Curls have a beautiful fascination about them. Each curl is different, pretty and precious. Every Indian girl who doesn’t have straight hair has wavy or curly hair. There are so many patterns that curls form and fall into. If we randomly pick 10 curly haired girls and compare their hair type and pattern, there are high chances that none of them have the same kind of curls. Even if girls claim to have the same curl pattern, each curl shape is different from the other. Rather on the same head, there might be a mix of two (or more) curl patterns.
There is a highly used system of hair typing called Andre Walker’s Hair typing system. As the name suggests, it was developed by a celebrity hair stylist Andre Walker and is summed up in the below pics. The hair types based on the method are divided into 4 types.
- Type 1 is straight hair
- Type 2: Wavy
- Type 3: Curly
- Type 4: Coily
Look at the below pics and you will have a better idea as it is easy to compare with the pictures and decide than to read and imagine the curls from imagination.
Is it possible to have more than 1 hair type?
It is totally possible for your hair to fall under two curl patterns. so you can be a 2A-2B at the same time or 2C-3A. The curl pattern that you have does not make much of a difference to the hair care and hair wash routine that you need to follow. However, it might just require a little trial and error to find the best method of styling your hair.
Does the hair type affect the hair styling?
The way of styling curly hair is different for each and everyone and is independent of the curl type or pattern. For e.g., twist out method might work equally perfectly for a 4B and a 2C curlies. Whereas girls with same/similar curl type might depend on different methods to style their hair.
Why should you know your hair type?
If you are wondering that if the curl type doesn’t affect anything then why am I making you go through this post? Well, for one, if somebody asks you the type of your curls, I don’t want you to look blank. {You are a Curlacious reader!! You are supposed to know everything!!).
Two, it is always nice to know how many different types of curl patterns are there.
Three, once you start following Curly Girl Method promptly, your hair might change for better and it is fun to see your hair change the type over a period of time. And what better than a hair-typing to keep tabs and feel good!!
Fourth and the main one is that it actually can help with the kind of hair cut that might suit your hair type. (whether to have bangs or not, what type of bangs, what type of layers, how long or how short etc.)
How to determine hair type?
Wash hair as routine – shampoo and condition or skip the conditioner. It really doesn’t matter. Air dry your hair and DO NOT COMB. NO blow drying, NO towel drying and don’t even bring a comb or brush near your hair. Once you hair is completely dry, closely look at the hair pattern and compare with the below charts and get to know your type.
The below illustration clearly shows the shape of each strand of hair and its corresponding category. Have a look at the below pics and check out your curl type and leave a comment if you can identify your curls with these and have found your type.
Right now, I am a 2B-2C and actually i might be a 2C-3A..hopefully, soon… So, what’s your hair type?
Image Source: 1
Image Source: 2
Image Source: 3
Note: none of the pics are my own illustrations. I have taken these pics from various sources and mentioned the credits in Image source.
