You may have heard these types referred to as 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Your curl pattern can be categorized into four different groups: straight, wavy, curly or coily/kinky. Understanding your hair is a lifelong journey but identifying your natural hair types is a good way to start showing your hair some love. Hair porosity, for example, influences the products that you should use and the best way to apply them.
#Curl patterns how to
While your curl pattern gives you a good idea of how to care for your hair, learning other characteristics about your mane can help you see real results.
There’s no such thing as a better hair type or “good hair” – we believe that healthy hair is good hair – and most people will have a few different curl patterns within their hair.Ī hair type or curl pattern refers to the shape your strands grow in. We’re giving you the basics of natural hair types and the things you should know about caring for yours.īefore we start, you should know that your curl pattern doesn’t mean everything and we’ve all got curls for days. Embracing your natural texture is a mental training, but finding your curl pattern and the best products to use on your hair can help you start to feel comfortable with your natural hair.
"The real beauty of identifying your hair type is that you're better at understanding how to care for your texture so you can have more versatility," explains Anthony Dickey, the curl wizard behind the Hair Rules salon and brand.If you’re just starting to rock your natural curls for the first time in your life you might be feeling a bit awkward. Type As have a wider pattern size, Type Bs medium, and Type Cs the smallest of the three. The sub-classifications of A to C are based on the width or diameter of your wave, curl, or coil. Identifying your curl shape and pattern(s) is best determined while your hair is sopping wet.Ī simple breakdown: Type 1s are straight, Type 2s are wavy, Type 3s are curly, and Type 4s are coily. Most people with textured hair have more than one type of pattern on their head, "so you may have a combination of, say, kinky, coily, wavy, and curly," adds François. Your curl pattern is also identified by the shape that the strands of hair make, whether they kink, curve, or wind around themselves into spirals." "The flatter or more oval-shaped the follicle, the curlier your hair the more circular the cross-section, the straighter your hair. "Your curl type is determined by the shape of the follicle that your hair grows out of from your scalp," says hairstylist Vernon François. When you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Follow our easy tip sheet below (complete with recommendations for your hair-care collection) so you can be well on your way to becoming a curl-typing pro.Īll products featured on Allure are independently selected by our editors. Whether you've got soft bends cascading down your back or tight coils blossoming towards the heavens, there's an easy way to identify exactly what's going on up top. Luckily, we tapped two industry pros who are experts in working with texture to break down some of the finer points of the typing categories. And if anything, you want to at least be able to walk into a store with some idea of what you're looking for to treat your precious crown - and have some baseline knowledge of the best way to style your hair. Power to the people.Ĭontroversy aside, many people have found that even if it isn't perfect, this particular set of guidelines can be super useful in at least helping you identify your curl pattern (or patterns) so you know where to start when you're shopping for hair-care products. It's even gone through a bit of a modification over the years, thanks to folks in the curly community. We're not going to lie: There's been some debate as to whether the typing system is divisive or even too narrow. As it stands now, most folks reference a particular hair typing system for curls, one originally dreamed up by hairstylist Andre Walker.
The road to understanding and embracing your texture may be a windy one (because, curls) but it also does not have to be overly complicated. Which you can totally do!īut, if that's not quite your jam, don't fret. When the strands at your crown are looser than the ones on the sides, and even more different than the hair in the back, it's easy to just throw up your hands in frustration and contemplate shaving it all off. Several different textures can exist on one head of curly hair, which all have to somehow look cohesive when you style it. Decoding your curl type can be confusing.