You want to know about your hair type, and it is driving you nuts.
Is it?
Well, you are not alone.
With 4.6 billion Google searches for” What is my hair type?“, it is safe to say that this question has driven men crazy all over the world.
The Four Basic Hair-Types Are:
- Straight Hair
- Wavy Hair
- Curly Hair
- Coily/ Kinky Hair
Knowing about your hair type is probably more important than learning about the hair products to use.
The first type is Straight Hair.
Straight hair is determined by its lack of visible curl pattern, due to which it is easily distinguishable from the other types.
A decent part of the general population has this type of hair.
You can also check straight hair by observing the presence of oil in the hair and its softness.
Also, It is generally super oily compared to the other types, which gives it a constant supply of oil from the scalp to the ends. Hence, it is naturally shiny.
But one has to be cautious since this hair-type has a tendency to wither away faster than the others with age.
Based on its density, this type further divides into three subtypes: from the thinnest to the thickest. To determine the thickness of your hair, follow the given steps.
- Part your hair from the middle in front of a mirror.
- Hold a chunk of hair from one side of the part.
- Check the visibility of the scalp in that small area.
- If you see too much of the scalp, your hair density is thin.
- Little visibility of the scalp means you may have medium density.
- None or very less visibility of the scalp means you have thick hair density, leaning more towards the coarse end of the hair type.
Remember that this type will generally have an abundance of oil, so avoid usage of heavy hair creams, serums, oil, etc. The use of too creamy or thick hair products might lead to scalp blockage and dust buildup, leading to dandruff and various other harmful hair problems.
The Second Type Is Wavy Hair.
Wavy hair is neither straight nor completely curled. This type tends to frizz out more than straight hair but less oily. It is generally fluffy and difficult to control. It generally has an “S” pattern to its waviness.
Mediterranean people usually have this type of hair. It is not affected by race, but more geographically.
To identify this hair type, the volume of the hair and its curliness play an important role.
The amount of curve your hair has will determine whether it is a wavy type or curly.
To confirm this,
- Ccut a strand of your hair
- Place it on a white sheet of paper.
- If the strand does not straighten out or coil up too much, it is wavy hair.
Similar to the straight hair type, this category is also subdivided into three groups based on their density.
If you have a thin hair density, you will be able to straighten your hair easily. In this scenario, the individual hair strands are thin.
The third category of this hair type starts to get resistant to the straightening or styling process.
On the other end of the spectrum, the hair gets thick and resistant to any styling process. It has more frizziness and significantly less oily too.
When it comes to using hair products for this hair type, it depends on the thickness of the strands. Overall, low to mild creamy products are ideal for this hair type for styling.
For the thin wavy type, try using light hair products such as gels, waxes, and mousses. Also, look for “anti-humidity” or “anti-humectant” on the label, especially if you have thick wavy hair.
The Third Is Curly Hair.
Curly hair is more curl prominent than wavy hair but less than coily hair. If you are one of the guys who have this type of hair, you are in no doubt aware of your curls. It is much frizzier than the wavy type. This type is usually thick, prone to frizz in a humid environment, and easily damaged.
Identifying this type is relatively easy to execute.
- Wash your hair and leave it to dry.
- Upon reaching a dehydrated state, the hair will form curls, either loose, tight, or cork-shaped.
Based on their density, they range from loose curls to corkscrew curls. Since they are generally thick, they are categorized into two sub dividends.
The first type is the one in which the curls are loose, large, and well defined. The second type is thicker and shows tighter curls. This type is frizzier even more than the former.
A third type was introduced due to a large population experiencing significant difficulty distinguishing between curly and coily hair types. This category holds curls with the circumference of a pencil, with very thick strands of hair. They are also known as corkscrew-shaped hair.
In order to keep your curly hair healthy, avoid brushing them and comb them instead.
Since they usually have a thick density, light hair products will have little to no effect. Therefore, use creamy products. Anti- humid products would be your go-to choice.
The Fourth And Last Type Is The Coily, Aka Kinky Hair.
You may know this hair type as ‘Coily‘ or its outdated predecessor name ‘Kinky.’ This hair type is heavily curved. In different words, it is said to be Afro-textured due to its tightly coiled-up layers.
This type is the frizziest of all and also the most delicate. This hair type is highly prone to get damaged and shrinks up to a great extent when in a wet state.
It is also prone to dryness because of the lack of oil passage from the scalp to the strands.
People living in the African diaspora generally have this hair type. Despite its name, people living in Oceania and Southeast Asia also have this type of hair.
Let’s check out its sub-types.
The first subtype has a noticeable tight curl pattern and fine and wiry hair strands. These are considered the lightest amidst this hair type.
The second subtype is known as the Z coil hair type. The coils are much tighter than the previous type mentioned. The Afro pattern is not as prominent as the first subtype.
The last subtype, which is not much distinguishable than the Z coil but still considered a different kind, is where the curls do not follow an Afro pattern nor an actual Z coil pattern. They are much tighter than the z coils and much denser.
Now when it comes to taking care of this hair type, you might want to follow a Similar approach to people with wavy or curly hair. Coily-haired people should emphasize maintaining moisture through the hair and the scalp.
At the same time, they’ll also need to use even gentler products to avoid breakage. Don’t go easy on the conditioner while using it in the shower, and always follow up with a leave-in conditioner.
To Summarize This
There are four categories into which your hair type is classified, namely: straight hair, wavy hair, curly hair, and coily hair. As the straightness of the hair reduces, the presence of oil along the hair strands also reduces significantly.
Based on hair density, each group is divided into three subtypes, fine, coarse and thick.
The general guidelines for hair care are to use light and non-creamy products for thin and oily hair, which usually is the straight hair type. If not so, you may end up looking like ‘Sheldon’ from ‘The Big Bang theory’ show.
As the hair gets curlier and thicker, the use of mild and heavy creamy products is advised. They will help you better style your hair.
Now that you have all that information, you can choose better products for your hair health care and enhance your styling game.
