragile and tends to breaks easily.  Extra moisture is usually needed to prevent the hair from drying out and breaking.

Type 4 hair is fragile and tends to be less shiny than the three other types.  Instead of having shine this type of hair will appear to have more of a sheen.  (Did you know there was a difference?)  This type needs to be moisturized regularly, treated gently and should only be combed when wet to prevent breakage (and make sure that you have product in it to give it some "slip").  Type 4A is tightly coiled hair. When stretched the curl has an "S" pattern.  Type 4B has a more "Z" or zigzag pattern.  Hair in this category is the coarsest and requires extra moisture.

Of note, some of the information was gathered from: http://www.blackhaircareinfo.com/black-hair-care-hair-types.html